Law enforcement in London issued the first 20 fines against those who breached the United Kingdom’s COVID-19 lockdown laws amid the “Partygate” scandal.
London Metropolitan Police announced the initial 20 fines on Tuesday but said it would not disclose the number of people being fined or their identities.
“We will today initially begin to refer 20 fixed penalty notices to be issued for breaches of COVID-19 regulations,” the police said in a statement. “We are making every effort to progress this investigation at speed and have completed a number of assessments.”
Those facing fines will receive fixed-penalty notices and are likely to be fined 200 or 100 pounds per violation, a source told the Guardian.
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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has not been told that he was fined, a spokesperson told reporters on Tuesday. This does not mean that Johnson was not fined yet, as the police department said it had not contacted all of the fined parties as of the released statement. The spokesperson also affirmed that Johnson had accepted full responsibility for what happened at Downing Street.
The spokesperson also rejected claims alleging that Johnson had lied to members of Parliament about the parties and did not comment on whether Johnson had accepted that he had broken the law.
British civil servant Sue Gray released a 12-page report on Jan. 31 that found “failures of leadership and judgment” in Johnson’s administration regarding parties and events hosted at 10 Downing Street during the pandemic. The report noted 16 different gatherings over a year. Johnson appeared before the House of Commons on Jan. 31, when he apologized for his conduct and pledged to do better. He has not acknowledged that he breached the law, however.
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The scandal has had notable impacts on the staff in Johnson’s offices. Four of his senior aides resigned from their positions on Feb. 3 over the fallout from the events.
