LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak are to be fined for breaching Covid-19 lockdown laws in what has become known as the “Partygate” scandal, prompting calls for their resignation.
Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson’s Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties that should not have been allowed. Johnson said he had attended a few of the events but has denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.
“The prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan Police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” a government spokesperson said. “We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do.”
A spokesperson for Johnson’s wife Carrie said she would also be fined. Some of the gatherings took place when people could not attend funerals or say farewell to loved ones dying in hospital because they were following rules set by Johnson’s government.
READ MORE: British PM Boris Johnson meets Ukraine’s Zelenskiy in Kyiv
After the events were first reported in late 2021, Johnson said there were no parties and that all rules were followed. He later apologised to parliament for attending one event, which he said he thought was work-related and also said sorry to Queen Elizabeth for another at which staff partied on the eve of her husband’s funeral.
The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer, swiftly called for the two most senior members of the government to resign. “Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public,” Starmer tweeted. “They must both resign. The Conservatives are totally unfit to govern. Britain deserves better.”
The leader of the opposition Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey, called for parliament to be recalled from its Easter recess for a confidence vote. “This is a government in crisis neglecting a country in crisis,” Davey tweeted.
Bereaved families of victims of the Covid pandemic also called on Johnson to resign. London police are still investigating claims that Johnson and government officials organised and attended at least a dozen boozy events in 2020 and 2021 that violated Britain’s then-strict virus curbs.
