15 April 2022 - Boris Johnson Fined over Partygate
Boris Johnson fined by police over partygate – what happens next?
Matthew Flinders (The Conversation, 12/04/2022)
After months of dodging the issue, it appears that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson did in fact break his own emergency laws during COVID restrictions.
The police have fined Johnson, his wife Carrie and – in a new twist to the story – Chancellor Rishi Sunak in relation to the partygate affair, which saw staff socialising in government buildings while the rest of the country was living under severe restrictions on their movements.
Fresh calls for Boris Johnson to resign over Partygate fines
Aubrey Allegretti (The Guardian, 14/04/2022)
Boris Johnson has faced fresh calls from Tory MPs to consider his position but dodged questions about whether he misled parliament, saying only that he would make a statement next week to clarify his knowledge of Covid rule-breaking parties.
The prime minister was weakened further when the solicitor general, Alex Chalk, refused to defend him and said senior politicians had a special duty to “act in a way that is beyond reproach”.
Despite efforts by Johnson’s allies to buttress the prime minister and avoid the threat of a no-confidence vote escalating after he was fined by police, more Conservative MPs went public to criticise his attendance at a birthday celebration in No 10 during England’s first national lockdown.
UK prime minister and his chancellor humbled by ‘partygate’ scandal
Sebastian Payne and Jim Pickard (Financial Times, 12/04/2022)
Prime Minister Boris Johnson in December told the House of Commons “I certainly broke no rules” following media reports about Downing Street parties held during coronavirus lockdowns. A few days later chancellor Rishi Sunak told MPs: “I did not attend any parties.”
On Tuesday, the two most senior members of the UK government were told they would be fined for breaking Covid-19 regulations in the “partygate” scandal, prompting calls from opposition parties for their immediate resignations.
Boris Johnson Dodges Questions Four Times Over His Partygate Fine
Ned Simons (The Huffington Post, 14/04/2022)
Boris Johnson has repeatedly refused to answer questions about the fine he received for breaking his own lockdown rules.
The prime minister has been handed fixed penalty notice for attending his own birthday party in June 2020 while England was under strict restrictions that banned indoor gatherings.