LONDON (Parliament Politics Magazine) – No 10 has said that PM Johnson has been informed he would face no further penalty after the Downing Street parties’ investigation was closed by the police.Â
Carrie Johnson, Mr Johnson’s wife, will not face a second fine.
Last month, Fixed Penalty Notices for £50 were issued to each of them for breaking Covid restrictions at Mr Johnson’s birthday party in Downing Street in June 2020.
The investigation into the lockdown breaches in and around Downing Street has concluded, according to the Metropolitan Police.
83 people were fined with a total of 126 fines by the police for events that occurred on eight different occasions.
Police combed over 510 photos, as well as CCTV footage, emails, building entry logs, diary entries, and witness testimony.
They also looked at 204 questionnaires from attendees of events.
According to BBC sources, the UK’s senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, has been told he would not be punished as a result of the probe.
He was forced to resign as the head of an investigation into lockdown parties in December after it was revealed that one had taken place in his own office.
The conclusion of the police probe clears the door for senior civil servant Sue Gray, who took over the investigation into lockdown gatherings from Mr Case, to release the complete report. This will most likely happen next week.
Ms Gray’s interim assessment, released in January, criticised “leadership and judgement errors” at No 10 and the Cabinet Office.
Some Conservative MPs have previously stated that they will wait until the release of the final document before passing judgement on Mr Johnson’s future.
Around 20 people, according to the BBC, have asked for a vote of confidence in Mr Johnson’s leadership in the wake of the Partygate disclosures.
A Commons committee is still looking into charges that Mr Johnson misled Parliament about parties during the lockdown.
Conservative MPs’ rage has subsided for the time being, and for now, will ease further.
However, the report from senior civil servant Sue Gray is still being waited for, which might bring more political embarrassment for Boris Johnson.
It must be remembered though that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is still facing questioning.
He’s awaiting the results of a Durham Police investigation. He and his attorneys are as confident as they can be that he will be cleared.
They can’t be certain, though.
