British Prime Minister Boris Johnson listens after making a statement on Sue Gray’s report regarding the alleged Downing Street parties during COVID-19 lockdown, in the House of Commons in London, Britain, January 31, 2022. UK Parliament/UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via REUTERS
By Reuters
British officials have begun to receive fines for COVID regulation breaches, Sky News reported on Friday, days after police said an initial 20 fines would be handed out after an investigation into lockdown parties.
Sky said the fines related to a June 18, 2020 leaving party in the Cabinet Office – a building at the heart of the government estate and physically connected to Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Downing Street offices and residence.
Sky said the first of those fines were 50 pounds ($65.54). The officials were not named.
The event was one of 12 that police said in January they were investigating, based on evidence passed to them by an internal government inquiry that found Johnson’s staff enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties.
The issue threatened Johnson’s position earlier when members of his own party began calling for him to quit and public trust in his leadership plummeted – although the focus on Ukraine has relieved some of the immediate pressure on him.