PM Boris Johnson Avoids Another Fine Over Partygate

 

'No 10' claimed the Prime Minister was "pleased" with the outcome of the investigation and that officers assured Mr Johnson he would not face a second fine for the incident on his 56th birthday.

 

For attending a birthday celebration for the Prime Minister in June 2020, Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were all fined which they paid.

 

Mr. Johnson was reportedly present at six of the twelve occasions the police investigated. However, he has thus far resisted taking any further action.

It's unclear how they came to that judgment, as the Prime Minister seems to have visited five of them without receiving a fixed-penalty notice.

 

What Is Boris Johnson’s Partygate Case?

For most of the pandemic, the restrictions functioned so that it was illegal for people to gather or engage in a gathering of two or more persons indoors.

But Prime Minister Borris Johnson & some other members broke the rule. Thus they got fined and they had to pay.

 

Human Rights Lawyer’s Statement

Adam Wagner, a human rights lawyer who specializes in defying lockdown rules, said the Metropolitan Police's reasoning was "unclear." He said,

“It sounds like, as I can understand from the Metropolitan Police and the press reports, that there were 126 people given fixed-penalty notices.

But some were given between two and five so maybe there’s quite a few more, but I don’t know because it’s not completely clear.”

 

In case you missed it: Boris Johnson’s stumbling response to the report into the 'partygate' affair by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, rekindled talk of a potential leadership challenge https://t.co/REE8oGFnR2

— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) February 1, 2022

"As for the dates, it appears that eight of the twelve gatherings reviewed in 2020 & 2021 were labeled illegal gatherings, and those who participated were issued fixed-penalty notices."

 

“But the Prime Minister appears to have attended five of those and not been given a fixed-penalty notice, so it’s a little unclear how they got to that conclusion.”

 

When asked how the Prime Minister avoided any additional fines, Mr Wagner claimed the "only reason" he could come up with was that the police believed the objective of the events changed over time.