Boris Johnson will not face a further Partygate fine

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been told he faces no further action after police closed their investigation into Downing Street parties, No 10 says.

Mr Johnson's wife, Carrie, will also not receive a second fine.

They were both issued with £50 Fixed Penalty Notices last month for breaking Covid laws at a birthday party for Mr Johnson in Downing Street in June 2020.

The Metropolitan Police said the inquiry into lockdown breaches in and around Downing Street had now ended. It issued a total of 126 fines to 83 people, for events happening across eight different dates. It had been widely expected that Mr Johnson, who reportedly attended up to six of the gatherings investigated, would be fined again.

Police examined 510 photographs, as well as CCTV images, emails, logs of entries into buildings, diary entries and witness statements. They also studied 204 questionnaires from people who had attended events.

Following the investigation, the UK's top civil servant, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, has been told he will not be fined, sources have told the BBC.

In December, he was forced to step aside from his role leading an inquiry into lockdown parties, after it emerged an event had been held in his own office.

The ending of the police investigation paves the way for the publication of the full report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, who took over the inquiry into lockdown gatherings from Mr Case. This is expected to happen next week.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "The full Sue Gray report should now be published without delay, and the parliamentary inquiry should be launched into Johnson's lies.

"The public made huge sacrifices while Boris Johnson partied. They deserve the full truth."

The end of the police inquiry means the prime minister has not been fined for a garden party in Downing Street he attended in May 2020, to which about 100 people were invited.

The Met confirmed other people had been fined over their presence at this event.
Mr Johnson has previously apologized for attending the garden party for 25 minutes, saying he "believed implicitly" it was a work event.

The gatherings that resulted in fines took place between May 2020 and April 2021, with different Covid rules in place at different times.

Acting Met Police Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball said whether an event had taken place in "someone's home" or not had been a factor in deciding whether to issue fines.

The Met said it would not be identifying any recipients of fines from its investigation, which had involved 12 detectives and cost £460,000, and that there had been no interviews under caution.

Source: BBC