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Boris Johnson and wife Carrie escape further fines as Partygate investigation concludes



Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie have escaped further fines over lockdown-breaching parties at No 10 as the Metropolitan Police concludes its investigations.

Both the prime minister and Mrs Johnson had previously received £50 fixed penalty notices in relation to a 56th birthday party held for Mr Johnson in the Cabinet Room in June 2020.

But the PM’s official spokesperson today confirmed that Mr Johnson has been told by Scotland Yard that he and his wife will not receive further penalties.

No 10 also said that neither chancellor Rishi Sunak nor cabinet secretary Simon Case had been informed of any further penalty notices, though they have not been defintively told that they will not be fined.

“With regards to the prime minister, the Met has confirmed that they are taking no further action with regards to him,” said the PM’s spokesperson.

“[The cabinet secretary] has not received any indication with regards to a fixed penalty notice, but he has not had the same final confirmation from the Met in the same way the prime minister has.”

The police decision not to issue any further fines to Mr Johnson removes a considerable amount of pressure from the PM, who was thought to have been under investigation for attendance at as many as five further events.

But the conclusion of the Operation Hillman inquiry sets the scene for another moment of peril for the prime minister, with the publication of the full report into the Partygate scandal by civil servant Sue Gray, expected as early as next week.

Many Conservative MPs have said they will await the publication of the Gray report before deciding whether to send a letter of no confidence in the prime minister to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady.

Sir Graham must call a vote on Mr Johnson’s future if he receives 54 letters, with the PM needing the support of half of Tory MPs to hold onto his position as leader.



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