12 April 2022 | NEWS
Downing Street has confirmed that both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor will receive fines from the Metropolitan Police for attending parties during lockdown.
This has prompted Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer to call for their resignations.
The Labour leader says it shows the Conservative Party are “totally unfit to govern” and that “Britain deserves better”.
“Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public. They both must resign,” he added.
More than 50 fines have so far been handed out to staff at No 10 in connection with lockdown parties. It is understood that the Prime Minister’s fine relates to a birthday party thrown by his wife on 19 June 2020, which the Chancellor also attended.
However, the Met have stated they will not be naming all those who receive fines.
A Downing Street spokesperson has stated they have not been informed which events the fines are linked to.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, has also been notified that she will be fined according to political blog site Guido Fawkes.
Lobby Akinnola, a spokesperson for the Covid Bereaved Families, has said it was “unbelievably painful” to find out that senior members of the Government attended lockdown parties whilst they instructed the public to stay at home.
“The fact that the Prime Minister and his Chancellor then lied about it, and would have continued to do so if the police hadn’t intervened, is truly shameless,” he added.
Campaign group Best For Britain have released the following press release in response to the news: “In the week that members of his cabinet and MPs have admitted tax avoidance and been found guilty of child sexual abuse, Boris Johnson has now been found to be the first sitting Prime Minister in history to have broken the law.
“The Government is mired in sleaze, corruption and law breaking and is not fit to lead us through the domestic and international crises we face.
“He has broken the law, the Chancellor has broken the law, the Home Secretary is a proven bully and Conservative MPs must remove them. Rule-breakers can’t be rule-makers.
“For the good of the country, Parliament must be recalled and they must face a confidence vote.”
Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader, Sir Ed Davey, and the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, have also called for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to resign.
