CNN
Campaigners have branded a decision to take no further action against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the “Partygate” scandal a “terrible insult.”
Downing Street revealed on Thursday that Johnson has revealed no further fines over his alleged breaches of lockdown regulations after the Metroplitan Police announced that it had concluded its investigation.Johnson is said to be “pleased” that the investigation is completed and that he did not receive a second fine, after a penalty was issued over his 56th birthday, PA Media reported.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Met has confirmed that they are taking no further action with regards to the Prime Minister.”
Announcing the end of its investigation online, the Metropolitan Police force issued a statement saying: “The Met has today announced the investigation into alleged breaches of Covid regulations at Downing Street and Whitehall, under Operation Hillman, is complete.
“In total, detectives have made 126 referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to the ACRO Criminal Records Office for breaches of Covid-19 regulations.”
Johnson was fined by police on April 13 for attending a birthday party thrown for him in his official Downing Street residence in June 2020, when large indoor gatherings were banned.
He claimed in December that he had been assured “there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.” It has since emerged he attended a number of events himself, including the party for which he was fined.
Campaigners who lost relatives during the pandemic have dubbed Thursday’s decision a “terrible insult” and called for the immediate release of the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, which is expected to be highly critical of Johnson.
A string of tweets from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK account, said: “There is no reason for that report to be delayed any longer. Every day they do not act they allow a man who gaslit us and lied to the faces of the bereaved when he claimed he did ‘everything possible’ to save our loved ones remain the highest office in the land.
“The so-called Partygate scandal has been a major embarrassment for the Conservative party as poll after poll revealed that the public wanted the Prime Minister to step down. Opposition politicians had called for Johnson to resign, but such criticisms have been dampened down since Labour leader Keir Starmer now finds himself under investigation over his own alleged breach of the rules.
