London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

Police issue 50 more fines over Covid-rule breaking in Downing Street

Police issue 50 more fines over Covid-rule breaking in Downing Street

The Metropolitan Police have issued more than 50 new fines for breaches of Covid rules in Downing Street and other government buildings.

The Fixed Penalty Notices follow more than 50 handed out last month, including to Boris Johnson, wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

Neither the PM nor Mrs Johnson are among those to be fined this time.

The latest penalties are thought to involve a Christmas party in December 2020, which Mr Johnson did not attend.

No 10 has promised to reveal any further fines imposed on the prime minister.

The Met have been investigating 12 gatherings, at least three of which Mr Johnson is known to have attended.

As he arrived for a special cabinet meeting taking place at a pottery in Staffordshire, the prime minister was asked whether he was "shocked" at the scale of law-breaking in No 10.

"We'll have plenty to say about that when the thing's finished," he replied.

In a statement, the Met said the investigation "remains live". Further fines are expected to follow, but no timescale has been given.


The latest Met update screams two things: scale and culture. Covid law-breaking, involving loads of people, happened for months on end, at the heart of a government led by Boris Johnson.

While millions of people made colossal sacrifices to live within rules devised in Downing Street, behind that door, and others in Whitehall, the rules were being ignored, broken.

And we are far from the end of the revelations about what has become known as Partygate.

So what does Labour make of all this?

Well, it's been rather muted. Leader Sir Keir Starmer, his deputy Angela Rayner and others are themselves under investigation by Durham police.

While they've said they'll resign if they're fined, that twist appears to have dialled down, if not neutered, the moral outrage we've heard from them on all this in the past.

Senior civil servant Sue Gray and the House of Commons privileges committee are also running inquiries into what has become widely known as Partygate.

Opposition parties have called for Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to resign, but Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has also come under pressure after he was filmed drinking beer in City of Durham MP Mary Foy's constituency office during coronavirus restrictions in April last year.

Durham police launched an investigation last week and Sir Keir - who denies any rule-breaking - has said he will resign if he is found to have been in breach of regulations in place at the time.

Last month, Mr Johnson, Mrs Johnson and Mr Sunak were each fined £50 over a surprise birthday party for the PM that took place in Downing Street's Cabinet Room in June 2020.

Allegra Stratton resigned over video footage a Downing Street mock press conference was revealed


The latest set of penalties are thought to relate, in part, to the 18 December 2020 Christmas party, which Downing Street staff were filmed joking about a few days later.

Allegra Stratton, the prime minister's former press secretary, resigned in December last year, after the footage was revealed by ITV News. She had not been at the party but was filmed joking with officials who had attended.

Speaking in the House of Commons on the day Ms Stratton quit, Mr Johnson said he had been "repeatedly assured" that "there was no party" on 18 December 2020 and "no Covid rules were broken".

He later added that guidance and regulations had been "followed at all times".

Responding to the latest fines, Labour's shadow House of Commons Leader Thangam Debbonaire accused the prime minister of presiding over "industrial scale" rule-breaking.

She added that Downing Street and Whitehall were the "most fined location anywhere in Britain".

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Boris Johnson stood up in Parliament and said Covid rules were followed in No 10 at all times.

"Now 100 fines have been issued by the police over Partygate. It shows the shocking scale of the law-breaking in Johnson's Downing Street and the extent of his lies."

But Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries and Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi both backed the prime minister as they arrived for Thursday's cabinet meeting.

Asked if they still had faith in Mr Johnson, Ms Dorries replied: "We do."

"Absolutely," Mr Zahawi added.

The publication of Ms Gray's full report has been delayed by the Met Police investigation.

But her interim findings, released in February, criticised "failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office" and said that "some of the events should not have been allowed to take place".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
White House Announces No Imminent Summit Between Trump and Putin
US and Qatar Warn EU of Trade and Energy Risks from Tough Climate Regulation
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
×