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The British police terminated the investigation that began in January into the meetings and parties in government offices that occurred between March 2020 and April 2021, which violated the regulations set against Covid-19 promulgated by the Executive itself. Downing Street confirmed that the Prime Minister and his wife received no further sanctions this time. However, he is not exempt from the publication of Sue Gray, which is expected in the coming weeks.
This Thursday the London police terminated the ongoing investigation into parties held in government offices during confinement due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The balance of the investigation was 126 fines for a scandal that took on national resonance and strongly weakened the figure of the prime minister.
The police authorities described their investigation as “impartial” and detailed that they had to analyze 510 photographs and 345 documents, which led to 126 fixed sanctions for 83 people. Of these, 35 were men (53 fines in total) and 48 women (73).
They also described that these inquiries were made due to events carried out in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office between May 2020 and April 2020, violating the regulations against Covid-19 imposed by the government itself, including meetings in the garden, a online Christmas quiz and farewell parties for staff.
“Our investigation was thorough and impartial and was completed as quickly as we could given the amount of information that needed to be reviewed,” said Helen Ball, Acting Deputy Commissioner of London Police. She also stressed “the importance of ensuring” that they had “solid evidence” from every occasion and reference.
For his part, Boris Johnson’s spokesman confirmed that the British Prime Minister had not received any more fines in this last instance of the investigation. “He is pleased that the investigation is over and would like to thank the police for his work,” the spokesman said.
Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak were singled out last April for meeting at the prime minister’s office as they celebrated his 56th birthday in June 2020.
Carrie, Johnson’s wife, was only punished for celebrating her husband’s birthday party and was not punished again this time.
A scandal that hit the image of Boris Johnson
When the scandal broke out, the ‘Tory’ leader had stated that no illegal parties had taken place and that they had respected the isolation regulations that were in force at the time, but he gradually turned the speech around and offered “humble” apologies on several occasions.
However, he dismissed frequent calls for resignation from opponents, notably from Labor Party leader Keir Starmer. “After an investigation showing over 120 breaches of the law in Downing Street, of course he should resign,” he stressed.
Paradoxically, Starmer is also under police scrutiny on suspicion of violating the same laws. Images dating back to April 2021 find him drinking beer with friends inside a site in North West England. He stated that if he is fined, he will resign from his position.
All these parties and events took place in a context of hermetic confinement that led to the closure of a large number of businesses such as restaurants, pubs and commercial premises; and while gatherings of friends and family were banned, even for funerals.
However, the culmination of the police investigations is not the final chapter of the ‘partygate’. There is still the internal report from senior official Sue Gray, which could bring more damaging blows to Boris Johnson.
The final version of the document, according to the Cabinet Office, would be produced in a few weeks. Although in the provisional conclusions of January, the report affirmed that these events had occurred due to “serious leadership failures.”
with Reuters
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