Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have been given fixed-penalty notices for breaking Covid rules, as has the prime ministers’s wife, Carrie Johnson. Here is how we got here – and where it might go next.
What has happened?
The ongoing police investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in and around Downing Street resulted in 20 fixed-penalty notices being issued at the start of this month. On Tuesday, the Metropolitan police said it had issued 30 more over the gatherings, with No 10 then saying Johnson and Sunak were among these. Carrie Johnson’s spokesperson also said she had also been informed about a fixed-penalty notice.
How did all this begin?
It started in November last year when the Daily Mirror said Johnson made a speech at a leaving event a year earlier, when England was in the middle of a Covid lockdown, and that a Christmas party took place that December in Downing Street. No 10 insisted that rules were followed at all times, but more and more allegations followed.
A week after the first allegations, a video was leaked to ITV showing Downing Street staff joking about an apparent party in December 2020.
How many events eventually came to light?
More than 15 alleged events have been reported, spanning a period from mid-May 2020 to April 2021. Among them were a cheese and wine gathering in the No 10 garden on 15 May 2020, of which the Guardian was sent a photograph; a “bring your own booze” party, also in the garden; an alleged party in Johnson’s flat five days later in November 2020 on the day Dominic Cummings left his job; and two “boozy” leaving parties taking place in No 10 simultaneously in April 2021, the night before Prince Philip’s funeral.
Which events were Johnson and Sunak given fixed-penalty notices for?
While the Met has said that in general it will not reveal what parties penalties have been issued for, it confirmed that Johnson’s fine was in relation to a surprise birthday party organised for him in No 10 on 19 June 2020.
Sunak also attended this event, although he supposedly did so partly by accident, arriving early for a meeting. Carrie Johnson’s notice is also believed to be in connection with the same party, although this has not been confirmed. While Sunak is not believed to have attended any other parties being investigated, it remains possible that Johnson and Carrie Johnson could be penalised over other events.
Will Johnson or Sunak have to resign?
According to Labour, the Liberal Democrats, and just about every other opposition party – yes. The argument is that both of them categorically denied in the Commons that they breached any rules, and thus misled parliament – a breach of the ministerial code seen as a resignation issue.
However, there appears little immediate appetite among Tory MPs to replace Johnson, in part because of the Ukraine war, and because the minister seen as his most likely replacement, Sunak, is now badly damaged by both the fixed-penalty notice and revelations last week about his family’s tax affairs. That said, things could move fast, and this is unprecedented political territory.
What have they said?
In a TV clip, Johnson apologised but insisted he had not believed at the time that the birthday party, which he described as “a brief gathering in the cabinet room” with work colleagues lasting less than 10 minutes, was illegal. He added that he understood public anger, and that his actions “fell short” of what was expected. Sunak has apologised “unreservedly”, while a spokesperson for Carrie Johnson said she had paid the penalty and “apologised unreservedly”.
What happens next?
Downing Street has promised that Johnson will make a statement only when the entire police operation is over. However, this could take many more weeks and there is pressure for him to say something immediately, with Labour, the Lib Dems and SNP calling for the Commons, which is currently on Easter recess, to be recalled.
What about the Sue Gray report?
The report by Gray, a senior civil servant, was ordered after a series of media claims about parties and had been completed when the police belatedly decided to investigate potential criminal breaches, meaning only a very brief précis was published. Officials say the full report will be released once the police inquiry is over, potentially with a delay of a week or so for the report to be revised in light of the police findings.
Has anything like this ever happened before?
It is not believed that a prime minister and/or a chancellor has broken the law while in office.