20 people being fined over parties held by UK’s Johnson, staff

About 20 people will be fined by British police over their attendance at parties held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff during the country’s COVID-19 lockdowns.

Several other people could face penalties for the parties as well, The Associated Press reported.

Police told the AP that it would not identify those who are being fined, but Johnson’s office has said that it will reveal if the prime minister receives a notice.

According to the police force, authorities are working through a “significant amount of investigative material” and more fines could be levied based on their findings, the news service noted.

Some members of Britain’s governing Conservative Party have called for Johnson’s resignation, should he be fined for breaching his own COVID-19 restrictions, according to the AP.

Over 100 people were reportedly sent questionnaires and interviewed by the police concerning the “partygate” scandal.

Johnson’s staff held “bring your own booze” office parties, “wine time Fridays” and birthday celebrations throughout 2020 and 2021 despite the government imposing lockdowns and other restrictions that kept the rest of the population away from family and friends, the AP noted.

While Johnson has reportedly denied any wrongdoing, he admitted to attending a “bring your own booze” party in May 2020, saying that he believed at the time that it was a work event.