The MP for Buckingham, Greg Smith, has declined to comment following the issuing of 20 fines by the Metropolitan Police in relation to the ‘partygate’ scandal.
The announcement of the fixed penalty notices by the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday provides the first official confirmation that rules were broken at the events held in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
Previously Mr Smith had said that he “took the Prime Minister at his word” regarding the PM's assurances that no rules were broken.
The MP later told Bucks Radio that in order for him to call for the Prime Minister’s resignation “there would have to be absolute clarity” that Boris Johnson had lied in the House of Commons.
We put these previous statements to Mr Smith earlier this week but he did not want to comment at this time.
Whilst the recipients of the fines will not be made public, the Government has said it would say whether or not the Prime Minister himself has received a fine. Mr Johnson is not expected to be part of this first tranche of fines.
However, more are expected to follow in the coming weeks. Police are investigating 12 events, six of which the Prime Minister is thought to have attended.
In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said:
“The investigation into allegations of breaches of Covid-19 regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street has now progressed to the point where the first referrals for fixed penalty notices (FPN) will be made to ACRO Criminal Records Office.
“We will today initially begin to refer 20 fixed penalty notices to be issued for breaches of Covid-19 regulations. The ACRO Criminal Records Office will then be responsible for issuing the FPNs to the individual following the referrals from the MPS.
“We are making every effort to progress this investigation at speed and have completed a number of assessments. However, due to the significant amount of investigative material that remains to be assessed, further referrals may be made to ACRO if the evidential threshold is made.”
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