Met Police to issue twenty fines over Downing Street lockdown parties

Twenty fines are set to be issued over the numerous parties held at Number 10 during the 2020 lockdowns, the Metropolitan Police have announced today.

The force said investigators will begin to refer the notices to the ACRO Criminal Records Office, which would be responsible for issuing the fines.

Further fines could still be issued as officers continue to analyse the evidence gathered.

The Met Police said in a statement: “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 twenty 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.”

This comes in the wake of Sue Gray’s highly-publicised investigation into the various allegations of parties and gatherings in Number 10 during the lockdowns.

In her report, which was partly released to the public back in January, Gray noted that there was a ‘serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government, but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time’.

The report acknowledged that every citizen has been impacted by the pandemic, reading: “Everyone has made personal sacrifices, some the most profound, having been unable to see loved ones in their last moments or care for vulnerable family and friends.”

Stand-out points from the report include:

• There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times.
• The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.
• The use of the garden at No 10 Downing Street should be primarily for the Prime Minister and the private residents of No 10 and No 11 Downing Street.
• The leadership structures are fragmented and complicated and this has sometimes led to the blurring of lines of accountability.
• Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so.