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The first £50 fines for Number 10 lockdown parties have been issued
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The first fines have been issued to government officials involved in a Downing Street lockdown parties.
Sky News reports that officials believed to have attended a party on June 18th 2020 have received fines worth £50 via email.
The names of those involved have not been disclosed.
The event in June is understood to have been a leaving party for diplomat Hannah Young, and was held in the Cabinet Office building at 70 Whitehall.
Earlier this week, the Metropolitan Police announced that twenty fines would be issued across Downing Street for the numerous parties held during the 2020 lockdowns.
But the investigation has reportedly been slowed down by the need to consult the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Read More: Met Police to issue twenty fines over Downing Street lockdown parties
It is believed that the Metropolitan Police did not fully consult the CPS at the start of the investigation, which means the CPS could have questions about the unusual questionnaires used to extract more information from those in government.
The force 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.”
Figures show that, on the same week as the alleged Downing Street lockdown parties, police handed out over 800 fines to members of the public who broke lockdown rules, some of which carried penalties of over £3,000.