Covid UK: Grieving families demand Boris Johnson resigns over Partygate fine

Grieving families who obediently stuck to repressive lockdown curbs and laid their loved ones to rest while Boris Johnson attended parties at Downing Street have today called on the ‘dishonourable’ Tory leader to resign after he was handed a Partygate fine.  

Alan Handley, 70, was forced to bid a final farewell to his wife of 47 years Susan, 69, at a funeral attended by just eight people on December 15, 2020 after she died with Covid, acquired in hospital. The tough rules in place at the time meant that mourners had to sit two metres apart during the 20 minute service on the same day as the Prime Minister attended a Christmas quiz in No10. 

Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, the retired landscape consultant, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, said he was ‘disgusted’ that Mr Johnson was clinging on to his job despite Scotland Yard imposing a fixed-penalty notice (FPN) on him for attending his 56th birthday party, thrown by his wife Carrie Johnson in the Cabinet Office on June 19, 2020.

Emma Jones, whose 18-year-old daughter Ruby Fuller died from blood cancer on May 15, 2020 – the same day that the Prime Minister, his wife and a number of officials including aide-turned-foe Dominic Cummings, Matt Hancock and his lover Gina Coladangelo, and ‘Party Marty’ Reynolds enjoyed wine and cheese at a No10 garden party – claimed Mr Johnson had shown ‘utter contempt for the hundreds of thousands of people who made sacrifices following those rules’.

Appearing on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, she raged: ‘He absolutely has to resign, I think that’s without a shadow of a doubt. He’s been shown to have broken the law he set, he was telling us on a daily basis it was important to follow and has lied about it repeatedly in Parliament, he has smirked, he has joked about it. It’s utterly infuriating’. 

And the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group called for the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak – who was also fined yesterday – to quit after ‘they took us all for mugs’.

Spokesman Lobby Akinnola, whose father Olufemi Akinnola died with Covid in Sptil 2020, said there was ‘simply no way’ the pair could continue in post, adding: ‘After everything that’s happened it’s still unbelievably painful to know the Prime Minister was partying and breaking his own lockdown rules while we were unable to be at our loved ones’ sides in their dying moments, or in miserable funerals with only a handful of people because we were following the rules.

‘The fact that the Prime Minister and his Chancellor then lied about it, and would have continued to do so if the police hadn’t intervened, is truly shameless. They broke the law. But even worse, they took us all for mugs.’

Describing how his grief turned to fury when the Partygate scandal broke out, Mr Handley told MailOnline today: ‘I was in a pretty dark place after my wife’s passing. Now that the dust has settled, I am looking for justice. It made so angry when I heard about the quiz that Boris Johnson held and realised that it was on the same day as my wife’s funeral. 

‘We had the trauma of her unexpected passing after catching Covid in hospital, but then we could not give her a decent and deserving send off. 

‘The way we were restricted and forced to have a tiny funeral with just eight people standing two metres apart was just agony. The loss of any loved one is traumatic enough without having a funeral like that – but we had no choice.

‘It was appalling to find out later that Johnson had been partying away to his heart’s content. It raises so many questions. The biggest question is about his competency to be in office. Anybody with any honour and dignity would have resigned – but I think it is fair to say that Johnson is without honour and dignity. My own personal view is that he should go, but I don’t think he will.’

‘It is also incredible that he was foolhardy enough to behave like he did after he had been seriously ill with Covid and knew what it was like. There are so many question marks hanging over this man.’ 

Retired seamstress Mrs Handley who had three children and two grandchildren had suffered for 20 years from Addison’s Disease, which made her vulnerable to infections. 

She died on November 7, 2020, just ten days after contracting Covid while being treated for an infection at the Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands.  

Mr Handley is now playing an active role in the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group and is hoping to give evidence to the Government’s inquiry into the pandemic. He is among the grieving relatives who have met Baroness Hallett, the chair of the Covid inquiry, during her recent tour of 11 cities to meet affected families across the UK. 

Mr Handley said he also wanted to see Johnson resign to help ensure that he would not be able to influence the inquiry which is due to get underway next year. 

Speaking to MailOnline, he also accused the Prime Minister of making ‘dreadful’ mistakes when the pandemic first started and being responsible for thousands of deaths. 

Mr Handley said: ‘He was breathtaking in his ignorance and arrogance, and never even bothered to attend the first four Cobra meetings about Covid. His whole approach to the pandemic was a litany of lies, deception and ignorance. This man in my mind is totally incompetent. 

‘The appalling governance by him and his Cabinet led to so many premature and avoidable deaths.’ 

Mr Handley said his wife had tested negative for Covid three times while being treated in hospital for an infection. She tested positive on October 28, 2020, just hours before she was due to go home and was told she would have to stay in for another 14 days Mr Handley has many complaints about how his wife was treated in hospital, and is claiming that he saw staff on wards without masks or PPE.  

Describing the loss of his wife, he said: ‘It has ripped the heart out of my family. She was the matriarch and the centre of everything.’ 

He added: ‘She was totally selfless, strong and resilient. She always put everybody else above herself, and never thought of her needs or wants. 

‘She was probably the most physically and mentally strongest person I have ever met. She had major operations including two hip replacements, but just bounced back.’

In an interview with Good Morning Britain, Miss Jones said her daughter Ruby had been treated for blood cancer for 10 months and was getting better. But three weeks before she died, Ruby relapsed – and by that stage she was out of options.   

Describing her anger when Partygate broke out, she aid: ‘It felt like a kick in the stomach. It felt like a betrayal that our leaders, the people setting the rules, made no attempts to follow them themselves, and it felt we deserve better. We deserve leaders who lead by example. How are we putting up with a government that shoes so much contempt for people like us, everyone they’ve asked to follow the rules?’.

Speaking to Sky News, she added: ‘She couldn’t say goodbye to her friends or grandparents, or cousins. They had to say goodbye on Zoom. That was very hard for Ruby but also for her friends and our family. And we did that because those were the rules. Now it appears those rules were for everybody except the Government. We deserve better than this.’ 

It comes as Mr Johnson faced more calls to resign over his fine from the leaders of the devolved administrations – but Tory backbenchers hit back at criticism, asking: ‘Don’t they know there’s a war on?’.

Labour has led the chorus of demands for the Commons to be recalled from its two-week Easter break and allow Mr Johnson to ‘tender his resignation’ in person to MPs.  

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Mr Johnson has lost the ‘moral authority’ needed to govern Britain over the Downing Street parties scandal, telling Times Radio: ‘The Prime Minister has been found to have broken the law while serving in office.

‘But more than that, he lied, he lied and he lied again, and he lied about the lies, both to the public and also to Parliament. He has broken the ministerial code, he has no longer got the moral authority to govern. People made huge sacrifices during the pandemic and I think quite rightly people feel incredibly let down by this Prime Minister.

‘And it is time for new leadership, because Britain deserves better.’ 

She added that neither Mr Johnson nor Mr Sunak seem to understand how ‘deeply offensive’ their lockdown breaches are.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Miss Reeves said: ‘Fresh leadership would mean that we will have a government that could concentrate on the issues that we need to focus on as a country.’

Asked if Mr Johnson’s claim that he unknowingly broke the rules was a sufficient explanation, she said: ‘No, it would not do because the Prime Minister still at this stage, even after receiving this fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police, is still unable to say what people, especially those who have made huge sacrifices in the pandemic, want him to say – is that he was wrong, he did something that was wrong, he understands that, he understood that he has lied to Parliament and lied to the country.

‘But he is still obfuscating and saying, oh he still didn’t really realise he was breaking the rules and he just happened to be in this room at the time… It’s just not good enough.

‘People have never made, collectively or personally, the sacrifices that were made during the pandemic outside of wartime and the Prime Minister and the Chancellor still don’t seem to understand how deeply offensive it is, especially to those who lost loved ones, or who were not there for the birth of their child, or for the death of a loved one.’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has renewed his calls for the Prime Minister and Chancellor to resign as the ‘trust in them that is so important in crises has gone’.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: ‘This is a Government in crisis when our country is in crisis, particularly with a cost-of-living emergency, and I think the Prime Minister and the Chancellor should resign. They broke the law. They were dishonest. And I think the trust in them that is so important in crises has gone.’

Sir Ed added: ‘Let’s remember, during this period, millions of people were making huge sacrifices. If they would have had a party, they would have been fined, they would have broken the law, and the Prime Minister would have condemned them no doubt.

‘And here was the Prime Minister and the Chancellor breaking the law, and the Met Police have found that. After a thorough investigation, they decided that a criminal offence was committed.

‘I don’t think you can have a prime minister overseeing the country, overseeing the laws, passing laws which affect millions of people and cause huge distress, particularly to bereaved families, and then getting away with it.

‘I think he has to be held to account. It is the duty of opposition parties like the Liberal Democrats to hold this Government to account both for the lawbreaking and their disastrous economic policy.’

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, a former director of public prosecutions, said the police’s decision marked the ‘first time in the history of our country that a prime minister has been found to be in breach of the law’.

Speaking in Preston yesterday, he accused Mr Johnson of ‘repeatedly’ lying about what happened behind the famous black door of No 10.

Sir Keir also argued that the Tory leader and Mr Sunak had ‘dishonoured’ the sacrifices made by Britons who did follow the rules during the pandemic, adding: ‘The British public made the most unimaginable, heart-wrenching sacrifices, and many were overcome by guilt. But the guilty men are the Prime Minister and the Chancellor. Britain deserves better, they have to go.’

Welsh First Minister Mark Drakeford insisted ‘you can’t be a law-maker and a law-breaker’, while his Scottish counterpart Nicola Sturgeon said the ‘basic values of integrity and decency… demand that he go.’

The Met revealed on Tuesday that at least 30 more fines were issued over the Partygate saga, with a spokesman for Number 10 confirming Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak will be among the recipients. 

But even the Prime Minister’s toughest critics said ousting him when Europe faced its gravest crisis since the Second World War would be a mistake.

And the police probe was branded a farce amid claims the lunchtime birthday party lasted less than ten minutes and the Prime Minister had only salad. It was also said that the cake was left uneaten in a Tupperware container.

In a TV interview from Chequers, Mr Johnson offered a ‘full apology’ after becoming the first serving prime minister to be punished for breaking the law. But he insisted it ‘didn’t occur’ to him that the gathering was a violation of coronavirus rules. 

Though ministers and backbenchers rallied around Mr Johnson, he faces the threat of further fines for attending other lockdown get-togethers.

Scotland Yard informed Mr Johnson he would receive a fixed penalty notice for attending the gathering on his birthday, as the total fines issued during the Partygate investigation climbed to 50.

Setting out his explanation for what happened, the PM said: ‘There was a brief gathering in the Cabinet Room shortly after 2pm lasting for less than ten minutes, during which people I work with kindly passed on their good wishes.

‘And I have to say in all frankness at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules. I now humbly accept that I was. But I think the best thing I can do now, having settled the fine, is focus on the job in hand.’

Mr Sunak said: ‘I offer an unreserved apology. I understand that for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence. I respect the decision that has been made and have paid the fine.

‘I know people sacrificed a great deal during Covid, and they will find this situation upsetting. I deeply regret the frustration and anger caused and I am sorry. Like the Prime Minister, I am focused on delivering for the British people at this challenging time.’

A spokesperson for Carrie Johnson said: ‘Whilst she believed that she was acting in accordance with the rules at the time, Mrs Johnson accepts the Metropolitan Police’s findings and apologises unreservedly.’

One source told the Daily Mail the cake ‘wasn’t cut or eaten’ and that the PM stood up ‘for the whole nine minutes’ that he was in the room. Mrs Johnson, who also received a fine yesterday, is thought to have popped in for ‘less than five minutes’.

Mr Sunak went to the Cabinet Room for a Covid strategy meeting and happened upon the celebration by chance.

Labour last night led the chorus of demands from opposition parties for the Commons to be recalled from its Easter break to allow Mr Johnson to ‘tender his resignation’ in person to MPs.

Welsh First Minister Mr Drakeford tweeted: ‘You can’t be a law-maker and a law-breaker. The Prime Minister has denied time and again that he did anything wrong. He has clearly broken the laws he made and asked people to follow. People are angry and upset. I don’t see how someone in this position can carry on.’

Miss Sturgeon also echoed that message, saying: ‘Boris Johnson must resign. He broke the law and repeatedly lied to parliament about it. The basic values of integrity and decency – essential to the proper working of any parliamentary democracy – demand that he go.

‘And he should take his out of touch Chancellor with him.’

But even his most vocal critics on the Tory benches conceded it would be wrong to oust him now.

Sir Roger Gale, the first Conservative MP to publicly declare he had sent a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, said he should stay to lead the country through the war in Ukraine.

The veteran backbencher said: ‘We are in the middle of an international crisis and I am not prepared to give Vladimir Putin the comfort of thinking that we are about to unseat the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and destabilise the coalition against Putin.

‘So any reaction to this is going to have to wait until we have dealt with the main crisis which is Ukraine.’

Fellow Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen, who had previously called for Mr Johnson to resign, said: ‘This is not the time to remove the PM given the international situation, but this is not the end of this matter.’

The latest fines came in a further tranche of FPNs announced by Scotland Yard in relation to Operation Hillman, which is probing possible Covid breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall.

More than 50 fines have been referred to the Acro Criminal Records Office since the inquiry started.  

The progression of the police investigation will again raise the spectre of the Sue Gray report, a dossier on the gatherings compiled by the Whitehall ethics tsar which was stymied by the launch of the probe by the Met.

The Daily Telegraph reported Miss Gray’s full report could be released as early as next week, when MPs return to the Commons after recess.

Did YOU lose loved ones while the PM broke lockdown? Email [email protected]. 

Will Boris now have to resign? Will he be forced out? Can he appeal? Will he get a criminal record? All your questions answered after the PM is fined over Partygate  

Will Boris Johnson now have to resign over Partygate?

This is the question that is hanging over Number 10 after it was revealed both the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak are to be fined over the Partygate scandal.

Until now, Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to say whether he would quit if he was fined by police for breaking Covid laws.

He has promised to say ‘something meaningful’ once the Metropolitan Police investigation into Downing Street parties is over.

By convention, government ministers found to have misled parliament are expected to resign.

Opposition parties have claimed that Mr Johnson is already guilty of misleading the House after he previously told MPs that Covid guidance ‘was followed and the rules were followed at all times’ in Downing Street.

Yet it seems unlikely, for a man who long-dreamed of being in No10 before he fulfilled that ambition in 2019, that he would offer to go voluntarily. 

Could the PM be forced out?

If he does not choose to resign himself, Mr Johnson’s fate could still be decided by Tory MPs.

Under Conservative rules, if at least 15% of Tory MPs submit a no-confidence letter then the party leader – in this case Mr Johnson – has to face a confidence vote over their leadership.

The figure currently equates to 54 Conservative MPs having to write to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Party’s powerful 1922 Committee.

It has been said that, when Mr Johnson first faced calls to resign among Tory MPs over Partygate at the beginning of this year, the number of letters received by Sir Graham reached the low-30s.

However, the actual number of letters is a closely-guarded secret and is only known by Sir Graham himself. He will only publicly comment once the 15% threshold is reached. 

If Mr Johnson lost a vote of confidence, which would be secret ballot, there would be a leadership contest and the PM would be barred from standing.

However, if he won, Mr Johnson would be immune from another no-confidence vote for a year.

Gavin Barwell, a former MP who was Theresa May’s chief of staff when she survived a confidence vote in 2018, predicted Mr Johnson would not decide to resign himself.

‘Whether he stays is in the hands of Conservative MPs,’ Mr Barwell said.

‘What they decide will define their and the party’s reputation for the forseeable future.’

What about Rishi Sunak?

It has been suggested that Mr Johnson could also be forced to resign if Mr Sunak himself decides to quit after being fined.

The theory goes that should the Chancellor resign – and Mr Sunak has faced a tumultous few days during a row over his family’s finances and tax arrangements – it would place huge pressure on Mr Johnson to do the same.

But one Tory MP told MailOnline that even Mr Sunak resigning might not be enough to force the PM out.

‘I think that’s a bit priced in at the moment, so not as spectacular as it may have been,’ they said.

What exactly has the PM been fined for? 

 No10 revealed that Mr Johnson had been issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) due to a gathering in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street on 19 June 2020 – which was the PM’s 56th birthday.

It has been claimed that up to 30 people attended a celebratory gathering that afternoon with picnic food from Marks & Spencer and a cake. 

Can the PM and Chancellor appeal?

Yes, both Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak can appeal their Covid fines.

The Met Police have said that individuals are allowed to dispute a FPN.

According to ACRO, the police body that processes FPNs, those who do not want to pay a fine, cannot pay, or disagree with any of the information within their FPN, can contest it and request a court hearing.

The relevant police force will then review an individual’s case and decide whether to withdraw the fine or proceed the matter to court.  

In the case of Partygate, the Met Police has said that Scotland Yard officers may decide to pursue matters in a magistrates’ court if individuals choose to appeal.

Alternatively, once a fine is paid, police said the matter would be ‘considered closed’.

It seems unlikely that either Mr Johnson or Mr Sunak would want to risk having to appear in court by deciding to appeal their fines.

How much are the PM and Chancellor being fined?

An exact sum is yet to be revealed, while the size of a fine also depends on how many Covid rule breaches Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak are found to have committed. 

Scotland Yard have said their Partygate investigation is still not complete, which leaves open the possibility of further fines being issued to senior figures.

In England, people aged over 18 can be fined £100 for a first offence of breaching Covid rules, which is lowered to £50 if paid within 14 days.

A £200 fine is issued for a second offence, which doubles for each further offence up to a maximum of £6,400 per offence.

Some have suggested that Mr Johnson potentially faces fines of up to £12,300 if reports of his attendance at rule-breaking gatherings are all found to be true.

When will the PM pay his fine?

Those who recieve a fine for breaching Covid rules have to pay their FPN in full within 28 days, unless otherwise stated, from the date of their letter informing them they have been penalised.

Payment can be made online or via cheque.

Some fines are subject to a 14-day ‘grace period’, which provides an opportunity for those penalised to pay a reduced amount.

However, this grace period – which only applies to some FPNs – cannot be extended if payment is not made before the deadline.

When was the last time a sitting PM was penalised for having broken the law?

Never. Mr Johnson has created history with his Covid fine.  

Will the PM and Chancellor now have a criminal record?

Not necessarily.

According to ACRO, fines issued for Covid offences are non-recordable.

This means, whether an FPN is paid or contested, it will not be recorded on the Police National Computer, although local records may be held by the relevant force.  

What parties were there?

Twelve alleged lockdown-busting parties held between 2020 and 2021 are being investigated by Scotland Yard.

They include a gathering held in the Downing Street garden, an event on Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday, parties in the PM’s Downing Street flat, a Number 10 Christmas party, and boozy leaving dos on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. 

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