London police slap fine on PM Johnson, others on "Partygate"

London: Setting a setback for British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government, the London police issued more than fifty additional fines over the "Partygate" scandal, Agence France-Presse reported.

On Thursday, the Metropolitan Police informed that its probe into the lockdown parties issued more than 100 referrals for fixed penalty notices.

The police had said on its April 12 update that it had issued more than 50 fines to those including PM Johnson, his wife Carrie and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak. The British government said that they were fined for a gathering during the lockdown to celebrate PM's birthday at his office in Downing Street in June 2020. On the matter, PM Johnson had apologized for violating the Covid-19 regulations and became the first United Kingdom leader to be found guilty of violating the law while in office. However, he had not quit office, refusing demands to resign.

The Metropolitan Police said in its statement that PM Johnson has not been slapped with further fines but added that their investigation into the alleged breach of protocol is still going on.

Meanwhile, PM Johnson is facing a parliamentary committee's probe on his earlier denials before the House of Commons that he has breached lockdown laws. The opposition has fueled the issue to a height so that the ruling Conservatives performed lacklustre in the recent local elections.

The main opposition, Labour Party's leader Keir Starmer has, said on Monday stated that if the police in northeast England fine him for any lockdown lawbreaking by him, he will make a stepdown. In a video that surfaced, Starmer was shown drinking beer and eating a packed meal inside an office with party colleagues. This was reportedly taken place in Durham in April last year.