UK’s Boris Johnson Offers Apology After Lockdown Parties Fine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will receive a police fine for breaching his own Covid-19 lockdown rules, Johnson’s office said Tuesday.

The news marks the latest dramatic twist in the “partygate” scandal that has gripped the U.K. and led to demands for Johnson to resign.

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement earlier Tuesday that its probe into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties held by politicians and staff at the center of British government had now led to more than 50 fines, called fix penalty notices.

A spokesperson for No. 10 Downing Street, which acts as the prime minister’s personal office and his official residence, said Johnson and finance minister Rishi Sunak would both be issued with fines.

“The Prime Minister (Boris Johnson) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (Rishi Sunak) have today received notification that the Metropolitan Police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices. We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do,” the statement said.

A spokesperson for Carrie Johnson, the prime minister’s wife and a former senior staffer for the Conservative Party, told BBC News she will also be issued with a fine.

The reports of unauthorized lockdown parties dominated headlines in the British press for weeks, but had faded from public view after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The story is now firmly back in the spotlight ahead of local and regional elections taking place across the country next month.

Sir Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, immediately called for Johnson to resign — a call the prime minister is likely to face from some of his own lawmakers in the hours and weeks ahead.