UK’s Johnson faces no further fines over ‘partygate’ scandal

By SYLVIA HUI
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Metropolitan Police has told Prime Minister Boris Johnson he faced no further action over officials’ lockdown-breaching gatherings at his official residence and other government sites, after the force said it concluded its investigations into the offenses. Police said they issued a total of 126 fixed-penalty notices to 83 people for gatherings that took place on eight dates between May 2020 — at the height of the first wave of the U.K.’s pandemic — and April 2021. Some people received multiple fines. The scandal, dubbed “partygate” by the media, has dealt a heavy blow to Johnson’s leadership. The conclusion of the police investigation means that results from a highly-anticipated probe by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, can now be published.