Nottinghamshire MPs have again condemned the actions of Prime Minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and chancellor Rishi Sunak, who are to be fined as part of the ongoing investigations into several parties at Downing Street when coronavirus restrictions were in force. The Met Police investigating allegations of lockdown parties held in Downing Street and Whitehall have now made more than 50 referrals for fines.
At least 30 more fixed penalty notices will be issued by the ACRO Criminal Records Office, the Metropolitan Police said in its latest update on Operation Hillman, which is looking into breaches of Covid-19 regulations by those working in Government. This is up from the 20 referrals for fixed-penalty notices (FPN) the force said had been made at the end of March.
The Prime Minister is to be fined just days after returning from his visit to Ukraine, where he went while chancellor Mr Sunak was enveloped in controversy surrounding his and his wife’s financial affairs. Mr Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, was revealed to have non-dom status, while he himself had been in possession of a US residency green card while chancellor.
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Many had called for his resignation and the fines announced today (April 12) will no doubt only increase this pressure on both the chancellor and the Prime Minister. Nadia Whittome, Labour MP for Nottingham East, said: “The Prime Minister and the chancellor broke the rules they set and expected everyone else to follow.
“They partied while people died. Boris Johnson, Rishi Sunak, resign now.”
And Alex Norris, Labour MP for Nottingham North, told Nottinghamshire Live: “For months the Prime Minister and Chancellor have said their weren’t parties at Downing Street.
“This is now proven to be a lie and they themselves took part. All whilst people in Nottingham missed funerals, weddings and special occasions. These so-called leaders must resign.”
Follow the blog below for the latest reaction from both Conservative and Labour MPs across the county as it comes in.