Fury as No 10 may NOT announce if PM fined by police over partygate

It could be kept a secret if Boris Johnson is issued with fines for breaking coronavirus rules, a spokesperson has suggested.

Police are investigating 12 alleged gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall during lockdown, including three that the prime minister is known to have attended and one in his flat.

This could result in fixed penalty notices for anyone found to have flouted the rules.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘It will be the Met that sets out what they see fit at the conclusion of their work and I would not seek to set out what that may or may not be.’

Hague

It comes as former Conservative Party leader William Hague has said the Prime Minister “should be very worried” and criticised his apology to the House of Commons.

He said Boris Johnson had the opportunity to propose real change in response to Sue Gray’s report and squandered it.

Writing in The Times, Mr Hague said the PM had plenty of time to craft a comprehensive and substantial response which gave his critics “pause for thought” but instead “decided to do the minimum”.

“The Prime Minister could have got on the front foot, advancing his position on a broader front of ensuring integrity in government,” he said.

“Yet for some reason, this very intuitive politician decided to do the minimum in responding to the report rather than go further in his apology and his proposals.

“Instead of reinforcing the momentum in his favour, he quite possibly stalled it.

“If I were him, I would be very worried about the number of his own MPs who asked unhelpful questions at the end of his statement.”

Reactions

This news was met with outrage you might expect.

1.

It is reported that Boris Johnson if fined by the police it will not be displayed for the public to know!! Why not he is not God and his name & fine should be should printed in a paper he should be named & shamed like anyone else

— Maura Tellum (@MauraTellum) February 1, 2022

2.

Who will pay the fine, I wonder?

— Trevor Greetham (@TrevorGreetham) February 1, 2022

3.

The utter contempt, disdain for us is savage.
Poll tax riots levels are only thing that will cut through.

— Sir SoulSubbo💙 (@SoulUndergrnd) February 1, 2022

4.

I think its a matter of public interest to be honest.
And likewise whether he actually pays it himself or talks a donor into footing it for him.

— Gaynor (@gaynordrake) February 1, 2022

5.

We are paying the Prime Minister to manage the country. We have the right to know the full details of his repeated law breaking. He must be fully exposed and removed from his position.

— Countess Almond Tree💙😷 🇺🇦 (@_almond_tree) February 1, 2022

6.

Strange. They routinely release it when it's a celebrity. What could be going on there?

— Matt Merritt (@polyolbion) February 1, 2022

7.

What happened to "Justice should not only be done but should be seen to be done"?

— Allan Weaire (@Weaire) February 1, 2022

8.

No one is surprised by this. I’m certainly not. https://t.co/M9Rz7uPLv4

— Eva 🦮 (@itsevangeliaa) February 1, 2022

Related: Watch: Woman’s reaction to Sue Gray report findings speaks for us all