LONDON (AP) — Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Tuesday he paid a fine from police for attending a lockdown-breaching birthday party in his official residence, making him the first British leader to be sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.
The fines for Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak brought a simmering crisis for the prime minister back to full boil, with opposition politicians immediately calling for his resignation.
Johnson and his Conservative government have faced growing outrage since allegations surfaced late last year that he and his staff flouted Britain’s pandemic restrictions and held office parties in 2020 and 2021 when millions in the country were barred from meeting with friends and family — or even attending funerals for their loved ones.
“I have paid the fine and want to offer a full apology,” Johnson said. “I understand the anger many will feel that I myself fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public. I accept in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better.”
Downing Street said Johnson was being sanctioned for attending a “gathering of two or more people indoors in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street” on June 19, 2020. The event was a surprise birthday party for the prime minister.
Johnson said the gathering lasted “less than 10 minutes,” and “at that time, it did not occur to me this might have been a breach of the rules.”
London’s Metropolitan Police force said it had issued at least 50 fines after investigating a dozen events held in 10 Downing St. and and other government buildings. They reportedly included “bring your own booze” office parties and “wine time Fridays” organized by Johnson’s staff.
The force did not identify the recipients or the size of the fines. But Johnson’s office confirmed shortly after that the prime minister and Sunak each received notice Tuesday that they would be…
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