No 10 may not announce if Boris Johnson fined by police over Partygate investigation

Criminal sanctions against prime minister and his staff could remain secret

Downing Street has refused to commit to a public announcement of any fixed penalty notice issued by police to Boris Johnson or No 10 staff as a result of the Partygate investigation.

And The Independent understand that the Metropolitan Police are not planning to name anyone fined in relation to the probe, raising the prospect that sanctions taken against the prime minister and his staff could remain secret.

Mr Johnson and others working and living in Downing Street could face fines of £100 or more if they are found guilty of breaching Covid lockdown regulations at one of 12 gatherings under investigation by the Metropolitan Police. In the most serious cases, for organisers of large parties, the fines could reach £10,000

But the prime minister’s spokesperson today said it was a matter for police to decide whether they want to publicise the outcome of the investigation.

The Metropolitan Police is not currently planning to name anyone fined as a result of the investigation, unless they contest the penalty and are prosecuted in open court.

The Independent understands it is planning to make public what fines have been given over which of the 12 gatherings under investigation, but without identifying recipients.

The development came as internal Tory critics of the prime minister mulled their response to Monday’s release of an abridged report into the Partygate affair by senior civil servant Sue Gray.

One backbench MP today suggested that those wishing to oust the PM may wait to send letters of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee in order to ensure that any vote on Johnson’s future takes place at a time when it is most likely to succeed.

Committee chair Sir Graham Brady must call a vote if he receives letters from 54 MPs - 15 per cent of the total. But if Mr Johnson survives the vote by winning the support of 180 or more of his MPs, he cannot be challenged again for another year.

Mid-Derbyshire MP Pauline Latham told BBC Derby: “People write to me and say, ‘Put in letters to Sir Graham Brady’. There’s no point in doing that at this time.

“[Sir Graham] needs 54 letters. If he gets them, there will then be a vote of no confidence in the prime minister. At this point of time he would win that vote of confidence, which automatically gives him a year.

“What we need to do is wait and see. And when it’s the right time, when things change, if they need to change, then we can go for it. But it’s no good going now - you just get an extra year.”

Ms Latham said that Mr Johnson’s promise to shake up Downing Street and create an Office of the Prime Minister was enough to satisfy her “at the current time”.

There has been a complete mess at No 10,” she said. “He’s promised to change that.

“He did appear contrite, saying he needs to get this right. I think he realises it’s the end of the road if he doesn’t.”

Downing Street refused on Monday to commit to the publication of Ms Gray’s full report on the Partygate affair once the police investigation is concluded, only to U-turn swiftly after a furious response from Tory backbenchers.

But asked whether No 10 was committed to making public the details of any fines imposed by police, Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson told a Westminster media briefing: “It is a matter for the police what they way in that regard.”

In the first instance, any breaches of Covid laws will be punished using written “fixed penalty notices”, which can range between £100 and £10,000 depending on the date and size of the gathering, and the person’s role.

Where a fine is disputed, police can decide to pursue a prosecution in a magistrates’ court, where the person’s name and details would be made public.

But if a fine is paid, no further action is taken.

The Independent understands that Scotland Yard is not planning to name anyone fined over “partygate” because it is not its normal practice for fines and other punishments not involving court cases.