PM Boris Johnson to be fined for lockdown violations

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will receive a penalty fine from the Metropolitan Police for attending parties in violation of COVID-19 lockdowns in June 2020. Johnson’s wife and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will also receive fines. 

“The prime minister and chancellor have today received notification that the Metropolitan police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices,” said a Downing Street spokesman Tuesday. 

So far, the Metropolitan Police have issued over 50 fines to members of the elite who violated the “stay-at-home” orders, after the Met investigated at least 12 parties held during lockdowns. The amounts of the fines have not been disclosed. 

England’s lockdown rules were severe. In May 2020, citizens were granted a “reprieve” when the government notified them that they were allowed to meet someone outside of their household as long as 1) they were two meters apart 2) they were outdoors, and 3) they met with only one person at a time. 

In January 2021, the UK launched an ad campaign called “Stay home, protect the NHS, save lives” in which citizens were ordered to stay home to protect the government and relieve “pressures facing the NHS (National Health Service)”. 

The first party that was held was for Johnson’s birthday, in June 2020. Many more parties followed in the coming months. 

Among the officials fined was former Director of Ethics in the Cabinet Office, Helen MacNamara, who was also found partying while UK citizens were forced to isolate themselves from each other and remained confined to their homes. 

It is unclear whether the fines are part of a public relations strategy meant to calm calls for Johnson’s resignation. 

In contrast with the UK, many US officials who violated lockdowns – in many cases, the lockdowns they had themselves ordered – received no fines or any other reprimand. 

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the United States, was not only found to violate her own lockdown while partying in a bar, but so was her husband. Dr. Marc Mallory had called a local marina owner in May 2020 while Michiganians were forbidden from going to the beach and asked if his boat could be put in the water for Memorial Day. When the marina owner refused, citing the lockdown, Mallory asked if being married to the governor would make a difference. 

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who also was particularly heavy-handed with her lockdown policies, nevertheless attended a party celebrating Joe Biden’s “election win”. When asked why she was socializing and partying while Chicagoans were forced to sit at home, Lightfoot defended herself. 

“There are times when we actually do need to have relief and come together, and I felt like that was one of those times,” Lightfoot told MSNBC. 

At least 15 other politicians violated lockdowns more than once. 

To date, there have been no fines meted out as there were to citizens.