Boris Johnson became the first ever Prime Minister to officially be found to have broken the law after he was handed a fine by the Metropolitan police this week for going against his own lockdown rules and attending an unlawful gathering at Downing Street.
The police have been investigating 12 separate events that took place at Number 10 and Whitehall and have so far issued more than 50 fines to government officials. Among them are Boris and Carrie Johnson, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, and the government’s former ethics chief Helen McNamara.
How much did Boris Johnson have to pay in lockdown fines?
Each person issued with a fixed penalty notice (FPN) for the gatherings has been ordered to pay £50 in fines. A lot of people have been baffled by this as FPNs typically start at £100 and, in August 2020, £10,000 fines were being issued to anyone hosting an ‘unlawful gathering of more than 30 people.’ Just attending a house party could set you back £800 and some women were charged £200 for attending the Sarah Everard vigil last March.
‘Why is the prime minister’s fine only £50 when normal people were fined 10k?’ questioned one Twitter user. ‘Rita Ora paid £10,000 for her 30th birthday party,’ pointed out another. ‘If people think Johnson is going to resign because he got a £50 fine, I respectfully disagree,’ added a third. ‘The man has spent his whole life taking no responsibility for his actions. Why would he start now?’
How much did Carrie Johnson have to pay in lockdown fines?
Carrie, who was known to have brought a cake to Downing Street for her husband’s birthday party in June 2020, was also charged £50. While many people on Twitter have attempted to herald her the ‘organiser’ of the party (and therefore deserving of a £10k fine) it’s also worth noting that the parties weren’t just a consequence of Carrie’s actions—Boris arguably created a culture of disobedience and sense of superiority that allowed the events to take place.
‘What I want to know is who does Carrie Johnson think SHE is,’ demanded another Twitter user who described Boris as ‘bad enough’ but appeared to hold Carrie to a higher standard. ‘Clearly no compassion just self-importance,’ they accused without taking into consideration that, actually, Boris’ position doesn’t exclude his wrongdoing but amplifies it.
‘Mrs Johnson has paid a FPN relating to a gathering on the afternoon of 19 June 2020,’ Carrie's spokesperson said of her fine. ‘Whilst she believed that she was acting in accordance with the rules at the time, Mrs Johnson accepts the Met Police’s findings and apologises unreservedly.’
Why is Boris Johnson’s fine only £50?
As more and more members of the public take to Twitter to tell stories of how they were fined £100 or higher while breaking lockdown rules, there’s palpable rage that the Prime Minister has only been issued with a £50 FPN.
As the Metropolitan Police are the ones handing out fines, it appears the amount is decided by them. It's unclear whether the fines will be higher for event organisers (should they find them) or repeat offenders (should it become apparent the same officials were at multiple parties).
‘In all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules,’ Boris said of his punishment. ‘But, of course, the police have found otherwise, and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation.'
Although the police have concluded that Boris broke the law, he will not be considered a criminal as he and Carrie have both paid what they owe.
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