British PM and finance minister to be fined over lockdown parties

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak are to receive fines for breaching strict coronavirus lockdown rules, the government said on Tuesday, prompting calls for them both to resign.

Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson's Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after an inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties. The British leader said he had attended a few of the events, but has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.

"The prime minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer have today received notification that the Metropolitan Police intend to issue them with fixed penalty notices," a government spokesperson said. "We have no further details, but we will update you again when we do."

A spokesperson for Johnson's wife Carrie said she would also be fined. Some of the gatherings took place when people could not attend funerals or say farewell to loved ones dying in hospital because they were following rules set by Johnson's government.

After the events were first reported in late 2021, Johnson said there were no parties and that all rules were followed. He later apologised to parliament for attending one event, which he said he thought was work-related and also said sorry to Queen Elizabeth for another at which staff partied on the eve of her husband's funeral.

'MUST RESIGN' Opponents said he and Sunak had misled parliament and must quit.

"Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public. They must both resign," said Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour Party. The Liberal Democrats called for parliament to be recalled immediately from its Easter holiday and for there to be a vote of no-confidence in Johnson.

However, the prime minister's immediate future will be determined by lawmakers in his own Conservative Party, who can trigger a leadership challenge if 54 of the 360 who sit in parliament demand a confidence vote. Earlier this year a number of Conservatives called for him to quit as public trust plummeted over the "partygate" affair and support for the government shrank. But the initial outcry was dampened by the Ukraine war in which Johnson had sought to play a major role in rallying Western nations against Russia.

The news caps a terrible week for Sunak, who had also told parliament he had not attended any parties. He has been under fire over his personal finances, his wife's tax arrangements and the disclosure he only gave up a U.S. "green card" - an immigration status intended for permanent U.S. residents - after he became finance minister in 2020.

On Sunday, he asked Johnson to refer his ministerial declarations to Christopher Geidt, the independent adviser on ministers' interests, to determine whether he had stuck to the rules on financial declarations. That came after his wife Akshata Murty, owns about 0.9% of Indian IT giant Infosys, confirmed that she had non-domiciled tax status, meaning she did not pay tax on earnings from outside Britain. She said she would pay British tax on foreign income on Friday after days of criticism.

The announcement from Johnson's office came hours after the police said they had made more than 50 referrals for fixed penalty notices, or fines, to those who had attended the illegal gatherings at Downing Street or other government offices. "We are making every effort to progress this investigation at speed, this includes continuing to assess significant amounts of investigative material from which further referrals may be made," police said in a statement.