UK POLICE ISSUE MORE THAN 100 FINES IN PROBE OF ‘PARTYGATE’
LONDON/NEW YORK: The number of fines issued over breaches of coronavirus regulations at British government offices, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s official residence, has expanded to more than 100, London’s Metropolitan Police force said on Thursday.
Johnson admitted last month that he was among dozens of people who paid a police fine for attending lockdown-breaching parties and gatherings, making him the first British leader to be sanctioned for breaking the law while in office.
Revelations that Johnson and other senior officials gathered illegally in government buildings in 2020 and 2021 - when millions in the country were told to restrict their lives to slow the spread of Covid-19 - has angered voters and triggered calls for Johnson to resign.
Johnson apologised for attending his own surprise birthday party at 10 Downing St in June 2020, but insisted that it “did not occur” to him that the gathering was a party.
Johnson’s wife, Carrie, and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak also said they were fined for attending the same event.
The police force’s update doubled the number of fixed-penalty notices issued so far over the scandal that has been dubbed “partygate”. Last month, the force said it had given about 50 such fines as a result of its investigation. Police do not identify the recipients of the fines.
US marks 1mn deaths
The United States has crossed the threshold of one million deaths from Covid-19, the White House said on Thursday, as cities like New York try to turn the page on the pandemic despite threats of another surge.
“Today, we mark a tragic milestone: one million American lives lost to Covid-19,” President Joe Biden said in a statement.
He called on residents to “remain vigilant against this pandemic” and said it was “critical” for Congress to fund resources like testing, vaccines and treatments. For many, the toll of more than one million deaths was difficult to comprehend.
“It’s unfathomable,” Diana Berrent, one of the first people in New York state to catch Covid-19, said of the toll that far exceeds epidemiologists’ worst predictions made at the outbreak of the crisis in spring 2020.