British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his finance minister Rishi Sunak were fined by police over lockdown-breaking parties held on UK government premises, a Downing Street spokesperson told CNN.
London's Metropolitan Police said earlier Tuesday they had issued more than 50 fines as part of their "Operation Hillman" investigation into gatherings held on government premises in Downing Street and Whitehall while the rest of the country was living under strict pandemic restrictions. Revelations of the parties sparked national outrage.
The police fines are confirmation that Johnson and Sunak broke Covid-19 laws created by their own government. The penalty makes Johnson the first sitting UK Prime Minister to be found guilty of breaking the law.
On Tuesday evening, Johnson apologized for breaching the lockdown rules, and said that he had paid the fine issued by the Metropolitan Police.
"Today I've received a fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police relating to an event in Downing Street on the 19th of June 2020. Let me say immediately that I paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology," Johnson said on Sky News. He did not specify the amount he was fined.
