Updated: Boris resigns as party leader

[1andrew1]

At least 50 more fines have been issued as a result of the police investigation into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall during coronavirus restrictions.

But Number 10 has confirmed Prime Minister Boris Johnson is not one of those who have received a fixed penalty notice (FPN).

In the latest update on its investigation, the Metropolitan Police said as of Thursday it has made more than 100 referrals for FPNs to the ACRO Criminal Records Office for breaches of COVID-19 regulations.

https://news.sky.com/story/partygate...aches-12590633

NEW: Starmer police gave woman retrospective £10,000 fine

Durham police carried out a retrospective investigation into a coronavirus breach and issued a fine within weeks of Sir Keir Starmer being filmed drinking a beer, it has emerged.

The force has refused to say whether it will fine the Labour leader even if it finds him guilty of breaking lockdown rules for drinking and eating a takeaway meal in an MP’s office last April.

Some of Starmer’s supporters have assumed that detectives would not issue a fixed-penalty notice because they decided not to take retrospective action against Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former adviser.


However, the force’s approach appeared to harden later in the pandemic and it issued a £10,000 fine to a woman who organised a balloon release in memory of her father-in-law, who died of Covid.

Vicki Hutchinson held the gathering on November 11, 2020, in a field opposite a church in Horden, Co Durham, where Ian Stephenson’s funeral was due to take place a few days later. Her £10,000 fine was reduced to £500, based on her ability to pay, when she attended Peterlee magistrates’ court on April 23 last year, a week before the Starmer incident.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...fine-9zgmfkmqw

[papa smurf]

Originally Posted by Mick

NEW: Starmer police gave woman retrospective £10,000 fine



https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/s...fine-9zgmfkmqw

If sir beer is found to have broken the law and is not given an fpn then the shyt will hit the fan.

[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

If sir beer is found to have broken the law and is not given an fpn then the shyt will hit the fan.

Whenever I travel in Europe, I ask what the local language has for the "shit hits the fan". I forget the individual answers but they all involve the word "ventilator"; rather spoils it, don't you think?

From Google translate - selection:

French: la merde frappe le ventilateur

German: die Scheiße trifft den Ventilator

Polish: gówno uderza w wentylator

Irish: buaileann an cac an lucht leanúna

[GrimUpNorth]

Originally Posted by papa smurf

If sir beer is found to have broken the law and is not given an fpn then the shyt will hit the fan.

Agreed. If anyone breaks the law and gets caught then they should suffer the appropriate penalty. I still think he should have offered to step aside while being investigated.

I think that Times article could add pressure on Durham Police to find Keir Starmer guilty & fine him, because if a woman who had organised a balloon release event for her father who had passed way, which in the eyes of the people, would see as a more valid excuse & yet it can be fined the most colossal penalty, then they should & they can fine a group of people holding a beer and curry night at Miners Hall, in Durham.

[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Mick

I think that Times article could add pressure on Durham Police to find Keir Starmer guilty & fine him, because if a woman who had organised a balloon release event for her father who had passed way, which in the eyes of the people, would see as a more valid excuse & yet it can be fined the most colossal penalty, then they should & they can fine a group of people holding a beer and curry night at Miners Hall, in Durham.

Agreed.

What the Police have to prove is that what may have started as a work event, then turned in to an illegal social gathering, the fact beer is involved could tip the balance of probabilities that Police will fine Starmer.

It's going to depend on how much work 'blended' into the meal I guess. I think if the police find large quantities of beer/alcohol were ordered - which would be pretty easy - then Starmer is fined. Labour apparently has WhatsApp messages, document edits/emails and video edit times showing that work continued past the party but were those from the building?

As Mick said the beer is critical I think. One beer with a meal they will probably get away with (The Met police didn't investigate the wine/cheese thing in No 10 for example) but if they got hammered it's clearly not work. And the problem for Labour you can't hide that. There would have been a paper trail of the orders. We already know exactly how much curry was ordered so the police likely know exactly how much beer/wine/whatever was ordered.

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Damien

It's going to depend on how much work 'blended' into the meal I guess. I think if the police find large quantities of beer/alcohol were ordered - which would be pretty easy - then Starmer is fined. Labour apparently has WhatsApp messages, document edits/emails and video edit times showing that work continued past the party but were those from the building?

As Mick said the beer is critical I think. One beer with a meal they will probably get away with (The Met police didn't investigate the wine/cheese thing in No 10 for example) but if they got hammered it's clearly not work. And the problem for Labour you can't hide that. There would have been a paper trail of the orders. We already know exactly how much curry was ordered so the police likely know exactly how much beer/wine/whatever was ordered.

Does it matter if work carried on back at the hotel instead of at the Miners Hall? I think it would be impossible to prove that they weren't discussing work matters over a beer and curry and this seems to have been the approach adopted by the Met towards the No 10 cheese and wine party.

What's a reasonable amount of alcohol to be able to continue work? I would probably cap it at two beers but if it turned out to be three beers each would the police start to get that judgmental? It's a hard call!

[Hom3r]

Many times did I work late, and the company bought in food, but most importantly no booze was supplied, only soft or tea/coffee.

[1andrew1]

This is keeping twitter busy today.

Perhaps you thought the Conservative party took partygate seriously. Last night a champagne bottle signed by Boris Johnson was donated to a charity event in Hertfordshire by local MP and Tory party chairman OliverDowden. Read the description.

https://twitter.com/jayrayner1/statu...17632029679618

[Pierre]

It's a bottle of champagne signed by Boris Johnson. Donated to the auction by an MP, with a sarcastic description of the PMs recent behavior.

I don't see the problem, it is a criticism put across in a humorous way.

[Sephiroth]

... or is it a hoax label?

[1andrew1]

Originally Posted by Sephiroth

... or is it a hoax label?

I did some due diligence before posting. It's from a blue tick verified account with over 14k re-tweets.

I think the reactions are Marmite. Some adopt Pierre's view, others view it as an insult.