- Met Police have ordered more than 100 fines for COVID breaches in so-called partygate, the force said.
- The referrals have been made over the last month, but were not announced in the local election campaign period.
- The number is likely to increase as police say the investigation is still live.
Police investigating so-called partygate have issued another round of fines for individuals who breached COVID rules in Whitehall and Downing Street.
The number of referrals for fixed penalty notices now stands at more than 100, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement Thursday morning.
"These referrals have continued to be made throughout the period since our last update on Tuesday 12 April and the investigation remains live," the statement added.
Police refused to comment during the run-up to the local elections last Thursday, despite reports that officials had started to receive fines for the infamous BYOB party, organised by Boris Johnson's then-Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds.
Johnson has admitted attending the event, telling MPs he "believed implicitly that this was a work event".
The Prime Minister has so far confirmed that he received just one fine, alongside Chancellor Rishi Sunak, for his brief attendance at a birthday party thrown in his honour during one of England's lockdowns, which included a ban on indoor socializing.
However there are more serious breaches — including an ABBA party alleged to have been thrown in the Downing Street flat. Johnson has admitted to attending the party, but told Tory MPs it was a work event.
There are others, such as the infamous 'suitcase of wine' leaving party, which were held in government buildings but the prime minister did not attend.
Despite his protestations, several backbenchers — including former ministers and ardent Brexiteers — have called on the prime minister to quit.
Thus far Johnson has rebuffed such calls, even as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer vowed to step down if he is fined after Durham police investigate so-called "beergate."
