Partygate: The Metropolitan Police Service Is Expected To Issue The First Fines, According To Sources

As part of a police investigation against government parties, the first fines for violations of Covid-19 lockdown guidelines will be handed soon.

According to Westminster insiders, the Metropolitan Police will issue at least 15 fixed-penalty penalties to begin with.

In January, an inquiry into 12 government-wide incidents began.

It came after the force received information from an internal investigation. Fines were "imminent," according to the Guardian.

Downing Street and the Met have declined to comment, but government sources claim that the sanctions are soon to be issued.

Reports of staff parties in Downing Street when Covid restrictions were in place plagued Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his government for months.

Several Conservative MPs had called on Mr Johnson to resign as leader of the party, but some have changed their minds since the start of the Ukraine conflict.

The war in Ukraine has properly consumed much of the government's and Parliament's attention in recent weeks.

As he and allies struggle to deal with a dangerous dispute, this has relieved one sort of pressure on Prime Minister Boris Johnson and replaced it with a more serious one.

But don't forget how much trouble Mr Johnson and his staff were in when they were accused of breaching the law on many occasions.

The official Whitehall report outlining what happened, even in its simplest form, was damning.

Sue Gray, a senior civil official, conducted her own investigation, which led to the police probe.

The early conclusions of Ms Gray's investigation criticized "leadership and judgment failings" during the gatherings, which took place between May 2020 and April 2021.

Once the police inquiry is completed, the prime minister informed Conservative MPs that an updated version of the Gray report will be published in its entirety.

All but four of the 16 gatherings described in her initial findings are being investigated by the police.

The government has enforced legally binding prohibitions, including limitations on social gatherings, at various points during the pandemic to stop Covid from spreading and preserve lives.