London mayor seeks police answers over ‘partygate’ fines

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The mayor of London has asked the city’s police chief to explain how decisions were made about issuing fines for lockdown-breaking government parties. It comes after photos were published of Prime Minister Boris Johnson drinking at an event in his office. Some people who attended the November 2020 gathering inside 10 Downing St. were fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions — but Johnson was not. He was fined 50 pounds ($63) over another gathering in June 2020. Mayor Sadiq Khan asked Metropolitan Police Commissioner Stephen House for an explanation. The mayor’s office said Khan “is concerned that the trust and confidence of Londoners in the police” is being eroded by the force’s handling of the “partygate” scandal.