Thursday 19 May 2022 04:28 PM Partygate: Angry Brits who lost loved ones during Covid say Boris Johnson ... trends now

'Angry' Britons who shielded or lost loved ones during the coronavirus pandemic today declared that Boris Johnson 'must go' following the conclusion of the Met Police's Partygate probe.

Scotland Yard says its 'Operation Hillman' inquiry into lockdown breaches in and around Downing Street has now come to a close, with a total of 126 fines - known as Fixed Penalty Notices - issued for events across eight different dates.

The Prime Minister is among those fined, having received a Fixed Penalty Notice for a breach relating to a birthday event held for him in the Cabinet Room in June 2020. 

Today Mr Johnson breathed a sigh of relief after being told he faces no further action in relation to the Met's Partygate investigation.

But attention will now turn to the much anticipated report by senior civil servant Sue Gray - who could release the findings of her internal Partygate investigation 'within weeks'. 

The report, which has been put on hold while the Met investigation takes place, could spell further danger for Mr Johnson, who has been under pressure to resign after the revelation that he had been issued with a Partygate fine.

But pressure is already mounting on the Prime Minister - who has already paid his fine and has apologised 'in full' for the breach -  with Britons saying an apology is 'not enough' and  some demanding his resignation.

Following the announcement of the end of the Partygate investigation, one caller today told LBC's Shelagh Fogarty the 'game is up' for Mr Johnson.  

The caller, named Robin, from Whitehaven in Sussex, said: 'I think Boris Johnson should resign now. He's got nothing else to hide behind. 

'We were told for months by MPs trying to deflect attention that we had to wait until the investigation is over.

'Now the investigation is over, there has been 126 fines issued to Downing Street.

'The Prime Minister is a recipient to one of these fines so he has broken the lockdown rules he has received fixed penalty notice. 

'It is no longer hypothetical he is guilty and he should resign.'

Asked if it mattered how many fines the Prime Minister had received, after it was today revealed it would be just the one, he replied: 'The number of fines he received is irrelevant. 

'The fact he has received a fine for breaking lockdown rules when the vast majority of the country sacrificed so much.'

'I'm hoping Conservatives do the right thing and oust Boris Johnson. 

'The game is up for him. He's had his fine. The investigation is over.' 

Another, Tina, from Oxfordshire told the radio station that her mother had taken her own life a year ago.

'She took her own life because she could not bear the isolation. She was almost deaf and virtually blind,' Tina told LBC.

'I had to go a funeral with my siblings and I couldn't touch any of them. I wasn't allowed to hug my younger brother and sister as they howled and we all stood at a distance from mum. It was unspeakable.

'And I feel like he's almost laughing because we were stupid enough to obey the rules that he set in place.' 

Others spoke about how they had been unable to see dying family members due to Covid restrictions.

Another unnamed caller, speaking to LBC said: said: 'I'm really angry and really upset because my mum passed away in January but she had been in hospital since October (last year)

'I know that parties happened before that. But all these rules Boris and Government  and his party put together, they've been going on since then.

'Because of him I wasn't able to see my mum we could only see her... an hour a day but it had to be the same person throughout the visit.

'Mum couldn't speak English. She didn't know what was going on and it was really difficult to explain to her that we can't see her.

Fighting back tears as she spoke, the caller said: 'We just couldn't see her as much as we wanted to and it was so difficult, so, so difficult.

'It's alright for them to have a jolly in the garden while nobody else can see their loved ones dying in the hospital. 

'For me it's really close to home.'

Others took to social media to vent their anger. One Twitter user, Rhona Huckle, wrote: 'An apology is not enough. Partygate is not over.

'Exactly two years to the day since my Dad's funeral where only mum mum and I could attend I learn that there have been 126 fines given to Downing Street.'

Another said: 'My issue with Partygate is that the ones that weren't investigated were as offensive, particularly the garden party.

'At that time I couldn't see my mother because she was disabled and couldn't push the wheelchair downhill to the local park. She died of Covid.'

Others urged for the publication of the Sue Gray report, adding: 'Right. The Met are done with Partygate. Over to YOU Sue Gray.'

But others took a swing at the Met Police for the investigation. 

One wrote: 'Well done to the Met Police of having detectives investigating if someone had cake while gang violence and murders in London continue. Pathetic.'

It comes as Mr Johnson today breathed a sigh of relief as Scotland Yard declared its Partygate probe over with 126 fines issued to 83 people in total - but no more for the PM.

The force said Operation Hillman has finished after finding breaches of lockdown in Downing Street and Whitehall on eight separate dates.

Boris Johnson has not been handed another penalty in the probe - which cost the taxpayer around £460,000 - with No10 saying he is 'pleased' it is complete. 

His wife Carrie has also been spared a further fine, despite 28 people receiving multiple punishments.

One person has been handed five FPNs, although they will only be due to pay £250 as the offences have been taken separately rather than doubling with every repeat breach. 

However, Mr Johnson might not be out of the woods as the news - ironically released during the government's 'Crime Week' - raises the prospect that the full report by top civil servant Sue Gray will be published within days. 

The PM has repeatedly insisted he will speak in detail about the Partygate scandal once the mandarin's process is complete. 

The Commons Privileges Committee is also set to launch an inquiry into Mr Johnson's statements to Parliament now the police have finished their work. 

Meanwhile, Keir Starmer is still waiting to hear the verdict of Durham Police on whether he breached lockdown after a 'beer and curry' with aides following election campaigning in April last year. 

Rishi Sunak has already confirmed he was fined £50 over attending a birthday celebration for the PM in the Cabinet room in 2020 - the same event that saw Mr Johnson and wife Carrie censured. He has not been notified he is getting another fine.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case is

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