Party photos casts doubt over Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak fines’, Tory MP says

Party photos casts doubt over Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak fines as they are shown ‘having a snack while doing their best for the country’, Tory MP says

  • A Tory MP is saying that the Sue Gray report’s pictured vindicate the PM
  • Marco Longhi said that Boris and Rishi should not have been given fines
  • He questioned how many fines would be issued if the public were held to the same standards as the PM and Chancellor 

The fines for Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak attending the PM’s birthday celebrations were thrown into doubt yesterday by newly released photos.

The images show it was a low-key event more akin to a business meeting.

Mr Johnson was pictured with the Chancellor and senior civil servant Simon Case – all around packets of M&S sandwiches and jugs of fruit juice.

Other images from Sue Gray’s report show Mr Johnson raising a can of beer and making a toast with a plastic cup during the event on June 19, 2020.

Mr Johnson was pictured with the Chancellor and senior civil servant Simon Case – all around packets of M&S sandwiches and jugs of fruit juice

The gathering in the Cabinet Room in No 10 was the only one the Prime Minister was fined for – along with his wife Carrie and Mr Sunak.

Marco Longhi, Tory MP for Dudley North, said: ‘Just look at these photos.

‘Two people having a snack while doing their best for the country during extraordinary times.

‘And the police fined them, retrospectively, when they didn’t in 2020.

‘How many others should be fined if judged by the same standards?’

Another unnamed Conservative MP said: ‘These photos show an office environment, sparsely populated with staff working long hours during the pandemic. Sue Gray’s statement offers nothing new.’

Miss Gray’s report contains four photographs of the gathering that marked the Prime Minister’s 56th birthday.

Mr Johnson was reportedly presented with a cake but it remained uneaten.