Partygate: new threat to Boris Johnson’s leadership as Met fines 20 over scandal

Move by police appears to shatter prime minister's claim Covid lockdown rules were followed at No 10

Boris Johnson faced a renewed threat to his position over the partygate scandal after the police decision to fine 20 people for lockdown breaches appeared to shatter his claim that Covid rules were followed in No 10.

The move by the Metropolitan police was seen as clearcut confirmation of lawbreaking at the heart of government, yet Downing Street provoked fury and derision by refusing to accept that the fixed-penalty notices meant the rules had definitively been broken.