Sir Keir Starmer has reiterated calls for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign after the Metropolitan Police concluded its Partygate investigation.
The Met probe into Covid breaches in Whitehall ended with a total of 126 fixed penalty notices (FPNs).
Scotland Yard said on Thursday it had issued fines to 53 men and 73 women, with some individuals receiving multiple fines, for events on eight separate dates.
Sir Keir Starmer
GB News
Sir Keir has previously called for Mr Johnson to step down after the Prime Minister received a FPN himself last month.
And the Labour Party leader still remains of the opinion that Mr Johnson should resign, while also hitting out at his handling of the cost-of-living crisis.
Speaking in Leeds today, Sir Keir said: “(More than) 120 fines in Downing Street for law-breaking when the Prime Minister said all laws were followed.
“That’s a culture that the Prime Minister has responsibility for.
“But do I want the Prime Minister focusing on the cost-of-living crisis, yes that’s why we pressed a vote on the windfall tax because we want to see the energy bills of people across the country paid for in windfall tax on the profits that the oil and gas companies in the North Sea didn’t expect to make.
Sir Keir has reiterated calls for Boris Johnson to resing
Reuters
“That’s a practical answer to the most pressing question, what did the Prime Minister do? He voted it down.
“And he’s got nothing to say to the people who are tossing and turning in their beds unable to know how they’re going to pay their bills.”
He continued: “My view of the Prime Minister hasn’t changed.
“Of course, after an investigation that shows 120 plus breaches of the law in Downing Street, of course he should resign, he’s responsible for the culture.”
Speaking after the conclusion of the Partygate investigation, the Met Police's acting deputy commissioner Helen Ball said: “There is no doubt that the pandemic impacted all of us in so many ways and strong feelings and opinions have been expressed on this particular issue.
“When Covid regulations were introduced, the Met was clear that whilst we would not routinely investigate breaches of regulations retrospectively, there may be occasions when it would be appropriate to do so.
“The information that we received with regard to the alleged breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall was sufficient to reach our criteria to begin such an investigation.
“Our investigation was thorough and impartial and was completed as quickly as we could, given the amount of information that needed to be reviewed and the importance of ensuring that we had strong evidence for each FPN referral.
“This investigation is now complete.”