Former Government Ethics Chief 'Sorry' For Partygate Lockdown Rule Breaking

Helen MacNamara says she has now paid a fixed penalty notice for the breach.
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Helen MacNamara
Gov.uk

The government’s former ethics chief has said she is “sorry for the error of judgment I have shown” after being fined over the partygate scandal.

Helen MacNamara said on Monday she has paid the fixed penalty notice she was handed for breaking lockdown laws.

She was reported to have been involved in a leaving do held in the Cabinet Office on June 18 2020.

“I am sorry for the error of judgement I have shown. I have accepted and paid the fixed penalty notice,” she said.

The fine is among the initial round of 20 issued by the Metropolitan Police. More are expected to follow in the coming days and weeks.

Earlier, Welsh Secretary Simon Hart said “the world has moved on” from the scandal.

He told Sky News Boris Johnson should not have to resign if he is also found to have broken his own Covid laws and issued a fine by police.

According to The Daily Telegraph, MacNamara received a £50 fine on Friday.

MacNamara was the director general of propriety and ethics in the cabinet Office from 2018 to 2020.

The purpose of the role was to ensure the highest standards of propriety, integrity and governance within government.

She was promoted to the post of deputy cabinet secretary in March 2020 and later left Government to work for the Premier League.

The leaving do in 70 Whitehall on June 18 2020 was reportedly held for Hannah Young, a former home affairs policy adviser who was taking up the post of deputy consul general in New York.

There were said to be about 20 people present, with alcohol consumed.