Downing Street has changed its mind and said the public would be told if Boris Johnson gets fined for breaking Covid rules by attending lockdown busting parties.
Earlier on Tuesday Scotland Yard confirmed the police would not reveal the names of anyone given a fixed penalty notice (FPN) as a result of the police probe of 12 gatherings.
The prime minister’s spokesperson had also refused to guarantee No.10 would tell the public if fines were issued.
It meant the public faced the prospect of never finding out if Johnson was found to have broken the law.
But No.10 later said voters would be told. “Obviously we are aware of the significant public interest with regard to the prime minister and we would always look to provide what updates we can on him, specifically,” the PM’s spokesperson said.
Asked if that meant No.10 would say if he was given a FPN, the spokesperson added: “Hypothetically, yes.”
The answer suggests while No.10 will reveal if Johnson is fined, it might not do the same for any other staff.
Speaking in the Commons on Monday, Johnson refused to say if he would resign should he be handed a fine by the police for breaching his own government’s rules.
Sue Gray’s report into partygate revealed police are investigating at least three gatherings where the prime minister was in attendance.
In total the Met is looking into 12 parties and examining around 300 photographs as part of the investigation.
Before the u-turn, Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner had said: “The public have a right to know if the prime minister is found to have committed an offence by the police.
“Boris Johnson said he would publish the full report of the investigation conducted by Sue Gray into his behaviour. He cannot be allowed to backtrack or hide the results of the police investigation.”
Johnson’s position as party leader has been hanging in the balance amid anger on his backbenches at both the parties and his handling of the revelations.
His position appears to be secure for now following a meeting with Tory MPs and peers on Monday night and his promise to make major changes to his Downing Street operation.
But in a sign of the continued unhappiness on the Conservative benches, another Tory MP, Peter Aldous, announced this afternoon that he wanted Johnson to step down.