UK Politics

Boris Johnson’s government “has no option” but to tear up “part or all” of the Northern Ireland Protocol, former Brexit minister David Frost has said.Joint efforts to resolve the issues with the post-Brexit arrangement governing trade in Northern Ireland have “reached the end of the road”, the UK’s former negotiator in Brussels insisted on Thursday night – urging the prime minister to take unilateral action even if it means “confrontation” with the EU.But Lord Frost’s stark intervention merely echoed the prevailing brinkmanship which brought the prospect of a trade war several steps closer on Thursday, with the government’s chief legal advisor refusing to deny reports she had approved the scrapping of large parts of the deal.Brussels’ Brexit negotiator Maros Sefcovic earlier warned the EU would not give in to “threats or blackmail” and pleaded for “constructive engagement”, following crunch phone talks with foreign secretary Liz Truss.Setting the scene for unilateral action, Ms Truss expressed “regret” at the EU’s rejection of British demands to revise Mr Sefcovic’s negotiating mandate, but issued an ultimatum that the UK would have “no choice but to act” unless the bloc backs down.Her comments are expected to be followed within days by the publication of emergency legislation to override key elements of the protocol which Mr Johnson negotiated in 2019 and signed a year later.Despite warnings from both Brussels and Washington against unilateral action, it was reported on Thursday that the attorney general Suella Braverman had advised that it would be lawful to scrap parts of the protocol because of the “disproportionate and unreasonable” way it has been implemented – handing Mr Johnson legal cover to make the move.Speaking to BBC Question Time hours later, Ms Braverman did not deny the reports, and – in a major hint that the government is set to act – said that, although “there is a decision yet to be made” within Cabinet, action is becoming “painfully, apparently necessary”.Ms Braverman has reportedly submitted evidence accusing Brussels of undermining the Good Friday Agreement by creating a trade barrier in the Irish Sea. She also warned of “societal unrest” in the region, which Ireland’s minister for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne said was “completely, completely and utterly incorrect” to pin on Brussels, in comments to RTE. The attorney general’s assessment, however, echoed that of the prime minister, who told reporters in Stoke-on-Trent that the protocol has become a “real problem” which must be “fixed” because the “institutions set up under the Good Friday Agreement aren’t functioning” and political governance in Northern Ireland has “collapsed”.Following last week’s historic elections, which saw Sinn Fein – which supports the protocol – win the largest share of the Assembly vote for the first time, the DUP are refusing to send a deputy to form an executive at Stormont until Westminster secures significant changes to the protocol.“It’s clear that the unionist community won’t accept the protocol,” Mr Johnson said. “That’s obvious from what’s happened. We’ve got to fix it.”DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told reporters in Antrim on Thursday that government figures have told him to expect “movement” on the protocol “fairly soon”.In his Daily Telegraph column, previewed on Thursday night, Lord Frost claimed the DUP’s actions had “forced the government’s hand”. Warning that the Belfast Agreement was “on life support”, Lord Frost wrote: “Sometimes governments and their leaders must do the right thing”, adding that EU retaliation “would be disproportionate to the trade involved, only arguably legal and entirely self-defeating”.But the former head of the government legal department, Sir Jonathan Jones QC, who quit over the Internal Market Bill, warned that introducing the necessary legislation to override the protocol would be “seriously problematic”.“It feels like a rerun of what happened two years ago when the government was proposing to break international law,” he said, adding that such a move “would very severely damage the relationship we will continue to need with the EU post-Brexit”.Any unilateral breach of the protocol by the UK could eventually lead to a trade war with Europe, with Brussels having signalled it could suspend the entire Brexit trade deal if the threat is carried out.But legislation could take up to a year to pass through parliament, with stiff opposition expected in the House of Lords, and government sources earlier told The Independent that negotiations could continue throughout that time to try to avert a vastly expensive breakdown in trade relations during the cost-of-living crisis.Not only did Mr Sefcovic tell Ms Truss that there was “no room” for the EU to change its negotiating mandate, but he later warned it would be “unacceptable” for the UK not to uphold its side of the international agreement.“Honesty about what the UK signed up to is needed,” he said. “Honesty that the EU cannot solve all the problems created by Brexit and the type of Brexit chosen by the UK.“We will not renegotiate the protocol, and the EU is united in this position. Unilateral action effectively disapplying the protocol is not the solution.”Additional reporting by PA More

The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has warned that Brussels will not give in to threats or blackmail, as the furious row over the Northern Irish border took a step closer towards sparking a trade war.Maros Sefcovic in effect accused Boris Johnson of lying about the consequences of EU withdrawal, declaring that it was time for “honesty” about the problems created by the form of hard Brexit chosen by the UK government.Insisting that the 27-nation bloc was united in rejecting British demands to rewrite the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, he sent a stark message to London: “We in the EU never work with threats, we never work with blackmail, we try to work with constructive engagement and that is what I am pleading for.”The European Commission vice-president was speaking after foreign secretary Liz Truss told him that Britain would have “no choice” but to take unilateral action unless Brussels submitted to its demand for fresh concessions on the protocol, which has effectively created a customs border between Northern Ireland and the British mainland.Her comments in crunch phone talks with Mr Sefcovic set the scene for the publication within days of legislation to override the protocol, which was signed by Mr Johnson in 2020 with the aim of keeping the Irish border open after Brexit.Voicing her “regret” at the EU’s rejection of British demands to revise Mr Sefcovic’s negotiating mandate, the foreign secretary said that “if the EU would not show the requisite flexibility to help solve those issues, then as a responsible government we would have no choice but to act”.Her ultimatum came hours after attorney general Suella Braverman revealed she had received legal advice that it would be lawful to tear up parts of the protocol because of the “disproportionate and unreasonable” way in which the UK believes it has been implemented by Brussels.Speaking on BBC Question Time on Thursday night, Ms Braverman said action over the protocol is becoming “painfully, apparently necessary”.Meanwhile, former Brexit minister Lord Frost, writing in the Telegraph, said that the government has “no option” now but to rip up “part or all of the protocol”. He urged Mr Johnson to act, even if it leads to “confrontation” with the bloc. Downing Street acknowledged that the situation was “very serious” but insisted that no decision on action had yet been taken. Talks are understood to be continuing at an official level over the coming days.But Mr Sefcovic said the “likelihood” was now that the UK government would produce a new version of the Internal Market Bill, which provoked a deep rift between London and Brussels in 2020 after ministers admitted its provisions to lift customs checks would breach international law.And a senior Downing Street source said that the cabinet was united around the position that “something needs to be done” as the EU position appeared to be hardening.“You never know what the EU are going to come back with,” said the source. “But they set their position out today, and we don’t have any signals that that is going to change.”Mr Johnson himself indicated that the government felt impelled to act by the refusal of the unionist DUP to enter into a power-sharing administration with Sinn Fein so long as the protocol remains in its current form – a situation he suggested was putting the Good Friday Agreement at risk.“It’s clear that the unionist community won’t accept the protocol,” said the prime minister. “That’s obvious from what’s happened. We’ve got to fix it.”Any unilateral breach of the protocol by the UK could eventually lead to a trade war with Europe, allowing Brussels to suspend all or part of the zero-tariff trade deal signed in 2020.The former head of the government legal department, Sir Jonathan Jones QC, who quit over the Internal Market Bill, warned that introducing the necessary legislation to override the protocol would be “seriously problematic”.“It feels like a rerun of what happened two years ago when the government was proposing to break international law,” he said.“We know that the EU will be very cross if that happens, and I think it’s understandable that they would be cross, because this would be a unilateral act, and it would very severely damage the relationship we will continue to need with the EU post-Brexit.”But legislation could take as long as a year to go through parliament, with stiff opposition expected in the House of Lords, and government sources made clear that negotiations could continue throughout that time to try to avert a hugely expensive breakdown in trade relations.Mr Sefcovic expressed “serious concern” over the impasse, warning it would be “unacceptable” for the UK to walk away from the international treaty signed by Mr Johnson.He warned that the ambitions set out by the PM in Tuesday’s Queen’s Speech for further UK divergence from EU standards and regulations would lead to “more complications, more difficulties, more checks” on goods crossing the border.Decrying a lack of “political will” on the British side to engage with proposed solutions to the trade disruption, the commission vice-president said: “Honesty about what the UK signed up to is needed. Honesty that the EU cannot solve all the problems created by Brexit and the type of Brexit chosen by the UK.“We will not renegotiate the protocol, and the EU is united in this position. Unilateral action effectively disapplying the protocol is not the solution.”After being briefed by Mr Sefcovic on his talks with Ms Truss, Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said Dublin was in agreement with the rejection of “UK government threats of unilateral action and breach of international law”. “The way forward is partnership, dialogue and genuine negotiation, not threats and raising tension,” said Mr Coveney. Ms Truss ratcheted up tensions over the protocol on Tuesday, with a statement warning that proposals set out by the EU to ease the friction in trade would in fact “take us backwards”.But Mr Sefcovic told her on Thursday that there was “no room” for further concessions or for a change in his negotiating mandate, which must be agreed by all 27 EU member states.Ms Truss said that the protocol was causing “unacceptable disruption to trade” and had created “a two-tier system where people in Northern Ireland weren’t being treated the same as everyone else in the UK”.Calling for “more pragmatism” from the commission, she said that the issues could be resolved, while still protecting the EU single market, by implementing UK proposals for goods destined for Northern Ireland to be sent through a light-touch “green channel” at customs, with close checks reserved for those heading to the Republic.But Mr Sefcovic said that taking unilateral action to disapply an international treaty would undermine trust between the EU and the UK, and that it would compromise efforts to protect the Good Friday Agreement.“The EU and the UK are partners facing the same global challenges, where upholding the rule of law and living up to international obligations is a necessity,” he said. “Working side by side in a constructive manner is of utmost importance.” More

Boris Johnson has not received any further fines in the latest tranche of fixed penalty notices issued over lockdown breaches at No 10, Downing Street has said.Scotland Yard announced today that the number of fines handed out to government staff for law-breaking parties held during the Covid pandemic had passed 100.In an update on Thursday, the Metropolitan Police said its Operation Hillman investigation into a dozen events in Downing Street and Whitehall remained ongoing.Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson said that neither the prime minister nor cabinet secretary Simon Case was among those sanctioned in the latest round of fines, which doubled the total of 50 announced last month.The PM has so far received one fixed penalty notice for £50 in relation to a birthday party in No 10, but is believed to have attended as many as five other events under investigation.Mr Johnson confirmed that neither he nor his wife Carrie had received another fine, but refused to be drawn on the issue. “As soon as we have more to say on that … you will be among the very first to know,” he told reporters. Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Downing Street had “racked up the dubious distinction of receiving more fines on the prime minister’s watch than any other location”.She added: “Boris Johnson made the rules, and then broke them at record-breaking scale. Britain deserves better.”The Liberal Democrats said the latest announcement showed the “shocking scale” of rule-breaking in government. “Boris Johnson stood up in parliament and said Covid rules were followed in No 10 at all times,” said leader Sir Ed Davey.He added: “Now 100 fines have been issued by the police over Partygate, it shows the shocking scale of the law-breaking in Johnson’s Downing Street and the extent of his lies.”Dominic Cummings suggested that junior No 10 staff who were bitter at being fined for attending events they were told were lawful may get their revenge during the Covid inquiry.The former No 10 strategist tweeted: “Am getting lots of texts today like ‘I can’t WAIT for the inquiry, I took lots of notes’.”Several ministers ignored questions about the latest police fines as they joined Mr Johnson for an “away day” cabinet meeting in Stoke-on-Trent.Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said she was “too busy trying to make sure my heels don’t fall through the cracks” when asked about the PM and Partygate.Police are believed to have issued fines to Downing Street staff in recent days in relation to a Christmas party held at No 10 on 18 December 2020. The festive bash – which took place while London was in strict tier 3 measures – was said to have been attended by dozens of the prime minister’s staff.Mr Johnson was forced to address the issue of the December 2020 event after the explosive leak last year of a video showing staff holding a mock press conference and making jokes about a Christmas party.It led to the resignation of government aide Allegra Stratton and the eventual announcement of an investigation by top civil servant Sue Gray.Scotland Yard would not confirm whether fines had yet been issued over the Christmas gathering, or for any other party, but the 18 December 2020 event is known to be one of 12 that Operation Hillman detectives are investigating.Mr Johnson’s wife Carrie and chancellor Rishi Sunak were also hit with fixed penalty notices in April over the party held to mark the PM’s 56th birthday party in the No 10 cabinet room.The PM previously said it “did not occur” to him that the gathering was a violation of his Covid rules – but that he “now humbly accepts” that he did breach the law.A Cabinet Office leaving do in June 2020, said to have involved karaoke and alcohol, is also believed to have attracted fines. Former ethics chief Helen MacNamara admitted she had received a fixed penalty notice over this event.Scotland Yard is also believed to have issued fines to government staff who attended a party at No 10 on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral last April. More

Senior Conservative MP David Davis has claimed there is a “lack of urgency” from the government in tackling the cost of living crisis. The remarks come as Boris Johnson sidestepped questions over support for families, with opposition MPs demanding an emergency budget amid rocketing energy bills and levels of inflation at a 30-year high. Speaking to The Independent, Mr Davis, a former cabinet minister, said: “I do think there is a lack of urgency. The problem is, for some, the cost of living crisis is biting already.” Calling for action “before the summer”, he also claimed ministers had received bad advice, as he highlighted last year’s forecasts on tax receipts and Bank of England inflation forecasts in 2021.Mr Davis said the “ideal outcome” would be for the government to revoke April’s manifesto-busting tax increase immediately, adding: “The trouble with that is it’s embarrassing. But you know what, I think the public would welcome it.”David Gauke, a former Conservative cabinet minister, also suggested on Thursday the cost of living crisis could get “much worse” if the UK ends up in a trade war with the EU amid an ongoing bust-up over the Northern Ireland protocol.Their remarks follow a cabinet away day in Staffordshire, with Mr Johnson telling senior ministers that the cost of living pressures “must be at the forefront of all work to help continue to support people during a difficult financial period”.But when pressed after the meeting on further support, the prime minister refused to be drawn on what further action the government might take to address the crisis – despite telling MPs on Tuesday further support would come in “days”.Instead, Mr Johnson only told reporters what measures had already been announced, including the reduction in national insurance thresholds in July. “I’m not going to anticipate anything more that we may do,” he added.Responding to the prime minister’s comments, Labour’s shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, said: “We don’t need more talk from the government – we need an emergency budget now, and a proper plan for growth.”As pressure builds on the government to implement a windfall tax on oil and gas companies to help relieve some of the pressures on families, Mr Johnson did not rule out the measure, despite repeating his view it would deter green investment.Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, who has reportedly told officials at the Treasury to examine plans for a levy, added that while not “naturally attracted” to a windfall tax, he was “pragmatic” about the idea.“But what I do know is that these companies are making a significant amount of profit at the moment because of these very elevated prices,” he told the BBC. “What I want to see is significant investment back into the UK economy to support jobs, to support energy security, and I want to see that investment soon. If that doesn’t happen, then no options are off the table.”Mr Gauke, a former Conservative work and pensions secretary, also told the BBC Radio 4’s World at One that while “not ideal”, he suspected the government would end up taxing the exceptional profits of oil and gas companies.“I think increasingly it seems the oil companies are kind of reconciled to the fact that they’re going to get hit with this at some point or other,” he added. “So, it’s not ideal, but I suspect in the end that they will turn to those oil and gas companies and pick up an element of what are exceptional profits.”Asked whether a trade war with the EU would have a significant impact on the cost of living, he said: “Potentially, it very much would do”.“We did at least get a deal, albeit a thin deal, but the risk if we go full head of steam into ripping up the Northern Ireland Protocol is that essentially we start seeing tariffs and quotas on our own goods – that we enter into a tit-for-tat relationship and the situation gets worse,” he added.“That does have a real cost for ordinary people, it will make our economy weaker, it will damage investment, it will damage productivity, and that will play out into living standards.” More

The British government refused Thursday to reveal whether intelligence agencies expressed concerns about the decision to award a noble title and a seat in Parliament to a newspaper owner whose father was a KGB agent.Lawmakers voted earlier this year to order the government to release documents related to the appointment of Russia-born newspaper owner Evgeny Lebedev to the House of Lords.Opposition politicians have demanded to know about Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s involvement in the awarding of a place in Parliament’s unelected upper chamber to Lebedev, whose oligarch father Alexander Lebedev is a former KGB officer.British media have reported that Johnson overruled British intelligence agencies’ concerns about the 2020 ennobling of Lebedev, who owns the Evening Standard and is a shareholder in The Independent. The government insists that all Lords appointments are vetted by a commission.Two weeks after the deadline to comply with lawmakers’ request, Johnson’s Conservative government on Thursday published partial documents: the blank form Lebedev was required to fill in for the House of Lords Appointments Commission, the public citation announcing his appointment as Lord Lebedev of Siberia, a list of the other peerages awarded at the same time and a letter congratulating him on the news.The government said it was withholding other information “to protect national security.”“Lord Lebedev is a man of good standing,” Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis said. “No complaint has been made about his personal conduct. He has been vocal in his criticism of the Putin regime.”Ellis said that “when considering requests for information from Parliament, the government has a responsibility to consider whether it is in the public interest to place information into the public domain.”He said the government plans to send information relating to “any national security matters arising” to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee, whose meetings and findings are normally kept private.Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labour Party, accused the government of “failing to comply with a direct instruction from Parliament.”“This looks like a cover up and smells like a cover up because it is a cover up,” she said.Johnson’s government has announced moves to clamp down on corruption and money laundering alongside sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.Opposition politicians and anti-corruption campaigners say Johnson’s Conservatives have allowed ill-gotten money to slosh into U.K. properties, banks and businesses for years, turning London into a “laundromat” for dirty cash. More

Boris Johnson has refused to rule out a windfall tax on the profits of fossil fuel companies to help relieve some of the pressure on families during the cost of living crisis.Chancellor Rishi Sunak has reportedly told Treasury officials to examine plans for a levy on the soaring profits of the oil and gas giants, putting the move “back on the table”.It follows an admission by BP chief executive Bernard Looney, who said his firm’s investment plans would not be affected by a windfall tax. More

Liz Truss has set the scene for a furious Brexit spat with Europe, telling Brussels the UK will have “no choice but to act” over the Northern Ireland protocol unless the EU backs down.The foreign secretary’s warning in a phone call with European Commission vice-president Maroš Šefčovič is expected to be followed within days by the publication of emergency legislation to override key elements of the protocol, negotiated by Boris Johnson in 2019 to avoid a hard border between the Republic and the North after Brexit.Speaking after the call, Mr Šefčovič voiced “serious concern” over the impasse, warning it would be “unacceptable” for the UK to take unilateral action by walking away from the international treaty signed by Johnson.And he later told a meeting of EU and UK parliamentarians in Brussels: “Honesty about what the UK signed up to is needed. Honesty that the EU cannot solve all the problems created by Brexit and the type of Brexit chosen by the UK.“We will not renegotiate the protocol and the EU is united in this position. Unilateral action effectively disapplying the protocol is not the solution.”Mr Johnson himself suggested that the government was forced to respond to unionist opposition to the protocol, which has seen the DUP refuse to enter a new power-sharing executive following last week’s elections.“It’s clear that the unionist community won’t accept the protocol,” said the prime minister. “That’s obvious from what’s happened. We’ve got to fix it.”While the foreign secretary’s words suggested that there was still room for the EU to avert a clash by changing its negotiating mandate in the coming days, Mr Šefčovič told Ms Truss flatly that there was “no room” for this to happen and Downing Street conceded that the situation was now “very serious”.The stalemate looks set to bring down the curtain on talks lasting 16 months in which the UK has been demanding the relaxation of checks on goods imported into Northern Ireland from the British mainland which were introduced as a result of Mr Johnson’s decision to draw a customs border down the Irish Sea. No 10 said talks were likely to continue at official level over the coming days and that the UK was not setting a fixed deadline for action. Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson insisted that no final decision has yet been taken on whether to press ahead with legislation overriding the protocol.“We have seen on a number of occasions that the EU has made statements about the protocol and following subsequent negotiations there have been concessions made,” said the spokesperson. “We are trying to keep all options open but the situation is very serious.”But there is no follow-up meeting scheduled between Ms Truss and Mr Šefčovič, and one Downing Street source said that the cabinet was united around the position that “something needs to be done” as the EU position appears to be solidifying.”You never know what the EU are going to come back with,” said the source. “But they set their position out today and we don’t have any signals that that is going to change.”Any unilateral breach of the Brexit deal by the UK could eventually lead to a trade war with Europe, as Brussels retaliates by suspending the tariff-free export arrangements enshrined in the post-Brexit Trade and Cooperation Agreement.But legislation to override the protocol is likely to take as long as a year to go through parliament, with stiff opposition expected in the House of Lords, and government sources made clear that negotiations could continue throughout that time to avert a hugely costly breakdown in trade relations.Ms Truss ratcheted up tensions over the protocol on Tuesday with a statement warning that proposals set out by the EU to ease trading frictions would in fact “take us backwards”. But Mr Šefčovič told her today that there was “no room” for further concessions or for a change in his negotiating mandate, which must be agreed by all 27 EU member states.A Foreign Office spokesperson said : “The foreign secretary noted this with regret and said the situation in Northern Ireland is a matter of internal peace and security for the United Kingdom, and if the EU would not show the requisite flexibility to help solve those issues, then as a responsible government we would have no choice but to act.”The crunch discussion came hours after attorney general Suella Braverman revealed that she had received legal advice that it would be lawful to tear up parts of the protocol because of the “disproportionate and unreasonable” way it has been implemented by Brussels.She has submitted evidence accusing the EU of undermining the Good Friday Agreement by creating a trade barrier in the Irish Sea, and warned of “societal unrest” in Northern Ireland. Downing Street today refused to publish the advice received by Ms Braverman.In her talks today with Mr Šefčovič, Ms Truss said that the protocol had become the “greatest obstacle” to forming a Northern Ireland executive, after the power-sharing arrangements were collapsed by the DUP.The unionist party, which wants the protocol scrapped, has refused to enter into a new executive headed by Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein, which became the largest group in the Northern Ireland Assembly in last week’s Stormont elections.Ms Truss said that the current situation was causing “unacceptable disruption to trade” and had created “a two-tier system where people in Northern Ireland weren’t being treated the same as everyone else in the UK”.Calling for “more pragmatism” from the Commission, she said the issues could be resolved, while still protecting the EU single market, by implementing UK proposals for goods destined for Northern Ireland to be sent through a light-touch “green channel” at customs, while close checks are reserved for those heading to the Republic.Speaking after the phone talks, Mr Šefčovič said: “It continues to be of serious concern that the UK government intends to embark on the path of unilateral action.”“I am convinced that only joint solutions will work. Unilateral action, effectively disapplying an international agreement such as the Protocol, is simply not acceptable.”He added: “This would undermine trust between the EU and UK as well as compromise our ultimate objective – to protect the Good Friday (Belfast) Agreement in all its dimensions, while ensuring legal certainty and predictability for the people and businesses in Northern Ireland.“Such unilateral action will also undermine the conditions which are essential for Northern Ireland to continue to have access to the EU single market for goods.“The EU and the UK are partners facing the same global challenges where upholding the rule of law and living up to international obligations is a necessity. Working side-by-side in a constructive manner is of utmost importance.” More

The Metropolitan Police has announced that the number of fines handed out to government staff for law-breaking parties held during the Covid-19 pandemic has doubled to more than 100.Scotland Yard said last month that 50 referrals had been made to the criminal records office for fixed penalty notice (FPN) fines over parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.In an update on Thursday, the Met police said its Operation Hillman team had now recommended 100 fines. The force said its investigation, into 12 separate events, remains ongoing.No 10 said Boris Johnson has not been issued with another fine, after he was punished last month over his rule-breaking birthday party in June 2020. The Liberal Democrats said the new fines showed the “shocking scale” of rule-breaking in government.“Boris Johnson stood up in parliament and said Covid rules were followed in No 10 at all times,” said leader Sir Ed Davey. “Now 100 fines have been issued … it shows the shocking scale of the law-breaking in Johnson’s Downing Street and the extent of his lies.”Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said the government had “racked up the dubious distinction of receiving more fines on the prime minister’s watch than any other location.”She added: “Boris Johnson made the rules, and then broke them at record-breaking scale. Britain deserves better.”Dominic Cummings suggested that junior No 10 staff bitter at being fined for attending events they were told were lawful may get their revenge at the Covid inquiry.The former No 10 strategist tweeted: “Am getting lots of texts today like ‘I can’t WAIT for the inquiry, I took lots of notes’.” Police are believed to have issuing fines to Downing Street staff over a Christmas party held at No 10 on 18 December 2020 in recent days.The festive bash – held while London was in strict Tier 3 measures – was said to have been attended by dozens of the prime minister’s staff.Mr Johnson was forced to address the issue of the December 2020 bash after the explosive leak of a video showing staff holding a mock press conference and making jokes about a Christmas party.It led to the resignation of government aide Allegra Stratton and the eventual announcement of an investigation by top civil servant Sue Gray’s investigation.Scotland Yard would not confirm if fines had yet been issued over the Christmas gathering, or any other particular party, but the 18 December 2020 event is one of 12 that Operation Hillman detectives are investigating.Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and chancellor Rishi Sunak were all hit with fixed penalty notices in April over a birthday party held for the prime minister in Downing Street’s Cabinet Room.The PM previously said it “did not occur” to him the gathering to mark his 56th birthday was a violation of his Covid rules – but that he “now humbly accepts” he did breach the laws.It was previously reported that some government staff had received new questionnaires from the force in relation to a leaving party for the PM’s former communications director, Lee Cain, on 13 November 2020.But Mr Johnson indicated earlier this month that he was not among those to be sent one, telling Times Radio, “I am not commenting on this stuff generally, but the answer to that is no, not so far, or certainly not to my knowledge.”A Cabinet Office leaving do in June 2020 is also believed to have attracted fines. Former ethics chief Helen MacNamara admitted she had received a fixed penalty notice over the event.Scotland Yard are also thought to have issued fines to government staff who attended a party at No 10 on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral last April.Downing Street is braced for the full, damning report into the scandal from Ms Gray once the Met police inquiry is concluded, after only a short summary was published in January.Mr Johnson also still faces an investigation by MPs on the Commons privileges committee into whether he misled parliament with remarks saying “all guidance was followed” at No 10. More