The Metropolitan Police has confirmed this morning that it will be closing its Partygate investigation after issuing 126 fines to top officials in Downing Street and Whitehall.
The conclusion of the investigation by the Metropolitan Police means that the long-awaited Sue Gray report can finally be released, following a 5-month delay.
The report is expected to be damning, in particular of the Prime Minister and his team, as well as the wider culture that has been allowed to prevail in Downing Street whilst the rest of the country was living in isolation.
There is now a question as to whether Tory MPs who were previously holding back on calling for his resignation will now be moved to act following the release of Sue Gray’s long-awaited report.
Boris Johnson has already made history as the first-ever PM to have beenfined or prosecuted for breaking the law during their time in office. It has not been clear, however, how many fines in total the PM has received – despite previous promises of transparency from No.10.
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At the moment, the only fine that is confirmed for the PM is for his birthday in June – however, he is also known to have attended six out of the 12 events for which other fines have been recomended or issued.
The Met has made recommendations for a total of 126 fines, but it is being reported that these will take a short time to filter through.
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The reason for the lack of clarity is that the events happened over eight dates, and the Met has only clarified which dates it has issued fines for as opposed to events, reports The Mirror.
The Met has said a team of 12 detectives “worked through 345 documents, including emails, door logs, diary entries and witness statements, 510 photographs and CCTV images and 204 questionnaires as part of a careful and thorough enquiry.”
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Throughout the investigation, officials were issued questionnaires to fill out. No one, however, was interviewed under caution by the police.
All fines given out were for breaching restrictions on gatherings, with the exception of the 20 May 2020 garden party. This was said to have breached restrictions on “leaving, or being outside of, the place where you were living without reasonable excuse”.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Helen Ball, of the Met 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.
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“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.”
Feature image – Commons Wikimedia
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Man jailed for 10 years after raping ‘extremely vulnerable’ woman in Manchester city centre
Emily Sergeant
A man has been jailed after being found guilty of raping an ‘extremely vulnerable’ woman multiple times in Manchester city centre.
Benjamin Wilson, of Norwood Avenue in Chesterfield, was sentenced to over 10 years in prison after being found guilty of offences committed in Manchester city centre back in June 2022, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has confirmed.
The victim – who was described as being ‘extremely vulnerable and intoxicated’ – plucked up the courage to go on a night out with friends in Manchester, however she became separated from them and was later subjected to a serious sexual assault, which was linked to a suspected drink spiking.
During the evening, the victim – whose identity has been withheld – and her friend believed their drinks had been tampered with, and she later found herself alone, heavily intoxicated, and extremely vulnerable, before she came into contact with Wilson near a takeaway.
Wilson took advantage of the situation, guiding her into a taxi before repeatedly raping her at a flat in Manchester.
The following morning, he dropped her near the hotel where she had been due to stay with her friend, and she proceeded to report the incident to police shortly afterwards.
A man has been jailed for 10 years after raping an ‘extremely vulnerable’ woman in Manchester city centre / Credit: GMP
From the outset, investigators said they faced ‘significant challenges’ – including limited early forensic opportunities and issues securing CCTV footage, all while needing to prioritise the victim’s wellbeing.
Hundreds of hours of work went into analysing witness accounts, financial and phone data, intelligence checks, and overcoming cross-force barriers leading to Wilson’s arrest in Derbyshire.
“The case was ultimately built through meticulous investigation, persistence, and, crucially, the strength and courage of the victim’s testimony,” GMP said.
Speaking following Wilson’s sentencing this week, DC Phillip Sargeant, of GMP’s Longsight CID, commented: “I am awestruck not only by the courage of the victim in coming forward, but also by her patience and resilience in waiting for justice.
“The impact on her, her family and her support network has been profound.
“I hope today’s sentence provides some measure of closure and enables them to move on from this traumatic experience.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Council sets out plans to rework busy Manchester junction after ‘serious safety concerns’
Emily Sergeant
Bold new plans to transform one of Manchester’s busiest junctions following ‘serious’ safety concerns have been unveiled.
All the way back in 2022, Manchester City Council identified the junction of Wilmslow Road with Ladybarn Road and Sherwood Street as an area that would ‘greatly benefit’ from upgraded infrastructure.
As a major route into Manchester, and an important route cutting through the city’s southern neighbourhoods, this junction sees a vast amount of road, cyclist, and foot traffic every day… and because of this, there are also said to be ‘serious concerns’ around safety when it comes to this particular stretch of road.
In a five year period between 2018 and 2023 alone, there were 15 collisions at this junction, the Council explained – with two of these classified as ‘serious’.
Under the plans – which have been announced by the Council this week – the junction is to be partially redesigned, creating several new and safer crossing points for cyclists and pedestrians, a more ‘seamless’ route along the current cycling lanes, and overall, just general improvements to the layout.
🚧 Wilmslow Rd Junction Improvements 🚲 Works start 18 May 2026 at Wilmslow Rd / Ladybarn Rd / Sherwood St to make the junction safer for pedestrians & cyclists. ✅ New cycle lanes ✅ Safer crossings ✅ Better links to the Fallowfield Loop 🔗 https://t.co/Y26mH7cc8Epic.twitter.com/IiOih5ehqp
— Manchester City Council (@ManCityCouncil) May 11, 2026
Some of the safety features set to be included are three dedicated crossing points for pedestrians at the junction, rumble strips for cyclists at pedestrian crossing points, and improved signage and road markings.
Work is due to begin as early as next Monday (18 May), and will run until January 2027.
The work is set to be carried out in four phases, the Council has confirmed – with the first phase of these works comprising of the removal of street furniture, kerbs and tarmac, as well as upgrades to the drainage and road markings.
“This junction in particular sees a high volume of traffic – from cars, cyclists and pedestrians, commented Councillor Tracey Rawlins, who is the Executive Member for Clean Air, Environment and Transport at Manchester City Council.
“So it was clear that improvements were required following our engagement with local residents.
“As has been the case with other schemes like this in Manchester, safety remains our number one priority.
“We have long said that we want Manchester to be a city where people can walk and cycle around in safety, and by upgrading this junction and improving its crossing points, we are taking another step towards that goal.”
Georgina Pellant -
19th May 2022 
