stating that as part of their specific mitigations there should be no more than 15 people in the Cabinet Room.[1] We also received evidence that the attendees included individuals who were not work colleagues of Mr Johnson: Mr Johnson’s wife and his interior designer.[2]
41. In his written evidence Mr Johnson addressed the fact that he, together with the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice by the Metropolitan Police in relation to this event:
I have accepted the conclusion of the Police that my participation in the gathering in the Cabinet Room on my birthday, which I knew nothing about in advance, was unlawful. However, to this day it remains unclear to me–and I believe the Prime Minister may feel the same–how precisely we committed an offence under the Regulations. I have never been provided with any rationale by the Police, in particular how some individuals that attended did not receive a Fixed Penalty Notice.[3]
It never occurred to me then […] that the event on 19 June 2020 was not in compliance with the Rules or the Guidance. Nor do I consider it reasonable to conclude that I should have known it at the time. I was in the Cabinet Room for a work meeting and was joined by a small gathering of people, all of whom lived or were working in the building. We had a sandwich lunch together and they wished me Happy Birthday. I was not told in advance that this would happen. No cake was eaten, and no-one even sang “happy birthday”. The primary topic of conversation was the response to Covid-19.[4]
42. In oral evidence Mr Johnson stated that receiving an FPN for this event “boggled my mind because I could not understand why I had got it”.[5]
43. Asked in oral evidence why he thought that the gathering was compliant with the Covid Rules, Mr Johnson replied, “I thought it was reasonably necessary for work purposes because I was standing at my desk, surrounded by officials who had been asked to come and wish me a happy birthday. I had only recently recovered from an illness–Covid–and it seemed to me a perfectly proper thing to do. We were about to have another meeting, and they were largely the same officials”.[6]
44. When it was put to Mr Johnson that “presumably your wife and the contractor [the interior designer] were not attending that meeting”, Mr Johnson responded:
It is one of the peculiarities of No. 10 that the Prime Minister and his family live in the same building. My understanding of the Rules is that the Prime Minister’s family is entitled to use every part of that building.[7]
