Boris Johnson has been pictured for the first time since it was revealed that 20 fixed penalty notices are set to be issued over the partygate scandal.
The prime minister was photographed arriving at Westminster Abbey for a memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Queen is also attending the service of thanksgiving for her husband, alongside other senior members of the royal family.
It comes just two months after Johnson had to apologise to Her Majesty for lockdown parties held in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.
Two leaving parties were allegedly held for staff on April 16, 2021, when the UK was under Covid restrictions which banned indoor mixing between households.
After the claims emerged, the prime minister’s deputy spokesman said it was “deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning and No10 has apologised to the palace”.
The prime minister is facing fresh calls to quit after it was confirmed the first set of fines will be issued over lockdown-busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.
It means the Met Police believes laws relating to covid restrictions have been broken in some instances.
The announcement has put Johnson’s leadership under fresh pressure, after the war in Ukraine took some of the heat off the PM in recent weeks.
It comes as Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner and Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey renewed their calls for Boris Johnson to quit.
“The culture is set from the very top. The buck stops with the prime minister,” Rayner said.
The partygate scandal recently engulfed the government and saw Tory MPs publicly call for the prime minister to go.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also demanded the prime minister quit, but later put that on hold, saying it was time for politicians to unite over the war in Ukraine.
However, only last week senior Tory MP Mark Harper warned that partygate “hasn’t gone away”.
Education minister Will Quince also refused to say in a round of broadcast appearances this morning whether the PM should quit if he is fined.
However, Quince did admit that restriction-busting parties “shouldn’t have happened”.
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