Civil servant in charge of Whitehall ethics is first to be named as getting a £50 Partygate fine
Civil servant in charge of Whitehall ethics is first to be named as getting a £50 Partygate fine: Helen MacNamara broke Covid laws by attending ‘raucous’ karaoke party on eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
Helen MacNamara is the first to be named as a Partygate scandal fine recipientThe former senior civil servant was in charge of propriety and ethics at WhitehallMs MacNamara attended a karaoke party held on eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
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A senior civil servant who was in charge of ethics at Whitehall is reportedly among the first to be fined by police in connection with the Partygate scandal.
Former Deputy Cabinet Secretary Helen MacNamara was handed a £50 fine after police investigators found she had breached Covid laws by attending a ‘raucous’ lockdown karaoke party where there was a drunken brawl, reports claim.
Ms MacNamara is among the first to be identified as a recipient of the fixed penalty notices from police probing the Partygate saga which arrived via email to those found to have broken the law on Friday.
According to the Sunday Telegraph, the party had been arranged to say farewell to popular Downing Street aide Hannah Young who was moving to New York to join the staff at the British Consulate General.
No ministers are believed to have been in attendance at the event which took place in June 2020.
It is understood that among those reported to have attended the ‘raucous’ gathering was Sir Mark Sedwill, the former cabinet Secretary and former adviser Dominic Cummings.
Pictured: Helen MacNamara, a senior civil servant who was at one time in charge of ethics at Whitehall, is among those fined by police in connection with the Partygate scandal
Mr Sedwill is said to have ‘briefly attended’ the event where wine was being served. But it is understood neither are among those who have been fined.
The newspaper reports that fines have also been issued to attendees of a party which was held in April last year, on the even of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
At the time the event was going on, the British public were banned from gathering indoors and from singing in public.
The Sunday Telegraph reports that the party took place in the Cabinet Secretary’s office at 70 Whitehall because it was big enough and had two rooms.
At the time of the event, Ms MacNamara was serving as deputy cabinet secretary after spending two years in the civil service.
The purpose of the role was to ensure the highest standards of propriety, integrity and governance within Government.
Several gatherings held during lockdowns were the subject of investigation. Pictured: Boris and Carrie Johnson are pictured with other staff members at a garden gathering in May 2020
Ms MacNamara left Government to work for the Premier League.
It comes as ITV News reported that Boris Johnson will not be interviewed by the Metropolitan Police as part of their ‘partygate’ investigation.
This is because the force is not interviewing those who have received questionnaires as part of the inquiries, and could potentially be fined, the broadcaster said.
The Met is investigating 12 events, including as many as six that Mr Johnson is said to have attended, and has sent out more than 100 questionnaires.
The PM received his in February.
ITV said the only officials being interviewed are ‘witnesses’, whose role is to help the police interpret questionnaires submitted by other people.
‘The Met are not interviewing those who received questionnaires and are in the frame to be fined,’ it said.
The Met declined to comment.
