Boris Johnson faced a renewed threat to his position over the partygate scandal after the police decision to fine 20 people for lockdown breaches appeared to shatter his claim that Covid rules were followed in No 10.
The move by the Metropolitan police was seen as clearcut confirmation of lawbreaking at the heart of government, yet Downing Street provoked fury and derision by refusing to accept that the fixed-penalty notices meant the rules had definitively been broken.