The former director general of the Cabinet of Ministers for Covid-19 Taskforce received a notice of a fixed fine of λι 50 when the Meteorological Police issued the first batch of fines late last month. Ms Joseph, now managing director of Sheffield City Council, issued a public apology earlier this year after The Telegraph revealed that dozens of people had attended her cabinet’s departure party on December 17, 2020. As a civil servant in charge of the Covid working group, Ms. Josephs was responsible for drafting detailed rules governing people’s lives during the pandemic. But at a time when the country was in a lockdown and people were not allowed to socialize indoors, her colleagues had a retirement party where alcohol was served. She was issued a fixed penalty notice on April 1 and is understood to have been paid, according to sources close to the investigation. Ms Joseph has been given a discreet leave of absence from her role on Sheffield City Council since the news broke. In a statement issued in January, Ms Joseph expressed her regret over the incident, saying: “On the afternoon of December 17, I gathered with colleagues who were at work that day, with drinks, at our Cabinet office to mark the occasion. my departure from the Public Service. “I’m really sorry that I did it and the anger that people will feel as a result.”
