Prime Minister Boris Johnson
(Picture: PA Wire)The Cabinet Office has asked the Met Police to confirm that it will not publish 300 photographs it has been examining as part of its partygate probe, according to reports.
A document leaked to ITV News reportedly revealed Whitehall officials do not “expect the Met to publish photographs” as the force had previously indicated it would not reveal the identities of those involved in the alleged gatherings.
The document was reportedly sent to civil servants by the Liaison Unit, a group set up to support those implicated in the police investigation.
Police are investigating 12 parties held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the pandemic when indoor gatherings were banned.
According to ITV, the document said: “The Met has said it has been handed more than 300 photographs as part of its investigation.
“Consistent with its indication that it will not publish the identities of anyone issued a FPN, we would not expect the Met to publish photographs. The Liaison Unit has asked the Met to confirm this.”
The Standard has contacted the Met for further comment.
More than 300 photos and 500 documents were passed to the Met by the Cabinet Office last month after commissioner Cressida Dick announced a probe into the events.
The Met has also sent a questionnaire to approximately 50 people as it conducts its inquiry, titled Operation Hillman, which is examining whether Covid restrictions were broken in Downing Street and across Whitehall.
The questionnaires ask for an "account and explanation of the recipient’s participation" in the gatherings and have "formal legal status and must be answered truthfully", Scotland Yard said.
Recipients have a week to provide answers from the day their questionnaire is received.
Meanwhile, those who were sent questionnaires have also been asked not to confer with one another as it could constitute a separate offence, according to the document obtained by ITV.
Downing Street said last week Boris Johnson had received a questionnaire in relation to the gatherings, with the prime minister reportedly hiring a private lawyer to help him avoid a fixed penalty notice.
Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the PM declined to confirm whether Mr Johnson had filled in his questionnaire but stressed it would be completed before the seven-day deadline.
The prime minister has previously admitted he was present for 25 minutes at the notorious “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden on May 20, 2020.
However, he told MPs he believed it was a work event and had not been told it would break the rules.
Downing Street has also admitted staff “gathered briefly” in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 in what was reportedly a surprise get-together for Mr Johnson.
