A fresh Partygate excuse that Boris Johnson is said to be putting to the Met Police has been branded “nonsense” and “irrelevant” by a top lawyer.
Fresh reports emerged last night about how the Prime Minister will explain he did not break Covid lockdown laws during multiple parties at 10 Downing Street.
He has employed a private lawyer to help craft his response to a Scotland Yard questionnaire which must be returned by this Friday.
Mr Johnson has already admitted attending some of the 12 gatherings under investigation - including 10 minutes at a birthday party in his honour, where a photo showed him holding a beer.
But according to ITV political editor Robert Peston, the PM’s lawyers now believe the relevant test is whether he returned to “proper work” after the gatherings.
Well-connected Mr Peston wrote: “If he can prove that he didn't get drunk and incapacitated, and has proof that he resumed more conventional prime ministerial activities after the seeming parties, his legal advisors seem to think there is a chance he can prove said events were simply part of his working day.
“And if he got sozzled and went for a kip, he'd be fined.”
FT journalist Seb Payne was painted a similar picture last night by the PM’s allies, one of whom claimed Mr Johnson has a “good chance” of avoiding a fine.
“Legally the situation is not as black and white as it might seem,” the ally claimed. “Some of the gatherings may have become full-blown parties later but not while the PM was in attendance.
“He will argue he was there for work purposes.”
But Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister who analyses Covid lockdown laws, said the argument about whether the PM went back to work afterwards is “irrelevant”.
He told the Mirror: “It doesn’t matter what he did before or afterwards - the question is did he participate, and if he spent 10 minutes at a birthday gathering and there is a photo of him carrying a bottle of beer then he participated.
“If someone was working in a building in central London and in the next room there was a rave, and they just popped into the rave for 10 minutes, it would be absurd to say they had a reasonable excuse.
“There is no technical defence of ‘I went back to work’ - there is no technical defence of ‘I didn’t get drunk’.
“’I held the beer, I didn’t get drunk’ is like Bill Clinton’s ‘I smoked marijuana but I didn’t inhale’ - it’s nonsense. I don’t understand that to be a defence which could work in the regulations.”
He added: “You don’t look at the whole day or what was he doing at a different time. What you look at is the gathering itself.
“The first question is, is it a gathering. If you look at the birthday party the answer is obviously yes.
“The second question is, is it reasonably necessary for work. If no work was being done and it was a social gathering then to my mind it wasn’t reasonably necessary for work.”
Earlier Mr Wagner tweeted: “Look, it’s up to the PM how he puts his case and I say good luck to him and his bold arguments! But they don’t sound like good arguments.
“Why his supposed defence and his allies’ ‘confidence’ is being leaked I don’t know.
“I am reminded at the leaks of how confident the government was that Simon Case would exonerate just before he had to be taken off the inquiry as he had organised his own party.”
Downing Street did not comment on the latest reports when approached by the Mirror.
Scotland Yard is investigating 12 lockdown-flouting gatherings during the pandemic, including a BYOB party in the Downing Street garden and a gathering in the PM's No11 flat.
Police are also reviewing whether to investigate a Christmas quiz in Downing Street after the Mirror published a bombshell picture of the PM and staff with an open bottle of bubbly.
More than 50 people are being sent questionnaires by the Metropolitan Police for its probe.
No10 have said they will not make Boris Johnson ’s response to the questionnaire public - and nor will police name anyone who is given a fine.
However, the PM has committed to say publicly if he is fined by police.
Scotland Yard is also expected to publish its reasons for issuing any fixed penalty notices (FPNs), according to an advice sheet said to have been distributed to officials by the Cabinet Office.
However the question and answer document reportedly says the names of those receiving FPNs - if such fines are imposed - will not be revealed, and their details will not be shared with the Civil Service.
The Telegraph said the Q&A sheet was drawn up by a Cabinet Office unit separate from Sue Gray's Partygate investigations team.
Asked about the reports, the Met said: "This document was prepared by the Cabinet Office to brief staff. The MPS was consulted on those aspects relevant to its investigation and legal processes."
