Pictures show Boris Johnson raising a glass during what appears to be a party at Downing Street during lockdown, for which he did not receive a fine
(Picture: VIA REUTERS)Scotland Yard was plunged deeper into the partygate storm on Tuesday as Sadiq Khan demanded it explain why Boris Johnson was not fined for attending what appeared to be a leaving party in No10 when Britain was in lockdown.
The Mayor of London said the Metropolitan Police should provide some justification for the outcome of its investigation into the partygate scandal to ensure “trust and confidence” in the force.
His intervention came after ITV News published four pictures which reportedly showed the Prime Minister at a leaving do for outgoing director of communications Lee Cain on November 13, 2020, including raising a glass in what appeared to be a toast.
Just days earlier, on November 5, Mr Johnson had imposed the second lockdown on England, meaning people could only meet one other person outside their household or support bubble and it had to be outdoors.
The Prime Minister is believed to have attended several parties in No10 when the country was under lockdown or other Covid restriction rules.
But he has only been fined £50 for one event, as was his wife Carrie and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, for being at a surprise birthday party for the PM in No10 in June 2020.
Mr Khan, who as Mayor of London oversees the Met, stressed he had “assiduously stayed well away” from the investigation.
“But I think it’s important, when it comes to trust and confidence, when it comes to policing by consent, when it comes to questions being asked about the integrity of an investigation that the police explain why they’ve reached the conclusions they have,” told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“And just like you I suspect, yesterday was the first time I saw the photograph of Boris Johnson raising a glass, clearly bottles of wine laying around, others with wine in their hand, on a day when he said in the Houses of Commons, and I speak as a former parliamentarian and I know the importance of not lying or misleading in the House of Commons, that there wasn’t a party.
“So you know, of course, Sue Gray will publish her report this week and of course the Prime Minister will have to answer for himself, but I think the police should explain why they reached their conclusions and provide that clarity.”
The publication of the full report into the partygate scandal by senior civil servant Sue Gray, possibly on Wednesday, may pile more pressure on the Met and the decisions on who should be fined as it is expected to lift the lid on a party culture in No10.
At least one other person at the leaving do on November 13 is believed to have received a fixed penalty notice.
The pictures, which include bottles of wine and fizz on a table, also show the Prime Minister’s red box which may allow his aides to argue that he was at the gathering in a work capacity.
The Government’s version of events that Mr Johnson was only at the event for a brief period of time were disputed by some claims on social media which asserted Mr Johnson may have spent 20-25 minutes at the party and may even have orchestrated the event.
However, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps rejected Mr Khan’s calls for the Met to explain how the fixed penalty notice decisions were made.
He told BBC Radio: “I don’t think the police should provide running commentaries, no. They would have had access to all of the evidence.”
He denied that Mr Johnson deliberately misled Parliament by claiming Covid rules were followed in No10.
However, the Prime Minister faced fresh calls from some Tory MPs on Tuesday to resign over the scandal.
The Met Operation Hillman inquiry into partygate, of 12 gatherings over eight days, was completed last week with the force announcing 126 fines for events breaching lockdown laws.
Altogether 83 people were handed penalties, which is believed to make No10 the country’s most fined building.
Twelve detectives examined 345 documents, including emails, door logs, diary entries and witness statements, 510 photographs and CCTV images and 204 questionnaires as part of a “careful and thorough inquiry”.
The Met added at the completion of the investigation: “Each line of inquiry looked at the date, the circumstances behind each event, and the actions of the individual, benchmarked against the legislation at that time, to establish whether their behaviour met the criminal threshold for an FPN (fixed penalty notice) referral to be made.
“We took great care to ensure that for each referral we had the necessary evidence to prosecute the FPN at court, were it not paid.
“It’s important to remember that during the 11-month period under investigation, legislation changed multiple times, so not all events were subject to the same restrictions.”
There was no update on this statement by early on Tuesday morning.
