What has changed? Having previously said that the Metropolitan police would not investigate Downing Street parties, Dame Cressida Dick confirmed on Tuesday that her force would look into the circumstances surrounding eight gatherings that are alleged to have taken place at Downing Street and other Whitehall premises, in breach of coronavirus regulations. Once again, the temperature has been raised in Westminster, and the normal business of government is displaced by feverish speculation.
For the prime minister’s supporters to direct people to ignore this, as some have tried to on the grounds that other issues are more important, is both ridiculous and insulting. Until the question of whether Boris Johnson and his staff broke the law is definitively answered, it will continue to be asked – and rightly so. At least the wait may soon be over, with the report by civil servant Sue Gray expected to be published shortly, in advance of the police’s enquiries.
