The Metropolitan Police on Wednesday said it would send formal questionnaires to more than 50 people in its investigation into Downing Street parties during coronavirus restrictions, shortly after disclosing it was considering a criminal inquiry into a further gathering.
An update on Wednesday evening from the force revealed the investigation, launched in late January, was called Operation Hillman and that the questionnaires had formal legal status and “must be answered truthfully”.
The questionnaires demanded an “account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”, the force said.
The recipients will almost certainly include Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has admitted attending at least one of the events being investigated and who appears to have attended several.
The update was issued shortly after the police force announced it was considering a criminal investigation into a further Downing Street party after a photograph emerged of Johnson at the event flanked by aides, alcohol and food.
The gathering, a Christmas quiz on December 15 2020 that was first revealed last year, took place when London was under “tier two” restrictions and official guidance urged the public not to take part in office lunches or parties during the festive period.
Number 10 said the prime minister “briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year”. But a photo published by the Mirror on Wednesday showed an open bottle of wine on a table in front of Johnson and other officials.
The Met said it had “previously assessed this event and determined that on the basis of the evidence available at that time, it did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation. That assessment is now being reviewed.”
If the police investigate, it would increase the number of events under criminal investigation to 13, out of 16 identified last month in the report by Sue Gray, a senior Whitehall official, into potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations.
Wednesday’s update said officers continued to examine more than 500 documents and 300 images provided to them by the Cabinet Office. The force would be requesting further information from the Cabinet Office to assist with the investigation, it added.
The Met might have to contact more people in the “coming days and weeks”, the force added, if they were identified as having taken part in an event and having potentially breached regulations.
“It should be noted that being contacted does not mean a fixed-penalty notice will necessarily be issued to that person,” the Met said. “Nevertheless, if following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed-penalty notice will normally be issued.”
Wednesday evening’s update said the force was examining events on eight dates in Downing Street and elsewhere in Whitehall. The Gray report said 12 alleged parties were on those dates.
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Meanwhile, the Labour party wrote to the Met to call for an investigation into the refurbishment of Johnson’s Downing Street residence, arguing that a donation by Lord David Brownlow to the prime minister broke anti-bribery laws.
The force responded that the party’s letter was being “considered by officers” although it stated that no formal investigation had been opened.
Also on Wednesday, the Met said it would not investigate claims of bullying by government whips.
The force said it received information related to concerns of “inappropriate influence” being exerted on MPs but “no criminal offences have been identified and therefore no investigation will be commenced”.
The newly issued image from the Downing Street quiz prompted criticism from opposition politicians during prime minister’s questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday. Labour MP Fabian Hamilton said it looked “a lot like one of the Christmas parties he told us never happened”. Johnson said Hamilton had made an “error”.
Asked for clarity on Johnson’s answer to Hamilton, the prime minister’s press secretary said: “My understanding is that he was referring to the fact that this wasn’t an issue that the police had looked into. Obviously, that event was listed in the Sue Gray update and considered by the Met.”
The prospect of another criminal investigation came as Johnson faced strong criticism from a leading Tory donor over his behaviour. John Armitage, co-founder of the hedge fund Egerton Capital, told the BBC he found the current situation “tremendously upsetting”.
Armitage has given the Conservatives more than £500,000 since Johnson became prime minister, but also donated £12,500 to the Labour party last year. He said leaders should quit if they lost their moral authority and agreed with the suggestion that Johnson was “past the point of no return”.
Meanwhile, Downing Street continued its “reset” with the announcement of Samantha Jones, a health adviser to the prime minister, as the interim Number 10 permanent secretary and chief operating officer.
Jones will carry out the newly created role for six months. One senior civil servant described her as “an unusual choice” for the role, but added her experience outside “mandarin world” would have won favour with Johnson. Another said: “People have been running away from the role.”
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