Cressida Dick says Met Police will now investigate Downing Street parties held during lockdown

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Metropolitan Police Chief Cressida Dick has announced that the force will now investigate “a number” of allegations from the 10 detained parties during the COVID lockdown restrictions.

It represents another severe blow for Boris Johnson, whose political future is already in the balance ahead of the long-awaited report by the senior civil servant, Sue Gray.

It also comes after fresh allegations that Downing Street held a birthday party for the Prime Minister in the Cabinet Room on June 19, 2020 – despite rules banning indoor social contact.

Revealing the new investigation, the Met Commissioner said she understood “deep public concern” about reports of rule-breaking incidents that were held in government buildings while the vast majority of the public followed pandemic rules.

Ms Dick told the Council of London Police and Crime Committee: “We have a long standing and effective working relationship with the Cabinet Office, which has the capacity to investigate. As you well know, they have been carrying out an investigation over the past few weeks.

“What I can say this morning is that as a result of the information provided by the Cabinet Office investigation team and, secondly, the assessment of my own officers, I can confirm that the Met is now investigating a number of events in Downing Street and Whitehall in the past two years in relation to potential violations. to Covid-19 regulations.

She added that officers assessed “several other events” that occurred in Downing Street and Whitehall, but “based on the information available, these other events were assessed as not having reached the threshold of a criminal investigation.”

Ms. Dick said: “Throughout the pandemic, the Met has sought, as I have said, a proportionate approach. I must stress the fact that the Met is conducting an investigation does not necessarily mean issuing fixed penalty notices in every case and to every person involved.

“We will not provide ongoing commentary on our current investigations, but I can assure you that we will provide updates on important points as we normally do.”

The terms of reference for Ms. Gray’s long-awaited investigation state that “if any evidence of conduct likely to be a criminal offense appears in the course of work, the matter will be referred to the police and the Cabinet Office may be temporarily suspended”.

However, following Dick’s announcement, a Cabinet Office spokesman clarified on Tuesday that the work would not be paused, but it was not immediately clear whether the intervention would delay the report. It was expected to be published this week.

“There is ongoing contact with the Metropolitan Police Department,” they added. There was no immediate response from Downing Street.

Speaking in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Johnson said he “welcomed” the Mitt police investigation, and claimed it would help “draw a line” under the case.

Labor Deputy Leader Angela Rayner, who got an urgent question from the House of Commons on the issue later in the day, said: “We welcome this investigation by the Metropolitan Police. With Boris Johnson’s Downing Street now under police investigation, how could it possibly be possible? He thinks he can stay as prime minister?

Cabinet Office says Whitehall Chief Sue Gray’s work on rule-breaking incidents is ‘ongoing’

(PA Media)

Millions of people struggle to pay the bills, but Boris Johnson and his government are so entangled in the scandal that they can do nothing about it.

“Boris Johnson is a national distraction. Tory MPs must stop supporting him and he must finally do the decent thing and quit.”

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, also welcomed the inquiry, saying: “The public rightly expects the police to abide by the law without fear or favour, regardless of who it involves, and I have made clear that members of the public must be able to expect the highest standards from everyone, including the mayor. Ministers and those around him.

“No one is above the law. There can be no one rule for the government and one for anyone else.”

Speaking on Tuesday, Ms Dick, who has been criticized for the Met’s handling of the allegations at No 10 in recent weeks, insisted: “We are the police without fear or favour.

“We are impartial police and we police in an operationally independent manner.”

Recognizing the “deep public concern”, she added, “the vast majority of people have acted responsibly during the pandemic, and many, many people – including many Londoners and my colleagues – have made huge sacrifices and suffered great losses during the pandemic.”

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