Johnson, 58, was ousted as prime minister last summer. (file)
London:
Former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a possible further police investigation into the “Partygate” scandal, after a government ministry handed over material to two police forces about alleged Covid lockdown breaches emerged on Tuesday.
London’s Metropolitan Police confirmed it is “evaluating” new information relating to “potential breaches” of coronavirus rules at Downing Street between June 2020 and May 2021.
Meanwhile The Times, which broke the story, said Thames Valley Police were also analyzing new evidence relating to possible rule-breaking at Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate outside London.
Multiple sources told the newspaper that Johnson’s family as well as his friends were involved in the alleged violations. A source close to the former leader denied this to the newspaper.
Johnson, 58, was ousted as prime minister last summer following a rebellion within his ruling party after months of being dogged by allegations of lockdown breaches and other scandals.
He has repeatedly denied in parliament and elsewhere that he or his staff breached his own pandemic-era restrictions by holding gatherings in Downing Street under the influence of alcohol.
But the Met issued fines to dozens of aides following a criminal investigation, and Johnson became the first UK prime minister to be found breaking the law at a gathering.
The former leader is currently being investigated by a parliamentary committee over whether he lied to MPs about “Partygate”, in a process that could eventually trigger his expulsion as an MLA.
The specter of new police investigations follows the Cabinet Office, which supports prime ministers and ensures the effective running of government, providing new “information” to both forces.
It “came to light” as the ministry prepares for a public inquiry into the country’s pandemic response.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said the material had been identified “as part of a general disclosure review of documents potentially relevant to the questioning of witnesses being carried out by the legal team”.
“In line with the obligations in the Civil Services Code, this material has been passed on to the relevant authorities and is now a matter for them,” the spokesperson said.
A Johnson spokesman said: “Some brief entries in Mr Johnson’s official diary were questioned by the Cabinet Office in preparation for the Covid inquiry.”
He said the former leader’s lawyers had written to the Cabinet Office and the parliamentary committee investigating him, “explaining that the events were legitimate and not in breach of any Covid regulations”.
His team told The Times that the referrals were a “clearly politically motivated attempt to make something out of nothing”.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)