Anger over the Partygate scandal has reignited after Scotland Yard confirmed it did not send questionnaires to Boris Johnson before deciding not to fine him for attending two Downing Street meetings to block it.
Fines have been imposed on other attendees of gatherings in 2020, including one at Number 10 on 13 November, where the Prime Minister gave a farewell speech for outgoing communications director Lee Kane, and another in the cabinet on 17 December.
Downing Street previously reported that Johnson had not received police questionnaires relating to some lockdown events. But Monday’s revelation is believed to be the first time the Metropolitan Police has admitted this, under details released as part of a legal challenge.
The Good Law Project (GLP), a not-for-profit campaign which has brought a judicial review of allegations that the Met failed to fully investigate Johnson’s attendance at the parties, said: “The Met’s actions have raised serious concerns about the deferential manner in which they protect those in power.
“We do not think the Met’s response is consistent with their statutory duty of candor. And we certainly don’t think it is consistent with what the Met has elsewhere acknowledged is their public duty to maintain public confidence in the police.
The group is taking action in conjunction with Brian Paddick, a Liberal Democrat peer and former senior police officer.
In a document summarizing the Met’s response to the challenge, published by GLP, the force said it could confirm no questionnaire was sent to Johnson about the two meetings in 2020. He confirmed he had sent one in relation to a gathering held on January 14, 2021
Johnson received one £50 fine in April for breaching Covid laws at a birthday party thrown for him in June 2020.
In its response to the GLP, Scotland Yard said investigating officers had reviewed hundreds of documents, including emails, diaries, witness statements and CCTV images.
Questionnaires were a useful part of the investigation, but if the answers were clear from other evidence, “there was nothing to be gained” from sending one to a particular person simply to confirm what was already known, and there was no obligation to send one, it was said .
The Met said Operation Hillman, the investigation into Partygate, had concluded and that it would not comment on the steps taken in the course of the investigation.
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There was an angry reaction from former officials involved in the police investigation, including one who pointed out that Rishi Sunak had received a fixed penalty notice for his attendance at the end of Johnson’s birthday party, at which the then chancellor was said to have got into trouble as he prepared for another meeting.
Joe Maugham, director of GLP, said: “Johnson will not be Prime Minister for much longer. But for me, it continues to be about what it always has been: trust in the police and the rule of law. Seventy-two percent of voters believe there is one law for the rich and another for the poor. Why doesn’t the Met address this perception? Why don’t they just say what happened?’
Number 10 declined to comment, referring inquiries to Scotland Yard.
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