Boris receives Partygate questionnaire from Met Police
Boris receives Partygate quiz from the police: PM confirms he’s among more than 50 Whitehall workers answering questionnaires on lockdown bashes (as No 10 slips news out late Friday as Ukraine crisis escalates)
No 10 confirmed Friday evening that the Prime Minister had received the formMr Johnson will have to provide credible reason why he was at No 10 eventsDowning Street shared the news shortly before 10pm on Friday night Came amid mounting crisis in Ukraine and fears of immanent Russian invasion
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Boris Johnson has received his questionnaire from police investigating allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in No 10, Downing Street has confirmed, sharing the news late on Friday night as the Ukraine crisis continued to escalate.
The Metropolitan Police is preparing to question up to 50 people in No 10 about illicit gatherings during lockdown, with Johnson already known to be among them.
No 10 confirmed on Friday evening that the Prime Minister had received the legal form from Metropolitan Police officers, and said he will ‘respond as required’.
The move means Mr Johnson will have to provide a credible reason as to why he was at events held during coronavirus restrictions or face a fine.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘We can confirm the Prime Minister has received a questionnaire from the Metropolitan Police. He will respond as required.’
The Met Police say the questionnaires ask for an ‘account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event’ and have ‘formal legal status and must be answered truthfully’.
Officers working on Operation Hillman are sending the questionnaires to more than 50 individuals across Downing Street and wider Government as they investigate 12 events.
The Prime Minister is alleged to have been at up to six of them, including the ‘bring your own booze’ party in the No 10 garden in May 2020 during the first lockdown.
Mr Johnson allegedly attended another organised by his wife Carrie Johnson in the official Downing Street residence in November that year, during which Abba songs were reportedly heard on the night of former chief adviser Dominic Cumming’s departure.
Downing Street shared that Mr Johnson had received the questionnaire shortly before 10pm on Friday night, amid a mounting crisis in Ukraine and fears that Russia could invade its neighbour in the next 48 hours.
Britons were tonight told to leave Ukraine immediately over fears of an imminent invasion, with the growing crisis dominating the news cycle.
Boris Johnson has received his questionnaire from police investigating allegations of lockdown-breaching parties in No 10, Downing Street has said. Pictured: Johnson speaks to the media during a visit to the Warszawska Brygada Pancerna military base near Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022
Tory MPs have told MailOnline of growing alarm that the Partygate probe will drag on as late as April – and potentially cripple their local election campaign.
To add to his woes, Mr Johnson was accused of trying to ‘bully’ police today after allies warned Scotland Yard against ‘deciding who the Prime Minister is’.
Senior Tory MPs and Mr Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings were among those who urged the PM to distance himself from remarks made to the Times.
News that Mr Johnson has received the questionnaire comes in the wake of the dramatic resignation of Dame Cressida Dick from her post as the Met Commissioner yesterday.
As a result, Dame Dick’s No2 at Scotland Yard could face a Partygate timebomb after her resignation with a permanent replacement thought to be months away.
Deputy commissioner Steve House could be left trying to manage the fallout from the criminal investigation into Johnson’s Downing Street after Dame Cressida announced she will only stay on for a ‘short period’ to ensure ‘stability’.
It is understood the process of identifying a replacement will take ‘months not weeks’, with Home Secretary Priti Patel and London Mayor Sadiq Khan gearing up for a clash.
The Met has insisted that Dame Cressida’s resignation will have no impact on the probe – named Operation Hillman – which is being overseen by Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors.
But the organisation’s leadership will inevitably need to handle the political implications of what the investigation dredges up.
Sir Stephen, 65, was previously chief constable of Police Scotland before being appointed to his current role in 2018.
As the Metropolitan Police prepares to question up to 50 people in No10 about illicit gatherings during lockdown, a friend of the PM suggested the PM should not be fined if found to have broken the law.
‘There is inevitably a degree of discretion here – do you want the Metropolitan Police deciding who the prime minister is? They have to be very certain,’ they told the paper.
‘If he does get one, it would be odd if the discretionary action of the police determines the future of the country.’
discretionary action of the police determines the future of the country.’
A Downing Street spokeswoman tried to cool the row, saying: ‘This government has always backed the police and fully respects their complete independence to carry out inquiries without fear or favour.’
This is a breaking news story. More to follow…
