'Don't Threaten Police' - Boris Johnson's Allies Warned Over Partygate
The prime minister’s allies have been warned not to “bully” police investigating Partygate after an extraordinary comment was made in a newspaper.
Senior Tory MPs are among those who urged Boris Johnson to distance himself from the controversial remarks made in The Times.
A source close to the PM apparently said the Met Police will need to be “very certain” that he had broken lockdown rules before issuing him with a fixed penalty notice.
The source added: “There is inevitably a degree of discretion here. Do you want the Met Police deciding who the prime minister is?
“If he does get one, it would be odd if the discretionary action of the police determines the future of the country.”
Sir Bob Neill, Tory chair of the Commons justice committee, hit back: “It is completely inappropriate to suggest that there should be any special treatment for anyone involved in these inquiries and any suggestion of political pressure on the police is completely reprehensible. No.10 would do well to disown it.”
The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “The prime minister must distance himself from this extraordinary threat to the police. No-one is above the law, not even Boris Johnson - no matter what he might believe.”
Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey added: “This veiled threat by Number 10 allies is amongst very heavy competition perhaps the darkest moment of this whole sorry saga.”
Meanwhile, the PM’s former chief aide turned critic Dominic Cummings tweeted: “Tory MPs are propping up a guy not just trying to fix illegal donations etc but trying to bully cops into treating him differently.”
Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister and expert in Covid regulations, stressed that the legal test is that the police “reasonably believe” someone has committed an offence before issuing an FPN.
“This will be the same regardless of how important the person is — this is the rule of law,” he added.
The Metropolitan Police Service is investigating 12 alleged Covid-rule breaking gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the pandemic.
Among them are parties Johnson is understood to have attended as well as a separate bash held in his Downing Street flat.
On May 20 an infamous “bring your own booze” party was held which the PM has admitted to attending, saying he believed it was a “work event”. There was also a birthday party for the prime minister on June 19 and a leaving party marking the departure of a special adviser in the run-up to Christmas.
Police said they need to contact “each individual” who attended the events - which means both the PM and his wife Carrie could face interviews.
Detectives investigating the alleged rule-breaking parties are due to contact more than 50 attendees this week.
Officers will send formal questionnaires to those individuals over events that took place between May 20 2020 and April 16 2021.
Anyone found to have breached Covid rules without a reasonable excuse could be issued with an FPN.
The prime minister has so far refused to confirm he would quit if police rule he broke lockdown laws
A spokeswoman told the Mail: “This government has always backed the police and fully respects their complete independence to carry out inquiries without fear or favour.”