No 10 confirms that Boris Johnson has been contacted and says he will “respond as required”.
Image source, Reuters
Boris Johnson has received a questionnaire from the Metropolitan Police as part of the inquiry into parties at Downing Street and Whitehall during the Covid lockdowns.
No 10 confirmed that the prime minister had been contacted by the police and said he would “respond as required”.
Police are sending the questionnaire by email to more than 50 people.
The Met has said the questionnaires will ask what happened and “must be answered truthfully”.
The force said on Wednesday its email must be responded to within seven days – and the documents ask for an “account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”.
But being contacted does not mean a fine would always be issued, the Met added.
The questionnaire has the same status as information given in an interview under caution.
The prime minister has come under pressure over the allegations of parties during lockdowns, with several Tory backbenchers calling for him to resign and submitting letters of no confidence in his leadership.
Mr Johnson has previously said he was looking forward to the police investigation being concluded and has apologised “for the things we simply didn’t get right” over the party row.
Both Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie were expected to be among those emailed, although No 10 has not said if Mrs Johnson had received one.
Analysis: A damaging situation
By Ione Wells, BBC political correspondent
The fact Boris Johnson has received one shows the police believe he now needs to account for his actions, and what he was doing at these events, to see whether or not he has broken the law.
Getting a questionnaire doesn’t necessarily mean the police will issue him with a fine, or find him to have broken the law.
Allies expect him to draw on how Downing Street is both the prime minister’s workplace and private residence. Remember, he previously apologised for being at the 20 May 2020 drinks in the Downing Street garden by claiming he “believed implicitly that this was a work event.”
But politically this is an incredibly damaging situation to be in for a serving prime minister regardless.
While some allies have said they would support him even if he received a fixed penalty notice, many Tory MPs think his position would be untenable if he’s found to have broken the law.
On Friday evening, Business minister Lord Callanan told BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions the prime minister should continue in his role and would have his support even if he received a fixed penalty notice.
But former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith has said it would be “very tough” for Mr Johnson to cling on to power if he is fined.
“It will be difficult, he knows that,” the senior MP told the i newspaper.
Sir Iain added: “If you’ve set the laws, and you break them and the police decide you have broken them… and then there’s the unredacted [Sue Gray] report – the two things will come together.”
Meanwhile, former minister Tobias Ellwood – one of the Conservative MPs to have submitted a letter of no confidence in the PM – said the matter needed to be “resolved”.
He told BBC Newsnight: “The nation is looking at this. There’s a massive level of trust to be regained. We need to move forward, this is a mess.”
The investigation, Operation Hillman, is examining 12 gatherings on eight dates – some of which the PM has already said he attended – to see if Covid regulations were broken.
Outgoing Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick earlier this week suggested that some “but probably not all” of those being contacted by officers will end up with fines.
The initial findings of a separate inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray criticised “failures of leadership and judgement” over the gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Sue Gray’s record of the gatherings
The government has faced intense pressure over events held in and around Downing Street. Senior civil servant Sue Gray has said: “A number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.” Here is what we know about them and the restrictions in place at the time:
15 May 2020
A photo from May 2020 showed the prime minister and his staff with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard in the Downing Street garden. When asked about it, Boris Johnson said “those people were at work talking about work”.
The rules:
Legal restrictions at the time said you could not leave your house without a reasonable excuse and government guidance was that you could meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor setting while exercising.
This event is not being investigated by the police.
20 May 2020
About 100 people were invited by email to “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening”. Witnesses told the BBC the PM and his wife were among about 30 people who attended. Boris Johnson has declined to say whether he was among those there.
This event is being investigated by the police.
18 June 2020
A gathering took place in the Cabinet Office to mark the departure of a No 10 private secretary.
This event is being investigated by the police.
19 June 2020
On Boris Johnson’s birthday, up to 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room at No 10 to present the prime minister with a birthday cake and sing Happy Birthday, according to a report by ITV News.
No 10 said staff had “gathered briefly” to “wish the prime minister a happy birthday”, adding that he had been there “for less than 10 minutes”.
The rules:
Restrictions at the time banned most indoor gatherings involving more than two people.
This event is being investigated by the police.
13 November 2020
Sources told the BBC that Downing Street staff members attended a gathering with Carrie Johnson in the flat where she and the prime minister live. A spokesman for Mrs Johnson denies the party took place. There was a separate gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the same day to mark the departure of a special adviser.
The rules:
Eight days earlier Boris Johnson had announced a new lockdown in England. Indoor gatherings with other households were banned, unless they were for work purposes.
These events are being investigated by the police.
27 November 2020
A leaving event was held for No 10 aide, Cleo Watson, where people were drinking, and Mr Johnson made a speech, according to sources.
This event is not being investigated by the police.
10 December 2020
The Department for Education has confirmed it had an office gathering to thank staff for their work during the pandemic. It says drinks and snacks were brought by those who attended and no outside guests or support staff were invited.
The rules:
Eight days earlier, London had been placed in restrictions which banned two or more people from different households from meeting indoors, unless “reasonably necessary” for work purposes.
This event is not being investigated by the police.
14 December 2020
The Conservative Party has admitted that an “unauthorised gathering” took place at its HQ in Westminster. It was held by the team of the party’s London-mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, who has since stepped down as chair of the London Assembly police and crime committee. The Metropolitan Police is to speak to two people who attended the party.
This event was not included in Sue Gray’s report.
15 December 2020
Multiple sources have told the BBC there was a Christmas quiz for No 10 staff last year. A photo – published by the Sunday Mirror – shows Boris Johnson taking part and sitting between two colleagues in No 10. Mr Johnson has denied any wrongdoing.
This event is not being investigated by the police.
16 December 2020
The Department for Transport has apologised after confirming reports of a party in its offices, calling it “inappropriate” and an “error of judgment” by staff.
The rules:
London moved into the highest tier of restrictions and Matt Hancock, who was health secretary at the time, said it was important “everyone is cautious” ahead of the festive period.
This event was not included in Sue Gray’s report.
17 December 2020
A leaving party was held at the Cabinet Office for the outgoing head of the civil service Covid taskforce – the team responsible for drawing up coronavirus restrictions.
Kate Josephs, now chief executive of Sheffield City Council, apologised for the event, saying she was “truly sorry that I did this and for the anger that people will feel as a result”.
A second gathering was held in the Cabinet Office to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office.
A third gathering was held in No 10 Downing Street to mark the departure of a No 10 official
These events are being investigated by the police.
18 December 2020
Downing Street originally denied a report by the Daily Mirror that a party took place in Downing Street. However, a video obtained by ITV News showed the prime minister’s then-press secretary Allegra Stratton, joking about reports of an event, saying: “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”
This event is being investigated by the police.
14 January 2021
A gathering was held in No 10 Downing Street to mark the departure of two private secretaries.
This event is being investigated by the police.
16 April 2021
Two parties were held by Downing Street staff at No 10, the night before Prince Philip’s funeral.
One of the events was a leaving party for the PM’s then director of communications James Slack, who has apologised for the event and acknowledged it “should not have happened at the time that it did”.
Boris Johnson was not at either party.
The rules
The rules had been eased in England on 12 April, but working from home continued to be recommended and socialising indoors with people from other households was not allowed. Meeting others outdoors was limited to groups of six people or two households.
These events are being investigated by the police.
Detectives investigating the parties have been handed more than 500 documents and 300 images gathered as part of Ms Gray’s inquiry.
Of the dates being investigated by the police, Mr Johnson is known to have been present at three gatherings:
- 20 May 2020 in the Downing Street garden
- 19 June 2020 in the Cabinet Room, on his birthday
- 13 November 2020. on the departure of a special adviser
The Met has said it would review a decision not to investigate a Christmas quiz at No 10 after a picture of the prime minister was leaked to the press showing him next to a bottle of fizzy wine.
Amid the fallout from the row, five Downing Street aides have resigned, with Mr Johnson promising MPs he would shake up his No 10 team as a result.
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