![]() ![]() Full details of the events are not yet public. ![]() The Telegraph has been told that one event being looked at was a lunch in the No 10 garden attended by Mr Johnson and his mother Charlotte, who died in September 2021.Īnother, which Whitehall sources vehemently denied was a breach of the rules and said was arranged by Downing Street, is said to have involved Mr Johnson meeting the television presenter Kate Garraway to discuss her husband, who was left in a life-threatening condition after being diagnosed with Covid in March 2020. The police confirmed they occurred between June 2020 and May 2021, a period in which the country moved in and out of lockdown. One source familiar with them said there were a "handful" of events. ![]() Little is known about the gatherings at the heart of the latest development. The committee is understood to have been informed of the police referral. Mr Johnson received one fine.Ī linked investigation by the Commons privileges committee into whether Mr Johnson misled MPs over the events continues to overshadow his hopes of a political comeback, with a report expected next month. The former prime minister’s fall from power last year followed the "partygate" scandal, in which Covid fines were issued over eight events in government buildings. It comes as the Government braces for confirmation that net migration has hit a record high, with projections that the total will be between 700,000 and one million. Supporters of the former prime minister noted that Oliver Dowden, the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office, is one of Rishi Sunak’s closest friends in politics.īut Cabinet Office sources said that no minister was involved in the decision, dismissing any accusation of politicking and saying officials were duty-bound to act. The development triggered a fierce reaction as friends of the former prime minister claimed he was being targeted by a "political stitch-up" and a "smear".Īn ally of Mr Johnson said: "This is ridiculous and it is a wilful attempt to misread diary entries in order to make something out of nothing." Legal options will be considered by the former prime minister after the Government passed the extracts from his diaries to the police without informing him. However, a spokesman for Mr Johnson said the allegations were "totally untrue" and suggested that the claims had been made for a "political purpose". It was prompted by the Cabinet Office handing over diary entries that were uncovered by lawyers working on Mr Johnson’s formal submission to the Covid Inquiry.Ĭabinet Office sources said that officials were obliged by the civil service code to give the information to the police as they were concerned the entries detailed potential breaches of Covid rules. The Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police confirmed on Tuesday that they were looking at gatherings Mr Johnson attended – including receiving visitors – in Downing Street and Chequers while prime minister. Boris Johnson has been referred to police over fresh allegations of breaking Covid lockdown rules, in a move branded a political "smear" by his allies. ![]()
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