London police have completed their investigation into the Downing Street party scandal despite the confinements linked to the Covid-19 epidemic. And it saved Prime Minister Boris Johnson from another fine. If he is now done with the police aspect of this case which has been pursuing him for months, Boris Johnson is far from being rid of it. He will soon have to face the high-risk publication of an internal report and is under a parliamentary investigation.
Shortly after the announcement of the conclusion of the investigation, a spokesman for Boris Johnson said that it “confirmed that it was not taking any further action” against him. Boris Johnson had been fined – 50 pounds (59 euros) according to British media – for his presence at a surprise drink for his 56th birthday in June 2020. His finance minister Rishi Sunak and his wife Carrie also experienced the same fate.
He then apologized “without reservations” to Parliament after receiving the fine and ruled out resigning, in the face of repeated calls from the opposition to do so. The Tory leader said it “did not occur to him, then or subsequently”, that his participation in the brief gathering on his birthday “could constitute a breach of the rules” in force.
A total of 126 fines
The suspense has remained since whether he would be sanctioned for his presence at other events under investigation by Scotland Yard. In a press release on Thursday, the London police announced that their investigations, now complete, have resulted in a total of 126 fines, corresponding to eight different dates, ranging from May 20, 2020 to April 16, 2021. Mobilizing in particular 12 investigators to full time, the operation cost 460,000 pounds sterling (542,000 euros), said Scotland Yard.
An amount that shocked the association Bereaved Families for Justice, for which the amount necessary to uncover the violations of the rules in Downing Street represents no less than a “terrible insult for those who have lost loved ones” because of the Covid, which has claimed more than 177,000 lives in the UK.
The investigators examined 345 documents, 510 photos and video surveillance images and peeled 204 questionnaires, in this investigation opened after a succession of revelations on the organization of parties in the circles of power when the British had to make many sacrifices to fight against the pandemic. Some of those fined received more than one fine, police said.
The full report released next week?
The police investigation revealed “breaches of the law on an industrial scale”, reacted on Sky News the leader of the Labor opposition Keir Starmer, reiterating “of course” his call for Boris Johnson to resign. The Prime Minister is “responsible for the culture” reigning in Downing Street, he denounced, now calling for the full publication of an internal investigation.
The end of the police investigation now clears the way for the publication, potentially as early as next week according to British media, of the full report by senior civil servant Sue Gray. A preliminary report, considerably redacted so as not to interfere with the police investigation, nevertheless gave a scathing foretaste, denouncing among other things “errors of leadership and judgment”.
The publication of this report will then allow a new investigation, parliamentary this time, to begin. It will aim to determine whether Boris Johnson knowingly misled MPs in this affair, by repeatedly telling the House of Commons that all the rules had been followed. The ministerial code provides that a minister who has deliberately misled parliament must resign.
Himself accused of breaching anti-Covid rules for sharing beers and curry with his team at campaign premises in April 2021, Keir Starmer said ten days ago that he would resign if sanctioned by a fine. “There has been no violation of the rules on my part or anyone on my team”, repeated this Thursday the leader of the opposition, “there is no comparison”.
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