Boris Johnson escapes fresh police probe into lockdown dos at Chequers and No10
Boris Johnson will escape a fresh police investigation over claims of lockdown rule-breaking at No10 and Chequers.
The disgraced ex-PM was reported to police after entries in his ministerial diaries revealed 16 more gatherings could have broken the rules, including visits from friends to his grace and favour country house between June 2020 and May 2021.
The Cabinet Office, who made the referral to officers, discovered the alleged breaches at Downing Street and the 16th Century retreat in Buckinghamshire as they sifted through material in preparation for the Covid-19 public inquiry.
The new claims surfaced in May this year, as Mr Johnson awaited the verdict of the Commons Privileges Committee - which last month found he misled MPs when he denied lockdown-busting parties took place in No10.
But the former Tory leader, who was slapped with a fine after attending a gathering to mark his 56th birthday party, has been let off the hook this time.
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Boris Johnson was previously slapped with a fine after attending a gathering to mark his 56th birthday party (PA)The Metropolitan Police said tonight that it and Thames Valley police had assessed the new material and "concluded that they do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation".
Meanwhile Scotland Yard has reopened its probe into a boozy lockdown bash at Tory HQ after the Mirror published a bombshell video of the event.
The Metropolitan Police originally decided not to investigate a "jingle and mingle" party in December 2020, organised by the campaign for failed Tory mayoral hopeful Shaun Bailey. No fines were issued to attendees.
Mr Bailey is set to be installed in the House of Lords as a life peer within weeks - though calls for him to be stripped of the honour were made immediately after the new police investigation was announced.
At the time, Mr Johnson's spokesman said: “Some abbreviated entries in Mr Johnson’s official diary were queried by the Cabinet Office during preparation for the Covid Inquiry.
"Following an examination of the entries, Mr Johnson’s lawyers wrote to the Cabinet Office and privileges committee explaining that the events were lawful and were not breaches of any Covid regulations.”
The full Met statement relating to Mr Johnson's diaries said: "The Met and Thames Valley Police have assessed material referred by the Cabinet Office regarding potential breaches of the Regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street and Chequers.
"Based on an assessment of that material and an account provided regarding the diary entries, and also having sought some further clarification, the Met and Thames Valley Police have each assessed the events in their jurisdiction and concluded that they do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation."
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