THE Metropolitan Police has been threatened with legal action if it fails to justify its refusal to investigate numerous and still mounting reports of Christmas parties held by the Tory government while the rest of the UK was in lockdown.
One such party was held on December 18 and saw up to 50 people addressed by Boris Johnson’s director of communications Jack Doyle.
Reports said this party had been planned for weeks and involved wine, food, and a “secret Santa”.
However, two days prior to the event, London entered Tier 3 restrictions. The law stated: “No person may participate in a gathering in the Tier 3 area which consists of two or more people, and takes place in any indoor space."
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The UK Government’s own guidance issued at the time said: “You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity.”
Despite corroborating reports across print media and broadcast, the Met Police refused to investigate due to an “absence of evidence” and a policy “not to investigate retrospective breaches”.
The claim of an absence of evidence sparked fury, coming as it did hours after the Prime Minister told Parliament his offices would hand over all the evidence they had of such parties.
Commenting on the Met’s refusal at the time, Good Law Project director Jolyon Maugham (above) said: “I think they have forgotten their role is to *investigate* crime. We will remind them.”
Now, Maugham’s outfit has written to the Met threatening legal proceedings if it fails to adequately justify its refusal to investigate.
They say that the force is due to respond before the new year.
Maugham said: “Now we know what Boris Johnson and his advisors think about the awful sacrifices people up and down the country have made. They think sacrifices are for the 'small' people - but not for 'great' people like them.
“But the law says we are all equal. Great and small alike, subject to the same laws. That's what the law says - and the Metropolitan Police need to apply it."
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