AS part of their investigation into the lockdown-busting parties alleged to have been held at Downing Street, several of which were attended by Boris Johnson himself despite his protestations to the contrary, the Metropolitan Police have now reportedly sent official emails to some 50 people – including the Prime Minister – who have been accused of being in attendance at illegal gatherings in breach of lockdown rules.
The police are investigating eight events which took place in Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021. The email sent as part of the investigation contains formal questionnaires which ask for "an account and explanation of the recipient's participation" in an event which is the subject of police inquiries.
The email instructs respondents to answer the questions truthfully. The questionnaires have formal legal status and a response to the questions asked is generally required within seven days of receipt of the letter. In most cases this can be done by email. Any answers supplied to the questionnaires will be treated by the police as "written statements made under caution". Those who have received the questionnaires are entitled to seek legal advice before responding.
The sending of such questionnaires is apparently normal police procedure when investigating matters like an alleged breach of lockdown regulations which can result in the issuing of a fixed penalty notice, and is the equivalent of an interview under caution in the investigation of more serious offences.
Although being contacted in this manner does not necessarily mean a fixed penalty notice will be issued, the Met said that a fixed penalty notice would "normally" be issued when the officers investigating the case believed that regulations had been breached without reasonable excuse.
Johnson has committed to disclosing whether he receives a fine as a result of the police investigation, although Downing Street sources have briefed that he does not intend to resign if he does. Johnson has made it clear that he plans to remain in office and will not go willingly or easily. It would be up to Conservative MPs to remove him from office and although the required 54 signatures might be found to provoke a no-confidence vote in Johnson, it is by no means clear that those opposed to Johnson would be able to gain the support of a majority of Conservative MPs. What is clear is that Johnson would fight vigorously and have no hesitation in employing dirty and underhand tactics in order to remain in office.
It is not remotely surprising that we hear today that Johnson is seeking to weasel out of a fixed penalty notice on a technicality. This is very much on brand for a man who has never accepted responsibility for anything and who has always been convinced that he has a permanent personal exemption from any rule or obligation which he finds inconvenient.
Johnson has reportedly engaged a lawyer who is an expert in Covid regulations in order to help him draft a response to the police questionnaire. Johnson is expected to employ a unique defence, arguing that Downing Street is both his home and his workplace. An ally of Johnson's told The Times newspaper that the police would have to be "very certain" that Johnson breached the rules before issuing him with a fixed penalty notice, adding: "There is inevitably a degree of discretion here, do you want the Metropolitan Police deciding who the Prime Minister is?"
Should Johnson escape a fixed penalty notice because the police have given him the benefit of the doubt on a legal technicality, he will invariably proclaim that he has been completely cleared and vindicated and the Conservative rebellion will most likely fizzle out. We will remain lumbered with a corrupt, lying individual who is unfit for office on a parish council, never mind the most powerful position in the UK.
The longer he remains in office, the more we see that power cannot be held to account in the UK, and that democracy can only be assured if Scotland breaks free from a corrupt and dysfunctional Westminster.
This piece is an extract from today’s REAL Scottish Politics newsletter, which is emailed out at 7pm every weekday with a round-up of the day's top stories and exclusive analysis from the Wee Ginger Dug.
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