PM faces questions over flat and parties
BORIS Johnson is facing questions over whether he misled an investigation into donations for refurbishments to his Downing Street flat after a watchdog fined the Tories £17,800.
Meanwhile the probe into alleged Covid rule-busting parties in Government has been widened to include another festive celebration and a reported staff leaving do.
Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis has told MPs that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case will, as well as investigating reports of a staff Christmas bash at Downing Street on December 18 2020, also look into two other alleged events.
He will include in his review a confirmed gathering at the Department for Education’s (DfE) Whitehall headquarters on December 10 last year, and a reported leaving event for a No 10 aide - allegedly attended by Boris Johnson - on November 27.
The two December dates coincide with when mixing between households in London was restricted, with England in a month-long lockdown during November.
Both the Prime Minister and Health Secretary had suggested Mr Case could choose to extend his investigation - a move he has decided to make - beyond the main allegation that a Christmas party took place in Downing Street only 24 hours before the Government announced Christmas was cancelled.
The latest announcement means that some claims, including that there was a party in Mr and Mrs Johnson’s No 11 flat on November 13 - the night the Prime Minister’s former chief aide Dominic Cummings departed - is not currently included in the scope of the review.
A later statement to peers by Cabinet Office minister Lord True suggested “credible allegations” of socialising could still be probed, keeping the door open for the flat claims to be potentially delved into.
Answering an urgent question in the Commons, Mr Ellis said: “The primary purpose of the Cabinet Secretary’s investigation will be to establish swiftly a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings, including attendance, the setting and the purpose, and with reference to adherence to the guidance in place at the time.
“If required, the investigation will establish whether individual disciplinary action is warranted.”
The Paymaster General said that any evidence of potentially criminal behaviour “will be referred to the police and the Cabinet Office’s work may be paused”.
Ministers, special advisers and civil servants will be “expected to co-operate with this investigation”, said Mr Ellis, who added it would be for Mr Case to determine how long his inquiry lasts.
MPs were told the Cabinet Secretary was “not at any relevant gathering” included in the review.
Downing Street had refused on Wednesday to explicitly declare that Mr Case had not been at the December 18 event, where staff and aides are said to have drunk together, eaten cheese and swapped Secret Santa presents.