PARTYGATE CRASHERS
Two No.10 figures did not answer police probe
TWO people failed to send back police questionnaires about the Downing Street Partygate scandal, the Met has revealed.
In a letter to Lib Dem chief whip Wendy Chamberlain, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors said that of the 204 sent out, only 202 were returned.
Scotland Yard will now be under pressure to say whether the two figures are ministers or members of staff – and whether they went on to be fined despite failing to return the forms. Ms Connors said the two were still “assessed against all available evidence”.
The Met also failed to answer a question from Ms Chamberlain, asking if any questionnaires had been only partially completed.
After publication of Sue Gray’s report, junior No10 staff were furious that they had been left to carry the can while some senior colleagues got off scot-free.
Sources told the People that junior civil servants had been “open and honest” with Ms Gray’s probe – and were fined after she passed their files to Scotland Yard.
But they believe some senior staff had been “more circumspect” with their evidence to her and had escaped being fined by the Met as a result. Ms Chamberlain said: “Serious questions remain around the Met Police’s investigation into Boris Johnson’s law-breaking parties in Downing Street.
“Time and again, Johnson has lied and tried to cover up his criminal behaviour. The public now deserves full transparency.
“It’s important that we find out more about the two individuals who failed to return a questionnaire to the police – whether they were Conservative ministers or senior officials, and if one or both then received a fine.
“We also need urgent clarity over claims that some failed to properly fill in questionnaires.
“The public would be rightly angry if it turns out Johnson or
his Downing Street colleagues evaded justice by failing to properly answer questions.”
In her letter, Ms Connors added: “We understand the strong interest, feelings and opinions on this case given the pandemic affected so many in so many ways.
“Therefore, I can assure you once again that the small but skilled team investigating this have acted diligently, proportionately, carefully and impartially.”
On Friday, Labour leader Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner said they had returned questionnaires on whether they broke lockdown rules while visiting Durham in April 2021.
No 10 said it was “up to individuals” to return questionnaires.