Johnson accused of new Covid breaches

Allies claim former PM is victim of political smear as fresh allegations referred to police

BORIS JOHNSON has been referred to police over fresh allegations of breaking Covid lockdown rules, in a move described as a political “smear” by his allies.

The Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police confirmed yesterday that they were looking at gatherings Mr Johnson attended – including receiving visitors – in Downing Street and Chequers while he was prime minister.

The move was prompted by the Cabinet Office handing over diary entries uncovered by lawyers working on Mr Johnson’s formal submission to the Covid public inquiry.

Cabinet Office sources said officials were obliged by the Civil Service code to hand the information to the police, given concerns that the entries detailed potential breaches of lockdown rules.

However, a spokesman for Mr Johnson said the allegations were “totally untrue” and suggested that the claims had been made for a “political purpose”.

Legal options will be considered by the former prime minister after the Government passed the extracts from his diaries to the police without informing him.

The development triggered a fierce reaction from friends of Mr Johnson. They claimed he was being targeted by a “political stitch-up” and a “smear”.

One ally said: “This is ridiculous and it is a wilful attempt to misread diary entries in order to make something out of nothing.” Supporters noted that Oliver Dowden, the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office, is one of Rishi Sunak’s closest friends in politics.

But Cabinet Office sources said that no government minister was involved in the decision, dismissing any accusation of politicking and saying officials were duty-bound to act.

It comes as the Government braces for confirmation that net migration has hit a record high, with projections that the total will be between 700,000 and one million.

The former prime minister’s fall from power last year followed the partygate scandal, which led to Covid fines being issued over eight events in government buildings. Mr Johnson himself received one fine.

A linked investigation by the Commons privileges committee into whether Mr Johnson misled MPS over the events continues to overshadow his hopes of a political comeback, with a report expected next month. The committee is understood to have been informed of the police referral.

Little is known about the gatherings at the heart of the latest development. One source said there were a “handful” of events. Another said “more than 10”.

Police figures confirmed they occurred between June 2020 and May 2021, a period during which the country moved in and out of lockdowns to stop the spread of Covid.

The Daily Telegraph has been told one such event was a lunch in the No 10 garden for Mr Johnson and his mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl, who died in September 2021.

Another, which Whitehall sources vehemently denied was a breach of the rules, is said to have involved Mr Johnson meeting the television presenter Kate Garraway to discuss her husband, who was left in a life-threatening condition after being diagnosed with Covid in March 2020.

The development comes amid

‘This is a wilful attempt to misread diary entries in order to make something out of nothing’

enmity between supporters of Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak about the Tory rebellion last year that led to the former prime minister’s ousting from No 10.

A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “Information came to light during the process of preparing evidence for submission to the Covid inquiry. In line with obligations in the Civil Service code, this material has been passed to the relevant authorities and it is now a matter for them.”

A spokesman for Mr Johnson said: “The assertion by the Cabinet Office that there have been further Covid rule breaches is totally untrue. Lawyers have examined the events in question and advised that they were lawful. For whatever political purpose, it is plain that a last-ditch attempt is being made … to undermine Mr Johnson.”

The Metropolitan Police said: “We are in receipt of information from the Cabinet Office, which we are assessing.”