The saga has continued to develop with reports of parties on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral - Boris Johnson's staff accused of more rule-breaking parties inside No 10 - BBC News for which the Prime Minister apologised to HM The Queen.
Next came a report
of a "surprise birthday party" for the Prime Minister in June 2020 - Birthday celebration for PM sparks new party row - BBC NewsEnter - the Police:
On 25 January it was announced that the Metropolitan Police had decided to conduct an investigation into at least some of the events at Downing Street and Whitehall where participants may have breached Health Protection Regulations on a number of dates.
It appears from the Police statement that at least some matters are not being investigated because they did not reach " the threshold for criminal investigation."
How that threshold is defined is unclear but it seems that not very much was required for the Police to investigate alleged breaches of Covid Regulations where members of the general public were the suspects.
Reports:
Previously, the standard "line" of the Prime Minister and many Conservative politicians was to repeatedly tell interviewers to await the report by civil servant Sue Gray.
Following the Police announcement, the standard response to questions then became - "Wait for the Police report."
Press reports on Friday 28 January state that, whilst the Police were not asking for the Gray report to be delayed, the Police have asked her to make "minimal reference" to events that they are investigating - BBC News 28 January and The Guardian 28 January. This will, it is claimed by the Police, "avoid any prejudice to our investigation."
It is now hard to see what the Gray report will actually be able to say if only "minimal reference" can be made to events under Police investigation. After all, such events are the very heart of Gray's investigation.
The Gray report was commissioned by the Prime Minister, her terms of reference were set by the Prime Minister, the report will go from Sue Gray to the Prime Minister, and any decision on what to publish will be taken by the Prime Minister.
In itself this is remarkable given that the Prime Minister is inevitably at the centre of any investigation relating to what happened at No. 10 which is both his office and his official London residence.
What will eventually happen is unclear but we are left with a government which has plainly been unwilling to come clean about gatherings in No. 10 Downing Street and other places.
Opinion:
Covid Regulations imposed severe restrictions on personal freedom and required many businesses to close their doors to customers. The Regulations were enforced with some zeal by many Police Forces and Ministers repeatedly told the public that the rules were to be obeyed.
Honesty in government matters. The public has to be able to know that politicians operate within the law and that they always tell both Parliament and the public the truth. Any politicians either incapable or unwilling to do this ought not to be in public life.
It also matters that those who make the rules obey the rules. Few things are more corrosive than a view that "it's one rule for us and another for them."
These simple and basic truths appear to have been forgotten. It is a sad time for politics and government in the UK.
28 January 2022
Links:
Previous post 13 January - Law and Lawyers: Events at Number 10 (obiterj.blogspot.com)
Previous post May 2020 - Law and Lawyers: Lord Sumption ~ the lockdown should be "entirely voluntary" (obiterj.blogspot.com)
General interest - History of 10 Downing Street - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Sue Gray's terms of reference - Terms of Reference - Cabinet Secretary Investigations - December 2021.docx (publishing.service.gov.uk)
30 January - The Guardian - article by former Lord Chancellor Lord Falconer QC
continued at Law and Lawyers: Events at No 10 - a sad and damaging time (No.3) (obiterj.blogspot.com)
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