Just when Boris thought the worst was over with Partygate. The former Prime Minister has today been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over fresh claims that he broke Covid lockdown rules. According to the Times, Johnson’s ministerial diary from 2020 and 2021 has revealed visits by friends to Chequers during the pandemic.
The trips to the grace and favour residence were highlighted during preparations for the Covid public inquiry. In an incredible twist of fate, this story appears to have come about because the government is currently paying Johnson’s legal fees for the duration of the inquiry. He handed over the aforementioned diaries to the lawyers but as the client the Cabinet Office got to see them.
The Cabinet Office then felt obliged under the terms of the civil service code to refer the matter to the police and the House of Commons privileges committee. The Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police are both now investigating the matter.
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