Thread by @SteB777

1) Once again I ask why aren't Boris Johnson and other senior government members, being investigated for perverting the course of justice, a very serious offence, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment?

https://twitter.com/ITVNewsPolitics/status/1480595925227692039

2) Boris Johnson and government ministers have repeatedly told the public that there were no parties or social gatherings, that breached the COVID regulations. It is very clear that these lies were to stop them being investigated for breaching COVID laws.

3) Then cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife were sent to prison for 8 months for perverting the course of justice for lying about who was driving their car, when their car got a speeding ticket.
theguardian.com/uk/2013/mar/11…

4) The offence of speeding is a relatively minor offence, for which you cannot get a prison sentence. However, lying to avoid the conviction is a far more serious offence, which has a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

5) What I am demonstrating here is no matter how trivial the offence you lied about is, if you lie to avoid conviction, you are perverting the course of justice.

6) Therefore, considering the serious lies the PM and other ministers have told, to avoid a simple fine for breaking COVID regulations, it is equivalent to lying to avoid a speeding conviction/ticket.

7) The PM and government ministers could just have held their hands up and apologised for breaching COVID regulations when these reports first emerged. It would have been embarrassing, but the fines would have been small, and it not stopped them governing.

8) However, they took it to a completely different level by lying about these social gatherings, falsely claiming COVID regulations were adhered to at all times. Again, these lies covered all alleged social gatherings, not just specific ones.

9) The emphasis is on the wrong part of this scandal. The real scandal is the PM and other ministers lying about relatively minor offences, to avoid investigation and conviction.

10) If as seems, the PM and his now wife were at this illegal gathering breaching COVID laws at the time, it is impossible to see how the PM and possibly other government ministers, were not aware they were breaking the law by being at these primarily social gatherings.

11) It would seem that they were regularly breaching COVID laws, being fully aware they were breaching the law, because they implemented these laws. This was at a time when members of the public were being arrested for sitting on the grass, the beach, park benches etc.

12) As I say, they could have just held their hand up, got a slap on the wrist and had to deal with the embarrassment. However, they chose to tell big lies to avoid the embarrassment. That's far more serious.

13) Someone should not be protected for breaking the law, just because they are senior government figures. But this is what appears to be happening here. The media seem to be ignoring this facet to these scandals.

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