BREAKING: The Metropolitan Police will NOT investigate any of the Downing Street parties unless and until the Sue Gray inquiry finds evidence of criminality.
ie the Met are relying on an internal inquiry to decide for them whether a crime was committed.
Full statement 👇
ie the Met are relying on an internal inquiry to decide for them whether a crime was committed.
Full statement 👇
The many thousands of people fined for breaching Covid rules may wish they could only have asked a close colleague to investigate them before needing to involve the police.
The Metropolitan Police are already being taken to court by @GoodLawProject who argue that the police’s decision not to investigate any of the parties is unlawful. A judicial review has been launched. It will be fascinating to see what the judge concludes.
This also piles huge additional pressure on Sue Gray. Not only must she now rule on whether staff behaved inappropriately in Downing Street, but she will know her conclusion will be the sole basis for whether or not her colleagues are potentially convicted of a crime.
It also means Gray can conclude fairly quickly. A Met Police investigation would have been devastating for Boris Johnson, but it would have significantly delayed things and paused Gray, buying him some time. Can’t see any reason now why Gray couldn’t report back this month.
UPDATE: And here is a fresh letter tonight from @GoodLawProject to Met Police saying they believe the decision not to investigate the 20th May garden party in particular is clearly unlawful, given the significant evidence provided by the leaked email and the PM’s admission.
NEW: Lib Dems accuse the Met Police of a “shady establishment stitch-up.”
“The police don’t need the Government’s permission to investigate a crime, and they mustn’t turn a blind eye to criminality just because it is committed by Boris Johnson.”
“The police don’t need the Government’s permission to investigate a crime, and they mustn’t turn a blind eye to criminality just because it is committed by Boris Johnson.”
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