Many government officials said the Metropolitan Police had referred the first batch of FPN-related party and rally alerts being investigated by police to No. 10 and the Cabinet Office. It’s been two months since the force began examining material from Whitehall’s investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray into multiple alleged violations of the Covid rules. The Met has sent questionnaires to more than 100 staff members and assistants, including Boris Johnson and his wife, Carrie. the head of the public service, Simon Case. and the former chief private secretary to the prime minister, Martin Reynolds. Last week, the force said it intended to begin questioning witnesses, with no FPNs issued so far. The announcement showed that the officers had not yet identified violations that meet the evidentiary threshold for issuing fines without further interviews. In all, police are investigating 12 separate incidents in 2020 and 2021, six of which are said to have been attended by Johnson. Scotland Yard said it had taken more than 300 photographs and 500 pages of documents showing what Gray’s investigation believed was a possible breach of the rules. The images include photographs taken at a party and those taken by security cameras that show when people entered and left the buildings. The investigation is being conducted by detectives from the force’s special investigative team, which focuses on sensitive cases. It was headed by Jane Connors, the deputy assistant power commissioner and in charge of enforcing Covid. Documents from the Met are sent to the Acro, the criminal records office, for fines. The scandal over alleged Covid law violations has repeatedly threatened Johnson’s presidency and led several lawmakers to call for a vote of no confidence. Gray, who has only been able to publish a revised version of her research, plans to publish a full report as soon as the Met completes its work. The controversial Downing Street rallies included a summer drink party, where attendees were invited to “bring their own drink,” leaving the drink for civil servants and an alleged rally in Johnson’s apartment. No. 10 has promised to reveal whether the prime minister is receiving an FPN, but has so far refused to say whether he has been interviewed by police. His allies believe he will not be questioned because Met said he wanted to speak to witnesses and not to those under investigation. Ministers have publicly expressed confidence that Johnson will not be punished by the police. “The prime minister is in fact very clear that he is not going to be warned with a fixed sentence because he is sure he has not broken the law,” Tory co-chair Oliver Dowden told LBC. A number of senior Conservatives have said privately that they expect a vote of no confidence in Johnson if an FPN is issued. At least two Conservative lawmakers, Douglas Ross and Andrew Bridget, have withdrawn letters of condemnation from Johnson, citing the inappropriateness of a leadership confrontation at a time when Russia has invaded Ukraine.
