Boris Johnson has hit out at “bizarre and unacceptable” new claims he broke COVID lockdown rules after being referred to the police by the Cabinet Office.
The former prime minister’s ministerial diary has revealed visits by friends to Chequers during the pandemic.
The trips to the country residence were highlighted during preparations for a public inquiry into COVID, as well as new allegations about his behaviour in Downing Street, according to The Times which first reported on the story.
Mr Johnson complained of a “politically motivated stitch-up” after the information was passed onto the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police, saying the events in question were “lawful”.
Sky News understands all legal options are being considered by his team.
His spokesperson said: “The assertion by the Cabinet Office that there have been further COVID rule breaches is totally untrue.
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“Lawyers have examined the events in question and advised that they were lawful.
“No contact was made with Mr Johnson before these incorrect allegations were made both to the police and to the privileges committee. This is both bizarre and unacceptable.
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“For whatever political purpose, it is plain that a last-ditch attempt is being made to lengthen the privileges committee investigation as it was coming to a conclusion and to undermine Mr Johnson.”
The Cabinet Office said the information was passed on “in line with the civil service code”.
But Mr Johnson’s statement said: “The events in question were all within the rules either because they were held outdoors or came within another lawful exception. They include regular meetings with civil servants and advisers.
“It appears some within government have decided to make unfounded suggestions both to the police and to the privileges committee.
“Many will conclude that this has all the hallmarks of yet another politically motivated stitch-up.”
Mr Johnson’s lawyers have written to the police “to explain in detail why the Cabinet Office is entirely wrong in its assertions”.
Police ‘assessing’ concerns
Police are currently “assessing” concerns, but a formal investigation has not yet been launched.
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0:27
The world ‘has moved on’ from partygate
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said the details were passed to them on 19 May and they relate “to potential breaches of the Health Protection Regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street”.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “Information came to light during the process of preparing evidence for submission to the COVID Inquiry.
“It was identified as part of the normal disclosure review of potentially relevant documents being undertaken by the legal team for inquiry witnesses.
“In line with obligations in the Civil Service Code, this material has been passed to the relevant authorities and it is now a matter for them.”
Rishi Sunak is being dragged back to the past when he wants to focus on the future
We have few details about these further alleged rule breaches. Mr Johnson’s aides insist all these events were lawful and the Cabinet Office’s failure to notify him before passing the information to police is “bizarre and unacceptable”.
Mr Johnson’s aides insist all these events were lawful and the Cabinet Office’s failure to notify him before passing the information to police is “bizarre and unacceptable”.
And some Conservative backbenchers seem concerned at the role civil servants have played in this referral to the police.
Yet if the former PM is found to have met friends without a reasonable exception or excuse, a fine of £50 or £100 is possible.
These latest revelations could delay the privileges committee inquiry into whether Mr Johnson misled parliament.
And yet again it drags Rishi Sunak into answering questions about the past when he’s desperate to focus on the future.
Johnson ‘should consider his position as MP’
The Liberal Democrats have called for Mr Johnson to consider his position as an MP.
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “It’s outrageous that rumours of alleged rule breaking by Boris Johnson are still being drip-fed to the public.
“The fact that it’s one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us still triggers a raw sense of injustice in millions of people.
“Sunak must make sure that not a single penny more of taxpayer money is spent on Johnson’s legal fund, and Johnson should finally do one decent thing and consider his position as an MP.”
What were the lockdown rules at the time?
June 2020 – After the initial ‘stay at home’ order in March, rules are relaxed to allow a maximum of six people to meet outdoors for non-work purposes.
July 2020 – Two households of any size are allowed to meet in indoor or outdoor settings.
August 2020 – People are encouraged to go out again with the introduction of the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme
September 2020 – Rules begin to be tightened again with the ‘rule of six’ banning any social gathering of more than six people.
November 2020 – Second national lockdown – people can leave home to meet only one person outside their support bubble.
Restrictions were eased through December and over Christmas, with a tier system being introduced for different regions in England.
January 2021 – Third national lockdown for England – people were again told to stay at home and not meet anyone outside their support bubble, with limited exceptions for religious gatherings and weddings.
March 2021 – Six people or two households, regardless of size, allowed to mix outdoors again.
May 2021 – Restrictions further lifted with 30 people permitted to mix outdoors, the rule of six or two household rule applied indoors.
Lindsay Jackson, spokeswoman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, branded Mr Johnson “totally unfit for any form of public service” and suggested he “quietly step back from public life”.
Labour called for the taxpayer-funded legal support for Mr Johnson, which is an estimated £222,000, to come to an end and said he had “serious questions to answer”.
Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: “The public will be shocked that they’re still paying Boris Johnson’s legal bills while he rakes in millions from speaking gigs, all because Rishi Sunak is too weak to put a stop to it.
“The Conservatives are now so preoccupied by their own scandals and haunted by their own failure that they are unable to tackle the problems facing the country. Only a Labour government can turn the page on 13 years of Tory sleaze.”
‘World has moved on from partygate’
However, allies of Mr Johnson have jumped to his defence.
Former cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said he went to Chequers with his children during the period being investigated by police and the visit was “entirely within the rules”.
“The latest stories are just another example of how those who don’t like Boris, mainly because of Brexit, are always looking for something to have a go at him on. It is a supreme non-story,” he said on his GB News show.
Ben Bradley, the Tory MP for Mansfield, said the world “has moved on” from partygate, telling Sky News:“My sense of all of this is that, frankly, the former prime minister has been through that, we’ve investigated that, the country’s dealt with that – I think the world’s moved on.”
The partygate scandal overshadowed the end of Boris Johnson’s premiership and played a major role in his downfall last year.
Details of drunkenness, fighting and late-night parties at the heart of government while the nation lived under lockdown restrictions were laid bare in a damning report by Sue Gray – who said “senior leadership” must take responsibility for a culture of rule breaking.
Its publication came after the Met Police concluded its investigation into lockdown-breaking events in Downing Street and Whitehall, which resulted in 126 fines being issued for 83 people.
Mr Johnson received one of those fines, for attending his own birthday party in the cabinet room in Downing Street in June 2020.
The US told a G7 meeting that Israel had told it about the attack “at the last minute”.
Israel had been weighing up how to respond to Iran’s unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel last weekend – with Western powers urging restraint.
“It has not been proved to us that there is a connection between these and Israel,” Mr Amir-Abdollahian told Sky’s US partner NBC News.
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2:31
Israel wanted to ‘send a message’
Iran said its air defences destroyed three drones and reported no damage or casualties.
The foreign minister said they were “more like toys that our children play with” than a serious threat, as he sought to play down the threat.
Authorities and media in Iran have described it as an attack by unknown “infiltrators”, dismissing the notion it was an Israeli offensive that bypassed its border defences.
Experts have said the modest, targeted strike appeared designed to avoid further escalation and it appears – for now – to have dampened fears of direct war.
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1:52
‘Blasts’ shown over Iran
‘If not, then we are done’
Mr Amir-Abdollahian said Iran was still investigating the attack and reiterated Israeli retaliation would mean an immediate and severe response – “but if not, then we are done. We are concluded”.
Meanwhile, the former head of Israel’s national security council said he didn’t believe there would be “real escalation” after Friday’s limited attack.
Major General Giora Eiland told Sky’s Yalda Hakim the strike showed Israel can reach “even sensitive places”, but it had tried to “do it in a way that both sides can be satisfied”.
He said both nations would try to emphasise their own success and minimise that of the other side.
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It was mostly intercepted and no deaths were reported, but was a dramatic moment that bypassed the usual method of attacks via proxy groups.
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2:13
Military analyst Professor Clarke on Israeli attack
Iran’s attack was itself retaliation for a strike – attributed to Israel – on an Iranian consulate in Syria on 1 April.
Two generals and seven members of Iran’s revolutionary guards were killed in the incident.
The Israel-Hamas war – which has seen attacks by Iranian and Israeli proxies increase – has helped create the conditions for this week’s historic flare-up.
Iran has grounded commercial flights across parts of the country after reports of explosions.
State media also said Iran fired its air defence systems after reports of blasts near the city of Isfahan.
It remained unclear if the country was under attack.
But tensions remain high in the wider Middle East after Iran’s missile and drone attack on Israel over the weekend.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment, AP reported.
Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency said its air defences fired across several provinces – but did not elaborate on what caused the batteries to fire.
State television noted a “loud noise” in the area.
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A major airbase for the Iranian military is in Isfahan, as well as sites associated with its nuclear program.
Iranian state TV said its nuclear facilities remain unharmed, Reuters news agency reported.
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The deaths of 48 people in the worst fire in the history of Ireland have been ruled by a jury as unlawful killing.
A jury at Dublin District Coroner’s Court delivered majority verdicts on the victims of the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire in the city on Thursday.
The venue in Artane, north Dublin, was packed with around 800 people when the fire broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
More than 200 people were injured in the disaster.
Fresh inquests into the deaths, the longest held in Ireland, were ordered by the country’s attorney general in 2019, but only began last year.
A jury, made up of seven women and five men, delivered the verdict on Thursday after 11 days of deliberation.
Some family members of the victims jumped to their feet and clapped at the verdict, while others were moved to tears as they remained in their seat.
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Others embraced each other as soon as the foreman said “unlawful killing”.
The jury also established that the fire started as a result of an electrical fault in an airing cupboard.
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In the ballroom, foam in the seating, the height of the ceiling in an alcove, and carpet tiles on the wall all contributed to the spread of the fire, the jurors found.
Several factors, including lack of visibility because of black smoke, the toxicity of the smoke or the gases, the heat of the fire, the speed of the fire’s spread, lack of staff preparedness and the failure of the emergency lighting system were all factors that impeded the victims in escaping the building.
It was unable to determine when the blaze started but said it was first seen outside the building between 1.20am and 1.40am.
Jurors said the fire was first seen inside the ballroom between 1.35am and 1.40am.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane paid tribute to the “persistence and commitment” of the families who had campaigned for fresh inquests.
“To the families I acknowledge the deaths of these 48 young people is a source of ongoing grief to those who loved them and it remains the defining loss of their lives,” she said.
“However, I hope that family members will have taken some solace from the fact that these fresh inquests were held, that the facts surrounding the deaths were examined in detail, that moving testimony was heard from many of those involved in the events of the night and, most importantly, that you the families felt fully involved in proceedings, however difficult it was to hear all of the evidence.
“The fact that these inquests have been held at all is in no small part due to the persistence and commitment of families over the years.
“And, finally, we remember those 48 young people who lost their lives on that fateful night. It is their lives that we’ve sought to vindicate by way of these inquests.”
On Wednesday, the foreman told coroner Myra Cullinane they had been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Ms Cullinane said she would accept a simple majority of seven and allowed the jury’s deliberations to continue.
A tribunal of inquiry set up soon after the fire found arson was the “probable” cause, something the families rejected as it appeared to blame those attending the disco and absolved the club’s owners.
This is despite evidence that exits in the ballroom were locked, chained or otherwise obstructed, which the jury confirmed this afternoon.
They were themselves awarded IR£581,000 compensation by a Dublin court in 1983.
But victims’ relatives kept pushing for a new investigation and, eventually, new inquests were announced, only for legal arguments and wrangling over juror pay to delay proceedings by a further four years.
Ireland’s prime minister, Simon Harris, described the Stardust tragedy as “one of the darkest moments in our history”.
“A heartbreaking tragedy because of the lives that were lost, the families that were changed forever, and the long, drawn-out struggle for justice that followed,” he said.
In a statement after a jury at inquests into the deaths of the 48 people in the Dublin nightclub disaster in 1981 returned a verdict of unlawful killing, Mr Harris remembered those who lost their lives and paid tribute to their families for pursuing truth and justice “to ensure that such a disaster never happens again”.
He said the Irish government will consider the verdict in full, and the recommendations of the jury.
“I want to acknowledge and thank the coroner, and her team and the jurors,” he said.
“48 young people never came home that night, but as Taoiseach I want to say this to their families; You never gave up on justice for them, you never let Ireland forget about them. They were never alone, and our country owes you a great debt for that.”