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Two investigations into partygate gatherings involving senior Tories have been announced by the Met Police.

One is a re-investigation into claims of a COVID rule-breaching party by staff of former Conservative London mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey, in December 2020.

In a press release, the force said: “The Met is now re-opening an investigation into potential breaches of the regulations at an event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.”

That date is the same day that footage was taken showing workers on Mr Bailey’s 2021 London mayoral campaign dancing and mingling while the capital was in Tier 2 of COVID restrictions.

The force added: “Following assessment of material relating to a gathering in Parliament, the Met is opening an investigation into potential breaches of the Regulations at an event on 8 December 2020.”

That event was a birthday party held for Baroness Jenkin – wife of senior Conservative MP Sir Bernard Jenkin – in Parliament on 8 December 2020.

Sir Bernard, who sits on the Commons Privileges Committee, which last month published a highly critical report about Boris Johnson, did not deny to reporters that he was in attendance at the event when the claims were first published by the Guido Fawkes website last month.

The Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley also said it had decided not to open an investigation into claims of rule-breaching parties at Downing Street and Chequers – the official country residence of British prime ministers – between June 2020 and May 2021.

These relate to 16 events “without any prior notice” and which were marked in Mr Johnson’s official diaries as prime minister.

The content of the diaries – which were requested by the COVID enquiry last month and are now the subject of a High Court battle – were referred to the police by the Cabinet Office.

Boris Johnson has been warned he could lose taxpayer funding for legal advice on the COVID inquiry

Scotland Yard said that “based on an assessment of that material and an account provided regarding the diary entries” it had concluded that the events “do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation”.

Responding to the Met Police’s announcement, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “Senior CCHQ staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14th December 2020.

“Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Shaun Bailey campaign.”

Mr Bailey previously apologised “unreservedly” after a video was published by the Sunday Mirror of his staff partying in lockdown and that he was “very upset” to see the footage.

Mr Bailey – who was running to replace Sadiq Khan in the 2021 London mayoral contest – had previously been pictured at the event but was not seen in the most recent footage.

Read more:
Shaun Bailey apologises ‘unreservedly’ for staff-partying video
Tory party staff filmed drinking and dancing during COVID lockdown

Responding to the Met Police’s announcement, the Liberal Democrats called for Mr Bailey – who was nominated for a peerage in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours – to be prevented from taking up a seat in the House of Lords.

Rishi Sunak needs to confirm he will call for honours to be stripped from anyone found to have broken the law,” said Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper.

“Anything less would make a complete mockery of his pledge to lead with integrity.

“He should also step in to stop Shaun Bailey from taking his seat as a peer while this investigation takes place.”

The Metropolitan Police previously issued 126 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPNs) referrals following a probe into claims of COVID rule breaching parties at Downing Street and Whitehall – an investigation named Operation Hillman.

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Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

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Four members of UK family die in crash on holiday in Portugal

Four members of a UK family have died in a car crash while they were on holiday in Portugal.

Domingos Serrano, 55, Maria Serrano, 51, and their twin sons Domingos and Afonso, both 20, died when the car they were travelling in collided with another vehicle in Castro Verde, southern Portugal, according to the Municipal Council for Mourao.

Two others died in the crash – the 19-year-old girlfriend of one of the sons, and the 26-year-old driver of the other car, its statement added.

The Serrano family were living in Thetford, Norwich, but were not British nationals, Sky News understands.

They were travelling from Faro to Mourao for their “usual and deserved vacation”, according to the Mourao authorities, who declared two days of mourning.

In a statement, they said: “In the car there were four occupants, of Mouranese nature, and a young woman with affinity to the family.

“Residents in England, follow from Faro to Mourão, for the usual and deserved vacation.

“It is with great regret that the Municipality announces this information, offering its condolences to the families and friends of the victims.”

Read more from Sky News
Man dies after tractor driven into cars
Horse rider dies after falling at competition
Three arrested after two drive in crash

‘Massive void’

Thetford Town Youth Football Club paid tribute to the family in a Facebook post, confirming the twins played for the team.

“Thetford Town Football Club would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the Serrano family and the local Portuguese community after the recent tragedy while on holiday,” it read.

“Afonso and [Domingos] were both an integral part of our U18’s team in recent years, both brothers sadly passed away in Portugal with their parents and friends in a tragic car accident.

“The loss of this lovely family will leave a massive void in the local community.”

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Amnesty International ‘deeply concerned’ as 474 arrests made at Palestine Action protest

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Amnesty International 'deeply concerned' as 474 arrests made at Palestine Action protest

Amnesty International says it is “deeply concerning” that police made 474 arrests during a Palestine Action demonstration in London.

Metropolitan Police said 466 were detained under the Terrorism Act for showing support for a banned group.

Eight more people were arrested for other offences, including five for assaulting officers.

The Met said it was the most arrests it’s made related to a single operation in at least the past decade.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Organiser of the event, Defend Our Juries, earlier said up to 700 people were at the event in Parliament Square and claimed police were preparing for the “largest mass arrest in their history”.

The group said those arrested included former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg, NHS workers, quakers and a blind wheelchair user.

Amnesty International UK’s chief executive Sacha Deshmukh said in a statement: “The protesters in Parliament Square were not inciting violence and it is entirely disproportionate to the point of absurdity to be treating them as terrorists.

“Instead of criminalising peaceful demonstrators, the government should be focusing on taking immediate and unequivocal action to put a stop to Israel’s genocide and ending any risk of UK complicity in it.”

The Met said a “significant number of people” at the event were seen “displaying placards expressing support for Palestine Action”.

Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: “The right to protest is one we protect fiercely but this is very different from displaying support for this one specific and narrow, proscribed organisation.

“Palestine Action was proscribed based on strong security advice following serious attacks the group has committed, involving violence, significant injuries and extensive criminal damage.”

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Palestine Action supporters arrested at protest

Police said those arrested had been taken to processing points in Westminster and any whose details could be confirmed were bailed on condition they didn’t attend further Palestine Action support events.

Others whose details could not be verified, possibly because they refused to give them, were taken to custody suites across London.

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

The protests have put a strain on authorities’ capacity to cope.

Sky News understands senior leaders in the prison service, known as “Capacity Gold”, met today to discuss how to deal with the large number of arrests as the male prison estate is close to full.

It’s understood 800 inmates were moved out of the busiest jails in and around London beforehand.

In a statement, the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Thinking of our colleagues and wishing all assaulted officers well. Remember there are no ‘extra’ police officers – just the same ones having their days off cancelled, having to work longer shifts and being moved from other areas. Officers are emotionally and physically exhausted.”

‘We felt compelled to speak out’

The first of the arrests began just before 1pm, when a man waving a placard that read “I support Palestine Action” was stopped by police, writes Gurpreet Narwan, reporting from Parliament Square.

Officers told him he was showing support for a terrorist organisation, searched him and ushered him away.

The action soon escalated. Among the people arrested today were a number of elderly people, a blind man in a wheelchair, and a teenager.

They were protesting peacefully, with a number of people pointedly seating themselves below statues of Mahatma Gandhi and the suffragette Millicent Fawcett.

They told Sky News that they were fully expecting to be arrested but that they felt compelled to speak out and defend the right to protest.

One protester said: “I don’t think I’m a criminal. That’s not the person I am.”

However, he said he was being guided by his faith and his conscience.

Things calmed down after a few hours but there was a heavy police presence well into the afternoon and early evening.

Read more: What does proscribing a group mean?

Legislation to ban Palestine Action came into force on 5 July, making it a criminal offence to show support for the organisation, carrying a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Defend Our Juries said earlier this week the protest would still go ahead, following several similar demonstrations since it was outlawed last month.

On Saturday, a spokesperson said: “Palestine Action and people holding cardboard signs present no danger to the public at large.”

Pic: PA
Image:
Pic: PA

Human rights advocates Amnesty International described the arrests of so many people under UK terrorism law as “deeply concerning”.

Another march organised by the Palestine Coalition, which is a separate group, set off from Russell Square and assembled on Whitehall.

The Met Police said one person had been arrested there for showing a placard in support of Palestine Action.

Pic: Reuters
Image:
Pic: Reuters

Earlier this week, three people charged as a result of illegal Palestine Action activity were named.

Jeremy Shippam, 71, of West Sussex, Judit Murray, also 71, of Surrey, and Fiona Maclean, 53, of Hackney in east London, will appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on 16 September.

The ban on Palestine Action faces a legal challenge in November after the High Court granted a full judicial review to Palestine Action co-founder Huda Ammori.

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‘We will send you packing’: Govt vows to deport foreign criminals immediately after sentencing

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'We will send you packing': Govt vows to deport foreign criminals immediately after sentencing

Foreign criminals will be deported from the UK immediately after they are sentenced, the justice secretary has said.

The law change proposed by Shabana Mahmood could save taxpayers an average of £54,000 a year per prison place.

The changes would apply to prisoners serving fixed-term “determinate” sentences.

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May: Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons

Authorities would also retain their power not to deport a criminal but instead keep them in custody – with examples including if an offender is planning further crimes against the UK’s interests or national security.

The justice secretary’s announcement goes further than a change to the law in June – expected to come into force in September – meaning prisoners face deportation 30% into their sentence rather than the current 50%.

The government will need parliament to greenlight its proposal to bring this down to 0%.

Foreign national offenders make up around 12% of the prison population.

More from Politics

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May: Male prison capacity running at 99%

Ms Mahmood said: “Our message is clear – if you abuse our hospitality and break our laws, we will send you packing.”

She added: “Deportations are up under this government, and with this new law they will happen earlier than ever before.”

Almost 5,200 foreign national offenders have been deported since July 2024, a 14% increase on the 12 months prior, according to the government.

Read more:
Inside one of Britain’s most overcrowded prisons
Prison system came ‘within days of collapse’
Prisoners to be moved to lower security jail

According to a Labour source, the previous Conservative government relied on prison transfer agreements with other countries to deport foreign national offenders, in deals which allow inmates to serve their custodial sentence in their “home” country.

This saw 945 prisoners sent to jails abroad between 2010 and 2023, equal to fewer than two criminals per week.

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July: Jenrick slams justice system shake-up

Conservative shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said: “In Starmer’s topsy-turvy world, investors are fleeing the country in their droves while record numbers of violent and sexual offenders from abroad are put up in our prisons. It’s a farce.

“Yet again Starmer has refused to confront our broken human rights laws.

“He needs to grow a backbone and change them so we can actually deport these individuals.

“The safety of the British public is infinitely more important than the ‘rights’ of sick foreign criminals.

“If countries won’t take back their nationals, Starmer should suspend visas and foreign aid. His soft-touch approach isn’t working.”

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