Police start interviewing witnesses about Downing Street parties
Boris Johnson: he has good reason to look worried.
Metropolitan Police officers have started interviewing witnesses about the alleged lockdown-breaking Downing Street parties.
After sending questionnaires to more than 100 people, officers have begun to sift through the information about participation in the alleged gatherings:
In a statement on Monday, the Met said detectives from the Operation Hillman investigation team had started interviewing “key witnesses”.
The force added: “To date, over 100 questionnaires have been sent out asking the recipients about their participation in alleged gatherings.
“The questionnaires provide recipients with the opportunity to give an account of their involvement and the responses form part of the investigative material for the operation.”
All recipients – including both the prime minister and Chancellor Rishi Sunak – were given seven days to respond.
The statement said: “As a result of responses so far, further individuals have been identified and questionnaires sent to them.
“As the investigation continues, we may need to contact more people as further information comes to light.”
The announcement means any hope Downing Street had that the investigation would end quickly, with a minimum of fuss, is likely to be dashed.
Instead, inquiries appear to be expanding, with suggestions that the size of the police inquiry team is to be increased to deal with the volume of work.
This suggests that, rather than providing a minimum of information (as some of us expected after it was revealed that they had received advice on what to say), some Downing Street employees have been accusing others.
What does this mean for Boris Johnson, though?
Well, we know that some Tory MPs have withdrawn their call for a vote of “no confidence” in Johnson’s leadership, because they don’t think one should take place during a crisis like the current war between Russia and Ukraine.
But with the investigation continuing indefinitely, it is now possible that they will have a chance to reconsider their decision a second time.
And with more mistakes and corruptions by the UK’s worst-ever prime minister coming to light all the time, this can only be heartening for those of us who believe the UK needs better.
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