The Cabinet Office has handed Boris Johnson over to police over possible further breaches of coronavirus regulations during his tenure as UK prime minister.
Civil servants passed information to the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police last week, which was discovered by lawyers working for the government, to provide evidence for a public inquiry into Covid-19.
The information relates to entries in Johnson’s official diary showing his friends and family visited Downing Street and Checkers, the country residence used by the British prime minister during the pandemic, The Times Report Tuesday.
A Cabinet Office spokesman said: “In the course of preparing evidence for submission to the Covid Inquiry, information came to light. It was identified as part of the normal disclosure review of potentially relevant documents by the legal team for investigation witnesses.
“In accordance with the obligations under the Civil Service Code, this material has been forwarded to the relevant authorities and is now dealt with by them.”
A government official said the decision to refer the material to police was made without the minister’s involvement and that No 10 was notified until after the action had been taken.
A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “A number of brief entries in Mr Johnson’s official diary were questioned by the Cabinet Office in preparation for the coronavirus inquiry.
“After examining the entries, Mr Johnson’s lawyers wrote to the Cabinet Office and the Privileges Committee explaining that the events were lawful and did not breach any Covid regulations.”
The House of Commons privilege committee is investigating whether Johnson deliberately misled MPs about a Downing Street party during coronavirus restrictions.
One Johnson ally said the Cabinet Office referral was “clearly politically motivated” and that he had not been informed by civil servants so he could respond before the information passed to police.
The ally added that Johnson “has been advised by counsel that all of these activities are legal and in no way violated any restrictions” and that he has not been contacted by police.
Johnson’s final year as prime minister will depend largely on revelations about parties held in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid restrictions. 126 fines were issued to 83 people following a Met investigation that ends in May 2022.
Johnson became the first prime minister to be caught committing a criminal offense while in office when he attended a birthday party in Downing Street in June 2020 and was caught breaking coronavirus rules.
In April 2022, Johnson, his wife Carrie and then chancellor Rishi Sunak paid fines for partying.
The Met said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “currently assessing the information it received” from the Cabinet Office on May 19 “in relation to possible breaches of health protection regulations in Downing Street between June 2020 and May 2021.” “Information.
Thames Valley Police said: “On Thursday we received a report that there may have been a breach of health protection regulations in Checkers, Buckshamshire between June 2020 and May 2021. We are currently assessing this information.”
On Tuesday, the Liberal Democrats called on Johnson to resign as the Conservative MP for Uxbridge.
Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “The fact that it was a rule for them and it is a rule for the rest of us still sparks a raw feeling among millions of people. sense of injustice.” “Johnson should finally do a decent thing and think about his standing as an MP.”