LONDON — British police are investigating fresh claims of coronavirus lockdown-breaching gatherings in Westminster, in the latest twist in the Partygate scandal.
The Metropolitan Police announced Tuesday that it is opening one new investigation — into a December 8, 2020 “gathering in Parliament” — and re-opening another, covering an “event in Matthew Parker Street on 14 December 2020.”
The first date is the same as a gathering reportedly attended by senior Conservative MP — and Partygate inquisitor — Bernard Jenkin, according to the Guido Fawkes website.
The second date matches with a controversial “jingle and mingle” event at Conservative HQ. That event, at which party aides were pictured dancing and laughing at a time social gatherings were tightly restricted, was the subject of an exposé by the Sunday Mirror.
In June, Boris Johnson — who was fined for his own COVID-19 rule breaches and recently condemned by the Commons privileges committee for his testimony on Partygate — called for Jenkin to resign from that committee over the claims.
The Met also confirmed Tuesday that it and Thames Valley Police had had looked at fresh material “referred by the Cabinet Office regarding potential breaches of the Regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street and Chequers,” but concluded that “they do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation.”
Johnson had been under further scrutiny over visits to Chequers, his country retreat when prime minister, but the Met’s statement suggests these do not warrant further investigation.