Scotland Yard has opened an investigation into allegations lockdown rules were breached at a party attended by Tory MP Bernard Jenkin in parliament. The announcement from the Met comes more than a fortnight after allegations emerged about the senior MP’s attendance at the gathering held in December 2020, to mark the birthday of his wife Anne. Socialising indoors in London was banned at the time. Jenkin sits on the privileges committee that delivered a withering verdict on Boris Johnson’s partygate conduct.
A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman tonight said:
‘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.’
They added that:
‘It is proportionate and there is evidence that those involved knew or ought to have known what they were doing was an offence. Not investigating would significantly undermine the legitimacy of the law.’
In a separate development, the Met and Thames Valley Police concluded that they will not probe Boris Johnson over new claims that he was involved in further lockdown breaches in Downing Street and at Chequers. A spokesman for the Met said the claims ‘do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation.’
Boris 1, Bernard 0…
Comments