Johnson referred to police for additional potential Covid violations

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Boris Johnson has been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over further potential breaches of coronavirus regulations during his time as UK prime minister.

Civil servants passed on to the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police last week information that had been uncovered by lawyers working for the government on the evidence to be brought before the public inquiry into Covid-19.

The information concerns Johnson’s official diary entries showing visits to Downing Street and Checkers, the country residence used by the British prime minister, his friends and family during the pandemic, The Times newspaper reported on Tuesday.

A Cabinet spokesman said: “The information emerged during the process of preparing evidence for submission to the Covid inquiry. It was identified as part of the regular review of the disclosure of potentially relevant documents undertaken by the inquest’s witness legal team.

“In line with the obligations of the civil service code, this material has been forwarded to the competent authorities and is now their responsibility”.

A government official said the decision to report the material to police was made without ministerial involvement and that Number 10 was only informed after the move had been made.

A spokesman for the former prime minister said: “Certain abbreviated entries in Mr Johnson’s official diary have been questioned by [the] Cabinet Office during the preparation of the Covid investigation.

“After an examination of the rumours, Mr Johnson’s lawyers wrote to the Cabinet Office and Privilege Committee explaining that the events were lawful and did not breach any Covid regulations.”

The House of Commons privileges committee is investigating whether Johnson deliberately misled MPs about Downing Street parties held during the coronavirus restrictions.

An ally of Johnson said the Cabinet referral was “clearly politically motivated” and that civil servants had given him no notice so he could respond before the information was passed on to police.

The ally added Johnson was “advised by lawyers that all of these events were lawful and did not in any way violate any restrictions” and that he had not been contacted by police.

Johnson’s final year of the premiership was largely defined by holiday revelations held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the Covid restrictions. Following a Met investigation that concluded in May 2022, 83 people were given 126 fines.

Johnson became the first prime minister found to have committed a crime while in office after attending a birthday party in Downing Street in June 2020 that breached coronavirus rules.

In April 2022, Johnson, his wife Carrie and the chancellor at the time, Rishi Sunak, paid fines for attending the party.

The Met said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “currently assessing” information received by the Cabinet Office on May 19 that “relates to potential breaches of health protection rules between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street”.

The Times quoted a Thames Valley Police spokesman as saying: “On Thursday we received a report of potential breaches of health protection rules between June 2020 and May 2021 in Checkers, Buckinghamshire. We are currently evaluating this information.”

The Liberal Democrats on Tuesday called on Johnson to step down as Conservative MP for Uxbridge.

“The fact that it’s a rule for them and a rule for the rest of us still triggers a raw sense of injustice in millions of people,” said Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper. “Johnson should finally do a decent thing and consider his position as an MP.”