The Liberal Democrats have written to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, following the publication of photographs of the Prime Minister drinking at a Downing Street gathering on 13 November 2020.
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper called on the watchdog to look into why the Met Police did not fine the Prime Minister for his presence at the gathering, despite being pictured in apparent breach of Covid laws.
Liberal Democrat Deputy Leader Daisy Cooper said: “The Met Police need to explain why Boris Johnson wasn’t fined for this event, despite being pictured in an apparent breach of the rules.
“If anyone else had been pictured at a party like this during lockdown, surely this would have been enough evidence for them to be fined.
“It does seem that there has been one rule for the Prime Minister and another for everyone else.
“The complete lack of transparency in this investigation risks doing huge damage to public trust. We need urgent clarity from the Met over why Boris Johnson wasn’t fined when others were.
“If the Met won’t set out the basis on which they made their decisions, then it’s absolutely right that they should face an investigation.”
Responding to reports that the Prime Minister allegedly tried to get Sue Gray to drop her plans to publish her report into lockdown parties, Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “Boris Johnson lied to Parliament and the public. Now we learn he apparently put pressure on Sue Gray to scrap her report. If these stories are true, how can any Conservative MP look their constituents in the eye and tell them Boris Johnson is fit to govern? The British public needs transparency now. If Boris Johnson won’t release the minutes of his meeting with Sue Gray, Liberal Democrats will use every route available in Parliament to force him to.”