Photo of PM 'with beer at lockdown bash' given to Met, source claims

Photo of Boris Johnson ‘standing next to Rishi Sunak and toasting the camera with a can of beer during his lockdown birthday party at No10’ is part of trove of 300 snaps given to the Met by Sue Gray, sources claim

• Reports suggest PM was pictured toasting with can of Estrella while at the party
• Photo was one of 300 images handed to the Met by Sue Gray’s Partygate inquiry
• Party is one of twelve gatherings being formally investigated by the Met Police 

Police officers investigating the Partygate scandal have reportedly been handed a photo of Boris Johnson holding a can of beer at his lockdown birthday party in June 2020.

The picture features the Prime Minister raising a can of Estrella standing next to Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the Downing Street Cabinet Room as he toasts towards the camera, according to the Mirror.

The newspaper reports that a source said the photograph was taken by Mr Johnson’s taxpayer-funded official photographer Andrew Parsons and has now been turned over to investigators.

The image is thought to be one of the 300 photos compiled by Sue Gray who was leading the inquiry into the scandal which have now been handed to the Metropolitan Police.

The Prime Minister is believed to appear in some of the 300 photos now in the hands of the Met with an earlier report claiming Mr Johnson was pictured in front of some wine bottles.

Other images gathered by Sue Gray are thought to include security footage which show when certain people arrived and left each gathering that is being investigated.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, pictured here at a Wolverhampton pub in 2019, was allegedly photographed with a beer during his lockdown birthday party which is now being investigated

The photo was reportedly one collected during the inquiry being lead by civil servant Sue Gray

Sue Gray’s update on the Partygate scandal revealed 12 events held in Number 10 and across Whitehall are now subject to formal police investigations.

They include Boris Johnson’s birthday, a bash in the PM’s Downing Street flat to celebrate the exit of Dominic Cummings and Number 10’s Christmas party on December 18, 2020.

Two separate events held in Number 10 on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral are also being probed.

However, four events which Ms Gray looked into are not subject to a police investigation, including the ‘cheese and wine’ gathering in the Number 10 garden on May 15, 2020.

This is because the police have ‘confirmed that on the basis of the information available the gatherings on these four dates are not considered to have reached the threshold for criminal investigation’.

It was claimed that the PM’s wife, Carrie Johnson, helped organise a surprise get-together for the premier in the afternoon in the Cabinet Room on July 19, 2020.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak was said to have been in attendance but was not invited in advance

The PM was said to have been presented with a cake, with Mrs Johnson leading staff in a chorus of happy birthday. Guests apparently ate picnic food from M&S.

The event is said to have lasted for approximately 20 to 30 minutes. 

Reports said up to 30 people attended including that Lulu Lytle, the interior designer behind lavish renovations of Mr and Mrs Johnson’s No 10 flat, briefly attended while undertaking work in Downing Street.

At the time, the nation was just emerging from lockdown. Rules were eased from June 15 to allow gatherings of up to six people outdoors only. 

The PM’s Official Spokesman said ‘a small number of staff briefly came into the Cabinet Room on the PM’s birthday’.

Number 10 would not be drawn any further, pointing to ongoing investigations.

Barrister Adam Wagner, an expert in Covid laws, told the Mirror: ‘The legal question for the Prime Minister is whether he participated in the gathering.

Reports suggest that the birthday party was organised by Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie (pictured together) and that he was presented with a cake while she lead a chorus of Happy Birthday 

‘The fact that he was photographed holding a beer strongly suggest he did and therefore committed a criminal offence of the regulations’.

The newspaper said sources claimed Mr Sunak had not been invited to the event in advance and had turned up for a Covid meeting.

It comes after the Prime Minister’s former adviser Dominic Cummings claimed earlier this week that pictures exist of Boris Johnson at Downing Street parties being investigated by police.

As the Prime Minister faced continuing pressure over the PartyGate saga his former righthand-man lashed out at his former boss and his wife Carrie over allegations of rule-breaking gatherings during lockdown.

In response to questions about the report, Mr Cummings wrote: ‘Yes there are photos of the PM at parties under investigation. I’ve spoken to people who say they’ve seen photos of parties in the flat.

‘I’ve talked to people who were in No10 on 13/11 who could hear the party in No10 after I’d left – the press office is below the flat.

‘If cops talk to people there that night, there’ll be witnesses who say ”we could all hear a party with Abba playing”.’

He accused the PM of ‘lying’ and added: ‘This could blow up terminally for him if lies to the cops but he wont be able to help himself other than say ”I don’t remember’ which is his default when he senses danger.’

Mr Johnson was yesterday publicly criticised by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who questioned the PM’s conduct over the explosive claim regarding Sir Keir’s time as DPP.

Rishi Sunak publicly rebuked the PM over his explosive claim that Sir Keir Starmer failed to prosecute Jimmy Savile.

Addressing the issue in a live broadcast on the cost-of-living crisis yesterday, Mr Sunak said of Mr Johnson’s attack on Sir Keir: ‘I wouldn’t have said it.’

In a further sign of turmoil at the heart of government, the Chancellor was last night in turn criticised by his own deputy, Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, who said Mr Johnson was ‘within his rights to say what he said’. 

Source: Read Full Article