The latest furore centres on allegations that up to a dozen gatherings at Chequers and No 10 were held during lockdown after new details were referred to the police by the Cabinet Office.
In a plot twist worthy of the stage, the gatherings were highlighted by Mr Johnson’s own government-appointed lawyers who were trawling through the ex-PM’s diaries in preparation for the forthcoming Covid inquiry. The new claims are now being assessed by both Scotland Yard and Thames Valley Police.
Mr Johnson, who sacked his legal team on the spot, is understood to be both “furious” and “in despair” about getting dragged into fresh questions about Partygate – and does not think he did anything wrong, according to one source. Another friend said the ex-PM was angry and worried about the Cabinet Office passing on evidence to police.
The row has sparked a Westminster guessing game about who may have visited Mr Johnson at the grace-and-favour Buckinghamshire mansion between June 2020 and May 2021 – the dates being looked at by police. It also raises new scrutiny over those close to Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie who may have been invited to the house near Aylesbury during the period in question.
The diaries passed to Cabinet Office officials reveal visits by family and friends to Chequers during the pandemic, according to The Times, which first reported the story. The former PM’s sister Rachel Johnson has suggested she visited during the Covid pandemic – telling LBC this week that “as far as I’m aware, all the rules were followed whenever I went to Chequers”.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 26, 2023 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May 26, 2023 من The Independent.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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