A legal campaign group has lost its bid to bring a High Court challenge against the London Metropolitan Police over the force’s investigation into former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s role in the “Partygate” scandal.
Johnson received a fixed penalty notice (FPN) over a birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020, but faced no further action over other gatherings.
Last May, the Met said its investigation into breaches of COVID-19 lockdown rules at Downing Street and Whitehall resulted in a total of 126 fines issued to 83 people, including 28 who were issued multiple fines.
The GLP, along with Lord Paddick, a former deputy assistant commissioner of the Met, brought a legal challenge against the force. But following a preliminary hearing in London on Feb. 22, the High Court refused to grant them permission for a full hearing.
Mr. Justice Swift said the grounds argued on behalf of GLP and Lord Paddick had “no prospect of success.”
“It is not for the court to second-guess the steps the police should take for the purposes of investigation,” he added.
‘No Further Action’
During the police investigation into the Partygate affair, Johnson, along with his wife Carrie and then-Chancellor Rishi Sunak, was issued an FPN for attending a birthday gathering for him at No. 10 Downing Street in June 2020.The spokesman said Johnson was “pleased the investigation has concluded” and that “we’d like to thank the Met Police for their work in bringing this investigation to completion.”
‘Irrational’
But just days after the announcement, ITV published four photos showing Johnson raising a glass at a leaving party for Lee Cain, his then-communications director, on Nov. 13, 2020—a week after England was plunged into its second national lockdown.Johnson wasn’t fined by the Met over that event or any other event that day—when Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings also left his position—but at least one other individual was issued an FPN. The Met declined to say what the offending event was. It also declined to explain why Johnson was not fined over the leaving party.
The GLP argued that the Met’s failure to send questionnaires to Johnson in relation to those gatherings as well as a further party in January 2021—and its failure to issue FPNs over them—was “irrational” given its decision on the June 2020 party and the findings in Gray’s report.
But Justice Swift said on Wednesday that the police investigation required a higher threshold of evidence than Gray’s report.
He said that Gray was not considering whether FPNs should be issued in relation to the events, unlike the police who had to ensure they had enough evidence to prosecute the penalties if they were not paid.
‘Not Surprised’
In a statement after the ruling, GLP director Jo Maugham said an appeal is being considered.He said: “We are disappointed, but sadly not surprised. We think this decision ignores the quite proper questions that people have about what they understandably perceive to be differences of treatment between the powerful and the rest of us.”
The GLP said: “The fact remains that the Met still hasn’t explained why a number of civil servants and officials who attended lockdown parties in November and December 2020 and January 2021 were fined for attending, but Boris Johnson was not.
“This case goes beyond Boris Johnson and the issuing of Fixed Penalty Notices. It is about equal treatment under the law. There shouldn’t be one rule for those in power and another rule for us.”
The GLP said that this is the second time the group has taken action against the Met over the Partygate scandal.
The group said: “When the revelations over lockdown breaches at Number 10 first emerged, the police refused—remarkably—to launch a criminal investigation at all. But after we began legal proceedings, the then Commissioner, Cressida Dick, abruptly changed course.”
