{"id":1062902,"date":"2023-05-24T15:49:09","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T15:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1664215"},"modified":"2023-05-24T15:49:09","modified_gmt":"2023-05-24T15:49:09","slug":"former-pm-johnson-faces-fresh-police-investigations-over-partygate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2023\/05\/24\/former-pm-johnson-faces-fresh-police-investigations-over-partygate\/","title":{"rendered":"Former PM Johnson faces fresh police investigations over partygate"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Former prime minister Boris Johnson is facing further potential police investigations into the “Partygate” scandal. This comes after a government ministry handed two police forces material about alleged coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown breaches.<\/p>\n

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they were “assessing” new information it has received over the last week related to “potential breaches” of the coronavirus rules in Downing Street between June 2020 and May 2021.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the\u00a0Times<\/em> said Thames Valley Police were also analysing new evidence related to possible rule-breaking at Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate outside of London. Multiple sources told the newspaper that the alleged breaches involved Johnson’s family as well as his friends.<\/p>\n

On top of all that, Johnson has sacked his legal team<\/a> ahead of the hearings next month. Adding insult to injury for the public, taxpayers will still fund<\/a> his new lawyers. Then, according to the Guardian, <\/em>the official public inquiry has threatened the Cabinet Office with<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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criminal sanctions over its refusal to share Boris Johnson\u2019s WhatsApp messages and diaries from during the crisis without heavy redactions.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The chair of the inquiry, Lady Heather Hallett, suggested<\/a> that if the Cabinet Office considered the request to share WhatsApp messages illegal it should to a pursue a judicial review.<\/p>\n

Partygate rumbles on<\/h2>\n

All this is typical of the increasingly chaotic behaviour from ministers and former ministers. After the cronyism<\/a> of the pandemic, and the revolving<\/a> door<\/a> of ministers, the partygate<\/a> allegations are still rumbling on. The longer they do, the more frustration from the public spills over.<\/p>\n

Lecturer Kit Yates described the “contempt” of Johnson’s behaviour:<\/p>\n

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I genuinely believe he thought he was above the law and that the rules he made didn\u2019t apply to him.<\/p>\n

How else do you explain the sheer contempt in which these stories show he clearly held the general public during his premiership.<\/p>\n

One rule for them\u2026https:\/\/t.co\/hqDOGAdXRj<\/a><\/p>\n

— Kit Yates (@Kit_Yates_Maths) May 24, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n