United Kingdom: Boris Johnson again in the storm of "partygage"

New accusations against Boris Johnson, suspicions of cabal, threats of prosecution... The "Partygate" crisis returned on Wednesday, May 24 to shake political life in the United Kingdom, nearly a year after the departure of the former Prime Minister who remains at the center of the game.

Boris Johnson was forced to resign last summer after a succession of scandals, foremost among them parties in Downing Street during lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic.

'Weird and unacceptable'

The charismatic leader, still an MP, remains very influential in the conservative majority and his political future is the subject of endless speculation, between a possible return to power or an ouster from Parliament as part of the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into "partygate". The case took a new turn Tuesday night when the Times revealed that the Cabinet Office, a large department in charge of cross-cutting files, had reported new elements to the police.

London police said they were "assessing" these elements relating to "potential" breaches of anti-Covid rules in Downing Street between June 2020 and May 2021. Police have also received a report of events at Chequers, the country residence of British prime ministers. "No contact was established with Boris Johnson before these incorrect statements were made," denounced the services of Boris Johnson, explaining that his lawyer had contacted the police to explain. "This is both bizarre and unacceptable."

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Whatever the political objective pursued, it is clear that this is a last-ditch attempt to prolong the (parliamentary) inquiry as it was coming to an end and to weaken Boris Johnson," the statement said. The parliamentary committee of inquiry in question must determine whether Boris Johnson lied to Parliament by repeatedly claiming that all health restrictions had been respected in Downing Street. The leader has already been fined in this case, as has the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, then Minister of Finance.

'Politically motivated montage'

A spokesman for Boris Johnson quoted by several British media went further by describing the latest allegations as "politically motivated montage" coming from "inside the government". In March, heard for more than three hours by the commission investigating these parties in Downing Street, Boris Johnson had said "hand on heart" that he had not lied to Parliament. This affair could even cost him his seat as an MP.

Boris Johnson, who is about to celebrate his 59th birthday and have his eighth child, has not hidden his desire to return to power, even if he has converted by speaking at conferences that bring him millions. The new elements implicating him emerged in the context of the preparation of a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the management of the pandemic. Its president published a letter sent to the Cabinet Office at the end of April on Wednesday to protest because she had only received redacted versions of the documents in question. Heather Hallet threatens the ministry with prosecution if it does not transmit by next Tuesday certain documents and messages sent or received by Boris Johnson.

Asked about these new adventures in the "partygate" affair, a spokesman for the current Prime Minister totally ruled out the presence of Rishi Sunak in the Chequers country residence in violation of anti-Covid rules. He also rejected accusations from some of Boris Johnson's allies that their champion, who has just parted ways with his government-funded lawyers, is the victim of a witch hunt to prevent him from returning to power. "To be very clear, the ministers were not involved at all in the decision to pass information on to the police," the spokesman said.