British prime minister Boris Johnson could face more than £10,000 (€11,900) in fines if police rule that multiple events in Downing Street breached Covid-19 restrictions, a lawyer has estimated.
Mr Johnson is expected to be among more than 50 individuals in No 10 and Whitehall who will receive legal questionnaires from officers working on Operation Hillman.
Scotland Yard said it will be dispatching them by the end of the week as officers consider whether to widen the investigation to cover a Christmas quiz held in No 10 in December 2020.
Police are reconsidering their decision not to include that event after a photograph emerged of Mr Johnson and colleagues near an open bottle of sparkling wine.
Adam Wagner, an expert on Covid-19 rules, said the sending out of questionnaires is “very significant because it appears that the police at least think that they’re getting towards the point where they can start issuing fixed penalty notices”.
The human rights barrister told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It sounds to me, although I haven’t seen the letters, that they’ve decided that relevant gatherings were potentially a breach of the regulations and now they’re asking people ‘Did you have some sort of reasonable excuse?’, which, in law, would effectively be a defence for being there.”
He said the most likely form of penalty to be issued by police investigating 12 gatherings is fixed penalty notices, with Mr Johnson alleged to have been at up to six of them.
“So, if he was given a fixed penalty notice for each and every one of those, I think that he would be given those sort of cumulative amounts until eventually the final one would be £6,400 (€7,600),” Mr Wagner said.
“So overall, and assuming there isn’t a big £10,000 one for hosting a gathering in the flat of over 30 people, he could still be in line for over £10,000 worth of fixed penalty notices if they accumulate.”
Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is braced for a potentially scathing intervention from Conservative former prime minister Sir John Major when he delivers a speech on Thursday.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace was unclear about whether Mr Johnson will tell the public if he receives a police questionnaire.
He told the Today programme: “The prime minister has said he will be full and transparent. He will notify if he is receiving any form of fine etc but he’s also said he will publish the Sue Gray report in full.”
The cabinet minister said more damaging photos of events could be leaked in the coming days.
“Yes, there could be a photograph tomorrow, the next day or the day after – that’s clearly what’s behind some of the people’s motives,” he told Times Radio.
The Metropolitan Police said the questionnaire will ask for “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation” in an event which is the subject of police inquiries.
Recipients will be advised that the questionnaire has “formal legal status” and that they are required to respond “truthfully” within seven days.
In most cases the contact will be by email.
“If, following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice will normally be issued,” the statement said.
“We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and are progressing the investigation at pace.
“We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially.”
An interim report last week by senior official Sue Gray disclosed that police are investigating 12 different events in No 10 and Whitehall over the course of 2020 and 2021 for possible breaches of Covid rules.
They include the notorious “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 attended by Mr Johnson, and a gathering in the prime minister’s official flat in November 2020.
The Met said the Operation Hillman team are continuing to examine more than 500 documents and 300 images provided to them by the cabinet office and will be seeking further information to assist their inquiry.
Meanwhile, it emerged that the Met are considering whether to investigate the funding of the lavish refurbishment of Mr Johnson’s official Downing Street flat following a complaint by lawyers acting for the UK Labour Party.
In a letter to Scotland Yard, the solicitors said there is a “reasonable suspicion” that the prime minister had broken anti-bribery laws which the force is “duty-bound” to investigate.
The Met confirmed they have received the letter, which is being considered by officers from Central Specialist Crime Command.
The complaint follows the release last month of an exchange of WhatsApp messages between Mr Johnson and Tory donor Lord Brownlow.
They show that Mr Johnson discussed a proposal supported by the peer for a Great Exhibition 2.0 at the same time as requesting his help with the £112,000 (€132,800) revamp of his official residence.
Ministerial records show that two months later, Lord Brownlow, who is a trustee of the Royal Albert Hall Trust, attended a meeting with then culture secretary Oliver Dowden to discuss the exhibition plan.
In his letter, seen by the Guardian, Gerald Shamash, of law firm Edwards Duthie Shamash, said that, despite inquiries by the Electoral Commission and Mr Johnson’s adviser on ministerial interests, Lord Geidt, there are still matters that are “uninvestigated and unconsidered”.
A Met spokesman said: “A letter was received and acknowledged on Friday, February 4th.
“It is being considered by officers from the Met’s Central Specialist Crime Command.
“No investigation has been opened.”
In response to the claims in the letter, a No 10 spokesman said: “These allegations are categorically untrue and a clear misrepresentation of the facts.”
