The Met Police said it has been handed more than 300 pictures as its investigation into gatherings held in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office during lockdown continue.
It comes after a partial version of the Sue Gray's report into the events was given to Boris Johnson and released to the public on Monday afternoon. .
Ms Gray, a civil servant, has been investigating numerous rule-breaking parties held at Downing Street during lockdown.
Her inquiry covers a total of 16 separate gatherings on 12 different dates - eight of which are currently being investigated by the Met Police.
Read more: Sue Gray report in full - the published inquiry into Downing Street parties
The report, although pared-back, found 'failures of leadership and judgement' over parties that 'should not have been allowed'.
In a statement, the Met Police revealed it has received more than 300 images and 500 pages of information from the inquiry.
It read: "Having received the documentation from the Cabinet Office on Friday 28 January, we are now reviewing it at pace to confirm which individuals will need to be contacted for their account.
"This prioritisation will include reviewing all the material from the Cabinet Office, which includes more than 300 images and over 500 pages of information."
Initially, the Met Police said it would not usually investigate 'breaches reported long after they are said to have taken place.'
But since 'significant evidence' has emerged, they are now assessing the breaches, 'which is why we have acted now,' the statement explains.
Meanwhile, Downing Street has said an updated report by Sue Gray would be published following the conclusion of the police investigation.
The move came after Boris Johnson repeatedly refused to guarantee that a fuller version of Ms Gray’s work would see the light of day.
A No 10 spokesman said: “Given the police have said they are investigating a number of events, it would not be appropriate to comment further while the Met’s investigation is ongoing.
“But, at the end of the process, the Prime Minister will ask Sue Gray to update her work in light of what is found. He will publish that update.
“However the Prime Minister is clear we must not judge an ongoing investigation and his focus now is on addressing the general findings.”
Addressing the House of Commons on Monday, the Prime Minister said he expressed his deepest gratitude to Sue Gray and apologised for 'the things we simply didn't get right and the way this matter has been handled.'
But scores of MPs - including Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, SNP leader Ian Blackford and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - maintained calls for Mr Johnson to resign.
The Met Police statement in full
In its entirety, the Met Police statement read:
"Following the publication of Sue Gray’s update, we can now confirm that we will be investigating eight of the 12 dates considered by the Cabinet Office as part of their own investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during Covid restrictions.
"The dates we will be looking at will be:
- 20 May 2020; 18 June 2020;
- 19 June 2020;
- 13 November 2020;
- 17 December 2020;
- 18 December 2020;
- 14 January 2021
- 16 April 2021.
"Our position from the start has been that, while we don’t normally investigate breaches reported long after they are said to have taken place, if significant evidence became available we would assess it. That is now the situation and why we have acted.
"As part of the investigation it is necessary for us to contact those who attended these events to get their account. As a result, the Met has requested that any information identified as part of the Cabinet Office investigation about these events, is not disclosed in detail. This request only applies for the duration of our investigation and does not apply to events we are not investigating.
"The reason this request is necessary is that in any investigation officers seek independent accounts from each individual, as free from the influence of others’ recollections as possible. Officers would also seek to avoid providing details of their investigation in advance to those they contact, so that individuals are not tempted to shape their accounts according to what is in the public domain.
"This is a standard approach in all investigations to ensure that how people engage with our investigation is not prejudiced, and not a judgement on the individuals who attended these specific events.
"Having received the documentation from the Cabinet Office on Friday 28 January, we are now reviewing it at pace to confirm which individuals will need to be contacted for their account. This prioritisation will include reviewing all the material from the Cabinet Office, which includes more than 300 images and over 500 pages of information.
"If following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate, because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice would normally be issued. Once the penalty is paid, the matter is considered closed. Alternatively individuals may decide to dispute the notice. In these circumstances officers will consider whether to pursue the matter in a magistrates' court.
"We do understand that the Met’s action in assessing and responding to these allegations will divide opinion. However police officers must, based on the information available to them, make carefully considered, difficult decisions, even when to do so is contentious.
"We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and will be progressing the investigation at pace. We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially."
