Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick (PA)
(Picture: PA)The Metropolitan Police announced they were opening a criminal investigation into the Downing Street gatherings after months of people calling for them to do so. Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said there were grounds to suspect “serious and flagrant” breaches of the law, with No10 themselves admitting to at least three gatherings themselves during lockdown.
She added that her officers were “investigating a number of events that took place at Downing Street and in Whitehall in the past two years in relation to potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations”.
She declined to say whether the Prime Minister was personally under investigation but her comments will still have sent shockwaves through Westminster with many likely considering submitting letters of no confidence after the latest flagrant breach of the regulations.
Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg rushed to defend the PM, saying: “The leadership of Boris Johnson that this country has had has been so brilliant that he has got us through this incredibly difficult period and he’s got all the big decisions right,” he said. “I’m honoured to be under his leadership.”
However, the relevance of Sue Gray’s report into the issue may be diminished if enough Tory MPs feel they’ve had enough of the string of allegations and move to remove the PM from office and trigger a leadership election.
What do you think about the Met’s handling of the whole Downing Street affair? Have they been too slow to open the investigation or have they got their timing right? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below for a chance to be featured on the ES website tomorrow.
Tuesday’s Talking Point: What do you think of the new Highway Code law aimed at protecting cyclists?
MilesFinch said: “How many times will the same old lines get trotted out? The fact that there are dangerous cyclists and dangerous drivers has nothing to do with this.
1) The roads are paid for by everyone. Everyone is entitled to use them. Everyone must follow the rules
2) Learn to be patient while travelling
3) Respect other road users, especially those more vulnerable than you”
StevieDee wrote: “None of the proposals are "changes", neither are they "new" - they’ve always been in the HWC.
And most importantly neither are they solely for the benefit of people on bikes - they’re for *all* vulnerable road users whether on foot, bike, trike, adapted bike or wheelchair.”
