There is a school of thought that suggests the Prime Minister has gotten away with it again. Yesterday, the Met Police concluded its partygate probe and confirmed no further fines would be levied on Boris or Carrie Johnson. And meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer remains under investigation by Durham police for a post-campaigning beer and curry. Yet this would be a misreading of the parlous state of play.
Questions remain over Scotland Yard’s decision-making. First, there is a sense that junior Downing Street staff have been treated in more a heavy-handed manner than their seniors, an impression not aided by the fact that the Prime Minister escaped punishment for attending events for which others received fixed penalty notices.
Second, there is confusion about why only certain events were investigated but others not. Whatever metrics were applied seem arbitrary and opaque. And third, there is genuine public anger over the chasm between how some ordinary people were punished for lockdown breaches and those in government, as our Courts Correspondent Tristan Kirk makes clear in today’s paper.
Next, Johnson faces the full Sue Gray report, whose interim publication was damning on the subject of leadership and culture in Downing Street. While it is unlikely to contain a smoking gun, it will reinforce the accepted narrative that Downing Street viewed Covid rules as optional while at the same time enforcing them across the country. As to murmurs that Gray will be restricted in what she can reveal, she must be free to name whoever she wants or her report risks being perceived as a whitewash.
Then comes the Commons Privileges Committee investigation into whether the Prime Minister deliberately misled the House — a resigning offence if proven.
Whatever the outcome, the reality is that Downing Street has become the most lockdown-fined address in the country. From the calamitous local election results to the widespread acceptance of his inability to tell the truth, Johnson has not yet gotten away with it.
Football safety call
Patrick Vieira, the Crystal Palace manager, is likely to face a misconduct charge for reacting aggressively to provocation by a fan. The old adage is true — you can’t do that in football.
Yet what is abundantly clear is that pitch invasions of this nature are bringing the game into disrepute. More shocking was the assault on Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp earlier this week, for which a man has been jailed. Everyone, including footballers and managers, is entitled to be safe in their jobs.
End-of-season pitch invasions have long been tolerated, as supporters celebrate playoff wins or staving off relegation. But given recent events, the game will have to consider what additional steps are required to ensure the wellbeing of players, managers and officials.
Help for veterans
Thanks to the efforts of the Evening Standard, the Defence Secretary has offered Falkland veterans free flights to the islands to pay their respects on the 40th anniversary of the war.
Ben Wallace intervened after this paper alerted him to the 600 per cent rise in the fares for an RAF transport flight, which meant no veterans would be on the Falklands to mark this day. We are grateful for his swift action.
