Past Punishments May Set Bar For Johnson's Sanction

Boris Johnson is facing fresh questions about his behaviour during Partygate after the Cabinet Office referred the former prime minister to police over further potential lockdown rule breaches.

- ADAM FORREST, ARCHIE MITCHELL

It comes at a difficult time for Mr Johnson, as the cross-party committee of MPs enters its final deliberations on whether he lied to parliament about rule-breaking parties during Covid.

A sanction of 10 days or more could destroy the former PM’s political future, threatening to spark a by-election in his Uxbridge and Ruislip constituency.

Both the Metropolitan Police and Thames Valley Police are assessing information about Mr Johnson’s time at Chequers, which came from official diary entries reviewed ahead of the public inquiry into Covid.

His ministerial diary reportedly revealed visits by family and friends as well as officials to the PM’s grace and favour residence in Buckinghamshire between June 2020 and May 2021.

The latest revelations appeared to increase the risk that the privileges committee could sanction Mr Johnson. A spokesperson said MPs would take the new evidence passed to them by the Cabinet Office “into account” before coming to a verdict.

A spokesperson for the committee told The Independent: “The committee will take this evidence and Mr Johnson’s response into account when considering its final report. The committee is making progress with its inquiry expeditiously.”