Questionnaires being sent out to the attendees of Downing Street parties that may have broken Covid laws will be the written equivalent of police interviews under caution.
More than 50 politicians and staff have been given a week to respond to the formal documents by email, and police will then decide whether to fine them for breaking restrictions.
The penalties could vary between ￡100 and ￡10,000, depending on the law that was in force at the time, the size of the gathering and the person’s role.
Prosecutions may follow if people refuse to pay any fines issued to them, and police decide to pursue further action.
The Metropolitan Police said the questionnaires demand “an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event”.
Recommended Boris Johnson refuses to say if he will resign if fined by police over No 10 parties Inside Politics: Boris Johnson to fill in police questionnaire on Partygate Boris Johnson won’t receive personal legal advice from government lawyers over Met police probe, No 10 says
The force said the documents “have formal legal status and must be answered truthfully”.
A spokesperson told The Independent that answers “will be treated as written statements made under caution”.
Police cautions are used when people are suspected of a criminal offence, and warn them: “You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
A criminal barrister told The Independent that the questionnaire process was “almost unheard of”, as police normally interview people in person.
Andrew Keogh said the questionnaires appeared to be the equivalent of an in-person interview under caution, “but done on paper with fixed questions”.
“When police interview someone they caution them,” he added. “It doesn't matter if it’s said by a police officer in front of you who’s writing down what you’re saying, which is the normal way, or if you’re sent a questionnaire with that written at the top.”
Mr Keogh said that to establish whether there was a defence to Covid offences under the Health Protection Regulations, recipients may be asked specific questions on how long they spent at gatherings and whether there was a “reasonable excuse” for their attendance in law.
“It gives the opportunity for people to give a defence or a complete denial,” he added.
Boris Johnson has declined to say if he will resign in the event of being fined
(PA Wire)
The barrister said that there was no law against people who attended the same event discussing their accounts with each other before responding to the questionnaire, “but there is a line between a legitimate collating of experiences and a conspiracy to pervert the course of justice”.
Mr Keogh said it would be “absolutely normal” to seek legal advice before responding to the questionnaires, as people would be offered representation at any in-person police interview.
He also explained that there was no legal obligation for people to answer the Metropolitan Police’s questions.
“I can’t believe anybody would actually fill in one of these statements, unless there is a killer defence,” he added.
Adam Wagner, a lawyer who has been studying Covid-19 regulations, described the dispatching of questionnaires as “very significant” because it means the police believe they have evidence of criminal offences.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that because Boris Johnson allegedly attended up to six gatherings, he could “be in line for over ￡10,000 worth of fixed penalty notices if they accumulate”.
The Metropolitan Police is currently investigating 12 gatherings on eight dates between May 2020 and April 2021, including a Downing Street Christmas party and a birthday celebration for the prime minister.
Detectives are considering adding a festive quiz held by No 10 on 15 December 2020 to the tally, after the Daily Mirror published a new photo showing Mr Johnson and two other people around a table with sparkling wine and crisps.
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 10 February 2022 Alice Wyllie looks at projections featuring details of some of the illustration plates during the press view for Audubon's Birds of America exhibition at the National Museum Of Scotland, Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 9 February 2022 New arrival Upendi and mother Cheka in the bonobo enclosure at Twycross Zoo, Leicestershire
PA
UK news in pictures 8 February 2022 Workers move a crate containing Season's Greetings by street artist Banksy from a retail unit at Ty'r Orsaf, Port Talbot, prior to its journey to a temporary storage unit at an undisclosed location
PA
UK news in pictures 7 February 2022 Dog walkers enjoy the early morning sunrise at Tynemouth Beach in North Tyneside, on the north east coast of England
PA
UK news in pictures 6 February 2022 A Leicester City invades the pitch as Nottingham Forest celebrate scoring their side’s third goal of the game during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at the City Ground, Nottingham
PA
UK news in pictures 5 February 2022 Stadium staff remove a flare from the pitch during the Emirates FA Cup fourth round match at Selhurst Park
PA
UK news in pictures 4 February 2022 "The Nuba Survival" is a five-metre-tall statue of two skeletons locked in an embrace in Checkendon, Oxfordshire. The statue was created by local artist John Buckley
PA
UK news in pictures 3 February 2022 Kew horticulturists attending to the ‘Rising sun’ display at the Kew Orchid Festival: Costa Rica, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew, west London
PA
UK news in pictures 2 February 2022 Protesters campaign against corruption in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 1 February 2022 Lorries queue for the Port of Dover in Kent, as the Dover TAP is enforced due to the high volume of lorries waiting to cross the Channel
PA
UK news in pictures 31 January 2022 Nelson Beaumont-Laurencia applies finishing touches to a sculpture of a tiger, commissioned by Manchester Business Improvement District to celebrate the Chinese New Year, is unveiled in St Ann’s Square
PA
UK news in pictures 30 January 2022 A house on Overhill terrace in Gateshead, lost its roof on 29 January after strong winds from Storm Malik battered northern parts of the UK
PA
UK news in pictures 29 January 2022 A newly painted bicycle sign is seen on the middle of the road at Westminster Bridge, as the new Highway Code rules start today together with giving pedestrians priority at junctions
Reuters
UK news in pictures 28 January 2022 School children take part in a rally in support of British Sign Language becoming a recognised language in the UK, outside the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, as the British Sign Language Private Members’ Bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper MP, reaches its second reading in the House
PA
UK news in pictures 27 January 2022 A rare six-week-old southern white rhino calf called Zawadi, explores her paddock for the first time at Africa Alive! in Lowestoft
PA
UK news in pictures 26 January 2022 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog Dilyn, in London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 25 January 2022 A member of staff looks at Francis Bacon’s work ‘Second Version of Triptych 1944’ on display in the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast exhibition at the the Royal Academy of Arts in London
PA
UK news in pictures 24 January 2022 Rowers (front to back) Charlotte Irving, Kat Cordiner and Abby Johnston, on their way to shatter the world record for rowing across the Atlantic
PA
UK news in pictures 23 January 2022 A grey seal pup on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one of the UK’s most important sites for the mammals
PA
UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast
PA
UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams’ Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a ‘Kill The Bill’ protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London
PA
UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year
PA
UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London
AP
UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois
PA
UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque
PA
UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelsea’s Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge
Liverpool FC/Getty
UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Year’s Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year
PA
UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket
PA
UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queen’s Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London
Getty
UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip
PA
UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester
PA
“Detectives, working for the Met’s Special Enquiry Team, continue to examine more than 500 documents and 300 images provided to them by the Cabinet Office and will be requesting further information to assist with the investigation,” a Scotland Yard spokesperson said.
“There may be a need to contact further people in the coming days and weeks - should they be identified as having taken part in an event and having potentially breached regulations.
“It should be noted that being contacted does not mean a fixed penalty notice will necessarily be issued to that person.”
Mr Johnson has refused to say whether he will resign if he is fined for breaking the law, as stark criticism from former prime minister Sir John Major added to mounting pressure on Thursday.
“That process must be completed and I'm looking forward to it being completed and that's the time to say more on that,” he told reporters in Brussels.
Further Conservative MPs are poised to call for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister if he is fined, or further damaging details emerge from the Sue Gray inquiry.