Partygate: Justice Secretary Alex Chalk defends officials over Boris Johnson police referral

The Justice Secretary has come to the defence of civil servants who passed on information to police about more potential Covid rule-breaking by former prime minister Boris Johnson during his time in office. The officials had been reviewing Johnon’s official diary ahead of the public Covid inquiry and subsequently referred their findings to two police forces. 

Alex Chalk has said the officials would have faced criticism if they had chosen to withhold the information. In response to the latest Partygate accusations, Johnson’s spokesperson denied there were any further Covid rule breaches. 

The Cabinet Office stated that the officials were obligated to disclose the documents to the police according to civil service rules. The Times reported that Johnson had been referred to Thames Valley Police because his diary revealed visits by friends and family to Chequers during the pandemic.

Thames Valley Police confirmed that they had received a report of potential breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Chequers between June 2020 and May 2021. The Metropolitan Police released a similar statement, indicating that their information pertained to potential breaches at Downing Street.

The new findings have also been shared with the Commons Privileges Committee, which is investigating whether Johnson misled Parliament regarding Covid parties during lockdown.