January 29th, 2022.
Has Johnson escaped being toast?
Johnson’s allies are trying to rescue his premiership slowly scraping away at the accusations that have been made against him.
The big question now, is will he make the great escape? Please refrain from making unkind comments about the picture, such as should it be a fat boy riding a Fat Boy. That would be uncalled for.
Sue Gray’s report was scheduled to be released on Wednesday afternoon but a last-minute intervention by Cressida Dick, the Commissioner of the Metropolitan police saw it put on hold. The police, who have had 18 months to investigate the allegations (which they knew about as the diplomatic protection squad were present at Downing Street), “asked” Sue Gray to make some minor changes on Tuesday night prior to publication. Wednesday morning, they wanted the whole report held back whilst they started investigations. By Wednesday evening they had said she could publish but with much redacted, as they didn’t want it to prejudice their investigation.
This has caused a storm and a possible constitutional crisis. The police do not have the right to ban a Cabinet office report and their actions have overstepped the mark. However, the report is still being prepared for publication with amendments, Gray wanting only minor changes and the Met wanting the delay whilst they investigate. The Met claims that it will make it difficult to interview as any possible defendants would now be in a position to discuss lines of questioning and collude with each other.
This raises many issues: –
Why did the Met change their minds during Tuesday/Wednesday?
Why did it take them until the day before publication to initiate investigations 18 months after the event?
Why was it announced by Dick at a meeting of the London Assembly on Tuesday?
Other points of interest: –
The investigation will be led by a special inquiry team overseen by deputy assistant commissioner Jane Connors. She was in charge of policing the Sarah Everard vigil which turned into a fiasco when the police used strong tactics to enforce regulations. These included pinning mourners to the ground. She was also in charge of the policing at the Wembley Stadium Euro 2020 shambles. Sarah Everard was abducted and murdered by Scotland Yard firearms officer Wayne Couzens.
In 2005 Cressida Dick was Gold commander of the operation investigating failed bombings in London. Due to mistaken identity, the police followed a suspect onto a tube train and pumped 7 hollow-point rounds into his head. The victim was an innocent Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes. One year later Dick was promoted. In 2010 she was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal.
In September 2021 Dick was granted a two-year extension to her contract as Commissioner with the approval of Priti Patel, Home Secretary. It is unlikely that this would have been done without the agreement of Johnson.
The whole situation is getting murkier by the hour with claims and counter claims being leaked. Johnson’s wife, Carrie has been drawn in, with allegations that she organised the cake for Johnson.
The fixed penalty fine for attending a function that broke the rules is £100, although the penalty for organising such “gatherings” could reach into the thousands. Just to muddy the waters even more, there are whispers of possible charges of misfeasance in public office, the maximum penalty for such is life imprisonment. The lines are being drawn and there is very dirty infighting going on with the protagonists being Johnson, civil servants, Sue Gray and the Met police.