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FORMER UK PRIME minister Boris Johnson has been reported to police by the country’s Cabinet Office over fresh claims that he may have broken lockdown rules during the pandemic.
Information has been passed to two forces over alleged visits from the former prime minister’s friends to Chequers country estate as well as potential breaches within Downing Street, The Times reported.
London’s Metropolitan Police said it was “currently assessing” details it had received relating to incidents between June 2020 and May 2021.
A spokesman for Johnson said: “Some abbreviated entries in Mr Johnson’s official diary were queried by Cabinet Office during preparation for the Covid inquiry.
“Following an examination of the entries, Mr Johnson’s lawyers wrote to the Cabinet Office and Privileges Committee explaining that the events were lawful and were not breaches of any Covid regulations.”
It was also suggested the move was “politically motivated” and the former prime minister had been given no notice of the report.
The UK Cabinet Office said: “Information came to light during the process of preparing evidence for submission to the Covid inquiry.
“It was identified as part of the normal disclosure review of potentially relevant documents being undertaken by the legal team for inquiry witnesses.
“In line with obligations in the Civil Service Code, this material has been passed to the relevant authorities and it is now a matter for them.”
The Metropolitan Police said: “We are in receipt of information from the Cabinet Office passed to us on 19 May 2023, which we are currently assessing. It relates to potential breaches of the health protection regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Downing Street.”
In a statement given to The Times, Thames Valley Police also confirmed they were looking into a report of potential breaches of the rules at Chequers,
They told the paper: “On Thursday we received a report of potential breaches of the health protection regulations between June 2020 and May 2021 at Chequers, the official country house of the prime minister in Buckinghamshire. We are currently assessing this information.”
The Liberal Democrats called on Boris Johnson to “consider his position as an MP” following the report.
“It’s outrageous that rumours of alleged rule-breaking by Boris Johnson are still being drip-fed to the public,” deputy leader Daisy Cooper said.
“The fact that it’s one rule for them and one rule for the rest of us still triggers a raw sense of injustice in millions of people.
“Sunak must make sure that not a single penny more of taxpayer money is spent on Johnson’s legal fund; and Johnson should finally do one decent thing and consider his position as an MP.”
Lindsay Jackson, spokeswoman for the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group, branded Johnson “totally unfit for any form of public service” and suggested he “quietly step back from public life”.
Jackson said: “These revelations make a grim mockery of Boris Johnson’s claims that he didn’t break his own lockdown rules. He lied when he said to our faces that he’d done ‘all he could’ to protect our loved ones, he lied again when he said the rules hadn’t been broken in No 10, and he’s lied over and over again since then when he’s denied it.
“He is totally unfit for any form of public service, never mind being the prime minister. His legacy is one of lying, complete contempt for the ordinary people he was supposed to protect, and above all presiding over the deaths of nearly 200,000 people.
“If he had any respect he’d quietly step back from public life and reflect on the pain and suffering he has inflicted on so many.”
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It’s really not that hard to slow down. Your destination will still be there and you’ll still have your life and a car at the end.
Why are you assuming speed was the cause?
You can overturn an low speeds.
What else causes cars to roll over? Pretty sure there weren’t extreme winds or an angry mob around to push the car over.
Don’t be willfully ignorant. Most car accidents (rollovers included) in this country are caused by excessive speed.
Stupidity that’s what. You don’t need to be particularly fast to overturn a car.
I once rolled a car over a couple of years ago going at a low speed. Tight corner down a fairly narrow rural road I hit a slippy/oily patch and lost the rear, I panicked and ran out of road as I tried to correct it – I went into the ditch which acted like a ramp, so to speak, and she rolled over. Definitely wasn’t me going too fast. To be fair though from that photo it seems the driver was on a nice good stretch of road so you have to think speed did play a part.
Seeingeye, the marks on the road aren’t very long, which could mean it didn’t go very far upside down, that’d suggest lower speed, and that car looks light and fairly tall, so maybe a higher centre of gravity!! That could overturn it without high speed!!
In fairness, The Fiat Panda will role a lot sooner and easier than other cars due to its odd dynamics of narrow axel width combined with high center of gravity. Two lads could push one over.
Ya, it’s definitely possible to roll at low speed. You can tell by the comparatively low roof damage that the vehicle wasn’t being driven excessively fast.
@seeingeye – don’t be wilfully ignorant ? Would you not apply this to your own comment ? You can roll a car at low speed. This is fact, not science fiction.
Rear tyre on the drivers side is different from the rest, such combination is a deathtrap.
I am honestly surprised that this is legal and does not void the insurance.
That’s why you don’t buy a car that looks like a confused mutated blue bubble.
A 4 sentence story….wow give me more of this obdulla longata porn.
Same story as yesterday’s today?
Fiat Panda, must have rolled over a snail
Did Holmatro sponsor this post?
It’ll be on car sales websites as a time warp minter in a few weeks time.
Thats a wide road along there, it turned over because of bad driving is all
Is that a fiat cinquecento or (chunttogetinto)
There was a strong gust of wind in Tallaght yesterday morning.
Not a single mention about the fire truck being a Scania 340 4×2 crew cab.
have your say