LONDON – British police on Tuesday reopened an investigation into lockdown-breaching government parties after viewing video of Conservative Party staffers dancing and drinking at a 2020 Christmas soiree.
The “jingle and mingle” party at Conservative headquarters was held when indoor social mixing was barred under rules imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
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The Metropolitan Police force said it also was looking into a gathering in Parliament on Dec. 8, 2020 reportedly attended by members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
The announcement reopens investigations into “partygate” that the government had hoped were finished.
The revelation that political staffers held birthday gatherings, garden parties and “wine time Fridays” in the prime minister’s office and other government buildings during the pandemic sparked anger among Britons who had followed the rules, unable to visit friends and family or even say goodbye to dying relatives in hospitals.
Police issued fines to scores of people, including then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and current leader Rishi Sunak, who was Treasury chief in Johnson’s government.
The scandal helped end Johnson’s tenure. He was forced out of office by his own party in July 2022 amid mounting questions about his judgment and ethics.
Last month an investigation by the House of Commons standards watchdog concluded that Johnson had repeatedly lied to Parliament about the parties when he assured lawmakers that rules had been followed at all times.
The Privileges Committee recommended Johnson be suspended from Parliament for 90 days – a sanction he escaped by quitting as a lawmaker.
He attacked the committee, which has a Conservative majority, calling it a “kangaroo court” bent on destroying him.
Johnson called on one committee member, Conservative lawmaker Bernard Jenkin, to resign for allegedly attending the Dec. 8, 2020 get-together in Parliament that police are now investigating.
In one piece of good news for Johnson, police said they had looked into allegations of previously unknown parties at the prime minister’s Downing Street residence and country retreat during the pandemic, and found they “do not meet the retrospective criteria for opening an investigation.”