Either the Met Police have realised they have made a massive mistake turning a blind eye to the gatherings at no10.
Or...blatant corruption?
We’re one step closer to being a broken democracy.
I would say more not fit for purpose.
I am a huge advocate of a radical change in our election and voting systems.
What we now have is a tory party in Government happy to allow their own ambition to be more important than serving a nation. And any cost in lies, spending, damage to the nations and the political union is worth it as long as they fill their trough some more.
Even id he survives this he is so damaged and so is his party by association that it will cost them dear politically
the reason this has caught the public imagination so much is that we can all relate to it. Thats why its so damaging politically
If he hangs on till may and the local elections there will be huge losses.
Grey could choose to ignore the Met's request.
It looks like the Sue Grey report is going to be neutered by the Met to take out any reference to Downing Street parties (so what’s the point of even publishing it?)
According to what has been released, only the parties they are looking into (which may or may not be all of them).
There is another interpretation of this. They are looking at some more serious offences eg misconduct in public office, which would be jury matters, and so there is more reason to not publish stuff which might prejudice a fair trial. OK, this is unlikely, but you never know.
ETA that would provide the necessary reason to say stuff shouldn't be published even if they have no intention of progressing with the investigation.
To be fair all this brouhaha has meant limited coverage of the Met being ordered to pay out £229k in damages to a female victim of their failures this week.
I'd be very suprised if this Met whitewash sticks. Its just too blatent.
Perhaps it might have worked a year or two ago but there is so much distrust for the Met right now
Wouldn't it be great if they have gone one step too far and this leads not only to Bojo resigning but also the Dick
They are looking at some more serious offences eg misconduct in public office
I guarantee that will not happen
Johnson could be filmed snorting coke from a dead hooker's cleavage and the Met would come up with a convoluted reason for it not meeting the required threshold for them to investigate
Minimal reference to could mean she just says something like " on such and such a day there was a gathering that appears to break the rules. On police advice I will make no further reference to this as criminal charges are being considered"
No details so no prejudice to the criminal investigation. Still extremely damning
Still extremely damning
Maybe for people possessed of any sense of shame or decency.
Johnson is unfamiliar with either and will simply punch the air because he's got away with it yet again. Saved by his mates at the Met
There is another interpretation of this. They are looking at some more serious offences eg misconduct in public office, which would be jury matters, and so there is more reason to not publish stuff which might prejudice a fair trial. OK, this is unlikely, but you never know.
ETA that would provide the necessary reason to say stuff shouldn’t be published even if they have no intention of progressing with the investigation.
Yup exactly. They can use that as an excuse and all the government crooks can say 'it wouldn't be right to comment on an ongoing police investigation' then the police investigation will be quietly dropped a few months down the line citing a lack of evidence.
the reason this has caught the public imagination so much is that we can all relate to it. Thats why its so damaging politically
Do you think you might be exaggerating how much it "has caught the public imagination"?
The very latest opinion poll, by Survation, only puts the Tories 5 points behind Labour, which isn't exactly devastating when you consider that this is slap bang in the middle of "partygate".
All the opinion polls of the last week, 6 of them all together, put the Labour lead on single figures, which is actually an improvement on the previous week and quite manageable for a ruling party.
Without Labour providing any sort of clear alternative vision I remain unconvinced of certain long-term damage.
This country now resembles Italy under Berlisconi
Bunga bunga anyone?
Johnson could be filmed snorting coke from a dead hooker’s cleavage
Old news...
This country now resembles Italy under Berlisconi
Need something to channel the anger? 😄
It's coming to something when I agree with Dianne Abbott 😳
https://twitter.com/HackneyAbbott/status/1486985322554667008?s=20&t=ag4J7P7DNbuwtT_PplVFHg
Sounds like even the heavily scrubbed Sue Gray report won't be published now.
Sounds like even the heavily scrubbed Sue Gray report won’t be published now.
Of course it won't. A corrupt government was never going to publish the thing that will cause its own downfall. The question is what will labour and the rebel tories do? Not much is my bet.
Well, the Tory talking to the police about blackmail is going to have to assume that his chance of the Met taking it seriously is zero now. And that will put a lot of MPs back behind the whip. So, I agree... no way there will be enough to remove Johnson now.
This is just so depressing- I know a couple of people who now run succesful businesses and quite likely wouldn’t have without the enterprise allowance. But of course the “party of business” doesn’t want people setting up new, small, successful business, they want you to go and work in an amazon warehouse for peanuts.
I'm already self-employed but looking to set up a new business and managed to sneak in at the very tail end of it. The person helping me has been brilliant and thinks 'surely they are going to create a replacement scheme' but at the moment she has no idea and nor does anyone she has repeatedly asked. Never mind that it's currently (at least partly) her job which is disappearing with no idea of what's going on.
I suspect it's mostly just incompetence and the cult of Brexit whereby people are suddenly looking around going 'oh it seems the EU did do loads of good stuff after all, and we haven't got round to replacing it yet - never mind'. There is literally still a 'funded by the EU logo' on the front of the documents I have to sign, surprised the Brextremists have let that pass now the EU is a dirty word in the UK.
Probably at some point it will be restarted at some point but run by Serco/a Russian oligarch and will cost a fortune but be impossible to actually get onto. 😔
The question is what will labour and the rebel tories do? Not much is my bet.
Yip. 'This matter is now concluded' as Boris will no doubt soon say, once the Met drop everything with a few 100 quid fines for some sacrificial junior civil servants
Yup exactly. They can use that as an excuse and all the government crooks can say ‘it wouldn’t be right to comment on an ongoing police investigation’ then the police investigation will be quietly dropped a few months down the line citing a lack of evidence.
Pretty much, and by that time the mob(The British public) will have found something else to be distracted with.
Maybe we should bring in gladiatorial games, it worked for Rome.
I knew this would all be washed away somehow but even this level of blatancy is surprising. They can now genuinely get away with anything without fear of reprisals. Makes me feel sick.
I suspect it’s mostly just incompetence and the cult of Brexit whereby people are suddenly looking around going ‘oh it seems the EU did do loads of good stuff after all, and we haven’t got round to replacing it yet – never mind’. There is literally still a ‘funded by the EU logo’ on the front of the documents I have to sign, surprised the Brextremists have let that pass now the EU is a dirty word in the UK.
One of those "funded by the EU, investing in Wales" signs appeared on the newly opened section of the Heads of the Valley road between Brynmawr and Gilwern a few weeks ago and the amount of frothing that went on locally about it was unreal. They completely ignored the fact that EU redevelopment funds had paid for 3/5ths of the cost! The current works between Merthyr and Hirwaun are also due to the last lot of EU funding secured before we left, although it only covered the phase 1 costs so when the proper work starts people are going to have a shock when they realise the money will come out of the Welsh Assembly budget that could have been used for everything else. People really have no idea about what we have lost and I lay the blame for that squarely at Johnson's feet.
It's crazy - Sunak won't investigate the fraud over the Covid Business loans because the cost would exceed what might be recovered, but the Met will prioritise investigating £100 fines for Civil Servants over what everyone else might consider the bigger picture of Government accountability
Grey could choose to ignore the Met’s request.
Her own terms of reference said she would suspend her enquiries if anything potentially criminal was found and pass to police. Not sure why that only happened at the end, but I don't think there is anything untoward, and I don't think it helps boris at all - this just carries on for another few weeks (it shouldn't take more than that - most party fixed penalties were issued on the same day is the offence!).
Some suggestions on twitter though that instructions to delete messages / cover up are either misconduct in public office or perverting the course of justice! You can see why the police don't want to interview people who know exactly how much they've been told. Even for the parties if the report didn't reach a conclusion on blame for some, the incorrigible liers, obfuscators and bull shitters could dig themselves a hole in interview - I can't imagine it looking good if the PM (or other very senior people) just give no comment interviews despite it obviously being their right to do so.
Her own terms of reference said she would suspend her enquiries if anything potentially criminal was found and pass to police.
No, they give her the discretion to do so.
As with all internal investigations, if during the course of the work any evidence emerges of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence, the matter will be referred to the police and the Cabinet Office’s work may be paused. Matters relating to adherence to the law are properly for the police to investigate and the Cabinet Office will liaise with them as appropriate.
The crucial word is "may".
The crucial word is “may”
But they'll treat it as "will", won't they
One of those “funded by the EU, investing in Wales” signs appeared on the newly opened section of the Heads of the Valley road between Brynmawr and Gilwern a few weeks ago and the amount of frothing that went on locally about it was unreal. They completely ignored the fact that EU redevelopment funds had paid for 3/5ths of the cost!
I am unaware of "frothing"? (looking out of my window that overlooks the newly opened section of the Heads of the Valley road between Brynmawr and Gilwern).
Not really arsed anbout the should he stay or should he go business, I'm tired of projecting what would be the potential outcome of a random set of events leading up to the next general election.
The only silver lining I can see in all this is that the police get dragged further into disrepute. Given the plethora of disgusting incidents involving the police that have hit the headlines recently it might dawn on a few people that the BLM protesters 18 months ago had a point.
And had they been listened too then, then the police might have come under a bit more scrutiny and investigation and at least one woman could still be alive...If you leave the rotten apples a the bottom of the barrel the whole barrel becomes a putrid, fermented mess, with a layer of you know what on top.
as the met decided not to even fine anyone for this
Im not sure what people are expecting
Unless cummings has somehow managed to put the met onto drugs or something
I mean drugs were found in the bogs in Parliament
That now seems a life time and numerous scandals ago
The only silver lining I can see in all this is that the police get dragged further into disrepute.
I am not sure that a state function such as the police, there to serve and protect the people, being accused of either ambivalence at best, perverting the course of justice at worst has any 'silver lining'.
They are part of the supposed democracy we have, where justice is upheld without fear or favour, to the benefit of all.
How long before MET is rebranded to Stasi?
Anyone think Keir will question what the Met is up to?
Let's hope that the report has drifted past enough desks in the Cabinet Office to allow it to be leaked.
Cressida has done her mate a solid as per usual.
I would imagine that Cummings has this up his sleeve and someone somewhere in the career civil service will be so offended that they team up to leak it.
I'd expect a double whammy, Cummings drops another bombshell and the report gets leaked.
However, I'm feeling more and more like we are at a constitutional crossroads - much like Trump towards the end of his tenure, rules were just totally ignored - to the point everyone fully expected him to actually carry out his threat of shooting someone on fifth avenue and getting away with it.
At the moment it feels like any form of spine is totally missing in action in the UK, and Boris could literally walk up to the Queen and kick her in the foofoo and get away with it.
If you'd told me that it would be possible for Cummings to be the potential saviour of all of this a year ago I'd have died laughing but here we are!
Not really arsed anbout the should he stay or should he go business, I’m tired of projecting what would be the potential outcome of a random set of events leading up to the next general election.
Sadly that's what they want you to do, leave them alone until the next General Election by which time they've done all their dodgy deals and rigged the system so they can stay in power. We need to keep on asking the questions otherwise they will be able to destroy the country very quickly.
I am unaware of “frothing”? (looking out of my window that overlooks the newly opened section of the Heads of the Valley road between Brynmawr and Gilwern).
Might just be with the side of my family that voted out and their friends but there was certainly a lot of very angry people I came across in the pub and town that seemed to think it was a bit of EU propaganda, just sticking their name on something they hadn't paid for. It did blow up on the local closed FB groups, I got banned from two for pointing out the facts of how much the EU had funded it by!
Looks like the only person left in the UK who can cause panic in Number 10 is one Joe Lycett...
https://twitter.com/joelycett/status/1487076326196535308?t=ir25vRDsIBR-gQk_cTnQEw&s=19
👏🏼
Well Mr Lycett has gone up in my opinion.
It’s crazy – Sunak won’t investigate the fraud over the Covid Business loans because the cost would exceed what might be recovered
Now I wouldn't wish to be all conspiratorial and all that, but if he did investigate, what's the odds on it being his/tory pals lining pockets with the, ahem, alleged fraud?
Grey could choose to ignore the Met’s request.
It was on the basis of information provided by Grey to the Met that they've decided to investigate. Grey has made findings that she thinks require the police involvement and that has importance beyond the scope of her fact finding mission. They're not hampering her report by investigating they're extending its reach and impact.
Is this all happening so that the police can investigate offences which would result in a £100 fine. Given the political consequences of all this couldn’t the country just agree to pay £100 for each person named in the Gray report regardless of whether they have been guilty or not.
It all comes back to the Mets ridiculous decision not to investigate much earlier when the allegations (& evidence) started coming out
Great words from Joe Lycett
Can anyone explain to me why the met are investigating something they were involved in? My understanding is /was that an investigation into alleged criminal behaviour involving a police force had to be investigated by an outside force.
It was on the basis of information provided by Grey to the Met that they’ve decided to investigate.
Just a reminder that police officers gave information to Gray. The chatter from political correspondants at the time is they didn’t hold back. Every likelihood that it is the contributions from the police that led to Gray having to involve the Met.
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