Advertisement

'Weird': Legal expert raises doubts over Met giving Boris Johnson a questionnaire in Partygate probe

Watch: Boris Johnson receives legal questionnaire from partygate police

A legal expert has said Boris Johnson receiving a questionnaire from the Met Police in its Partygate probe is "quite weird".

On Friday, the prime minister was handed a questionnaire by officers investigating Downing Street gatherings held during coronavirus lockdowns.

The PM, who has denied any wrongdoing, has five days to adequately explain his attendance - allegedly at six of 12 of these events - or face a fine for breaking his own regulations. This would likely prompt a wave, which has been brewing for weeks, of Tory backbenchers calling for him to resign.

But one law lecturer pointed out written question and answers are "unusual" in a police probe.

Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson writes down notes as he holds a bilateral meeting with US President Joe Biden (out of frame) at the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on September 21, 2021. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP) (Photo by NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP via Getty Images)
Boris Johnson has until Friday to answer the Met's Operation Hillman questionnaire. (AFP via Getty Images)

Dr Nick McKerrell, a senior law lecturer at Glasgow Caledonian University, told BBC Breakfast that returning a blank response to such a questionnaire would have “weight” behind it.

He said on Sunday: “You and I, we have human rights in that context of the rate of fair trial and the right to legal representation, even when being questioned.

“So to be doing a questionnaire is quite weird because you don’t have that interaction in the same way. So theoretically, you could get no information from the questionnaire, because one of the rights you’ve got when questioned by the police is the right to remain silent.

“So you could return a blank form, I think in a criminal investigation, and it would have weight behind it. So it’s an unusual thing to do in a criminal investigation.”

Watch: 'PM not distracted from Ukraine by police questionnaire'

He said the questionnaire might be “filtering” in order for the police to establish where to conduct more direct interviews later.

Another issue would be the length of time which had passed since the alleged offences and the fact the maximum penalty would be a fine, he said.

Dr McKerrell said: “This causes this major problem, about how do you speak to someone over things that happened months ago, when the maximum offence is a fine?

"So that’s one of the issues behind it, but it won’t solve the issue, it I think will have to lead to some form of more direct investigation to get just to get the information.”

Read more:
Johnson to leave London ‘to get on with job’ as partygate police demand answers
Partygate: Tory MP says Boris Johnson should not get 'special treatment' from police

The Met said the Partygate probe questionnaires, which have also been emailed to about 50 Downing Street staff, ask for an “account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event” and have “formal legal status and must be answered truthfully”.

Meanwhile, Johnson's Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, claimed the PM is “absolutely focused on the job in hand” despite having to answer the police questions.

He told Sky’s Trevor Phillips On Sunday: “The investigation is a matter for the police, I’m not going to put time frames on them, they’ve got to be able to do their job independently, autonomously and see that through.

“I have to say in the dealings I’ve had with the prime minister he’s absolutely focused on the job in hand, about what he’s doing for the British people.”