24 May 2023 , 08:32
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Allies of Boris Johnson are plotting to submit letters of no confidence in Rishi Sunak as Tory tensions exploded after the ex-PM was referred to the police over new potential lockdown breaches.
Mr Johnson is facing a fresh investigation after the Cabinet Office handed over evidence to cops regarding events at Downing Street and his Chequers country retreat during the pandemic.
Details about possible lockdown breaches were revealed in ministerial diaries the ex-PM handed to the official Covid inquiry, which is due to begin grilling witnesses next month.
Mr Johnson branded the move a "politically motivated stitch up" and is understood to be considering suing the Cabinet Office over the disclosure.
A spokesman strenuously denied Mr Johnson had broken the rules over the events which "were held outdoors or came within another lawful exception" and included meetings with civil servants and advisers.
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The row has blown apart the fragile Tory truce and left allies of the scandal-hit former PM in a mutinous mood.
Boris Johnson's premiership was dogged by revelations of lockdown parties in No10 and Whitehall (AP)Supporters believe Cabinet Office ministers were involved in the decision to send evidence to the police - despite an insistence from Justice Secretary Alex Chalk that there was "no ministerial intervention".
The Cabinet Office rejected the suggestion that ministers had been involved and said officials were acting in line with the civil service code.
But Mr Johnson's allies are now understood to be considering submitting letters of no confidence in Mr Sunak to the backbench 1922 Committee, which can remove Tory leaders if enough MPs rebel.
Supporters of Mr Johnson think the PM has failed to handle "stitch ups" against Dominic Raab - who was forced to quit after a bombshell bullying report - and Home Secretary Suella Braverman who is accused of seeking special treatment when she was caught speeding.
A senior Tory source said: "Sunak is letting Tories get decimated on his watch by the blob.
"Raab, Suella, now Boris again - when is this crap going to stop? It's time for Sunak to grow some balls."
The latest developments could delay the verdict of the Commons Privileges Committee, which is investigating whether Mr Johnson lied to MPs about what he knew about lockdown-flouting bashes in No10 and Whitehall.
Boris Johnson was fined by the Metropolitan Police over his lockdown birthday gathering (PA)If he's found to have misled Parliament, he could be suspended from the Commons and ultimately face a by-election in his Uxbridge and West Ruislip seat.
Mr Johnson was fined by police last year for attending a surprise birthday bash in No10 in June 2020. His wife Carrie and Mr Sunak were both handed fixed penalty notices for the same event.
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Justice Secretary Alex Chalk stressed that there was no ministerial involvement in the latest row over Mr Johnson's conduct during lockdown.
He told LBC : "There is a Covid inquiry taking place. In the course of that documentation has to be scrubbed or reviewed by lawyers to ensure it can be disclosed in the normal way. Material came to light which was passed to the civil service.
"The civil service considered that in accordance with their code, and with no ministerial intervention, I want to make that absolutely clear, that was then passed to the police.
"From the civil service's point of view, if they sat on it and suppressed it, people would have criticised them. If they passed it on, that will raise questions as well. Ultimately, whether it was the right judgement to do it turns on what's in those documents.
"And I've not seen those documents. So it's very difficult to make a judgement so I'm afraid this has just got to take its course in the normal way."
A statement from Boris Johnson's office said his lawyers have written to police to "explain in detail why the Cabinet Office is entirely wrong in its assertions".
It read: "No contact was made with Mr Johnson before these incorrect allegations were made both to the police and to the Privileges Committee. This is both bizarre and unacceptable.
"For whatever political purpose, it is plain that a last-ditch attempt is being made to lengthen the Privileges Committee investigation as it was coming to a conclusion and to undermine Mr Johnson."
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “The Cabinet Office has not made any assessment or conducted any investigation of the material that has been passed to the police.
"Ministers played no role in deciding whether the information should be handed over to the police. The police were first contacted on 16th May prior to any minister being made aware.
"The decision to contact the police and the subsequent decision to share the information was not made by ministers but by officials acting in line with the Civil Service Code."
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