Boris Johnson: police urged to investigate allegations former PM shot video without a seatbelt in a moving car

Police are being urged to investigate former Prime Minister Boris Johnson after a video showed him in a moving car seemingly without his seatbelt was posted to social media, as part of the Conservative's local election campaign.

The video shows Johnson urging Tory candidates in Derbyshire to push for a high Conservative turn out in the local elections. It appears that the former party leader was filming the front-facing video himself.

The allegation echoes that of Rishi Sunak, who was caught travelling in a moving car without wearing a seatbelt while appearing in a video promoting the government's levelling-up scheme in January. He was eventually fined by Lancashire Police, with the Prime Minister confirming that he had paid the fixed penalty notice.

Political opponents, including the Liberal Democrats, have now called for the police to investigate Johnson's video.

What happened in the Boris Johnson video?

The 42-second video clip was said to have been posted to Twitter by Derby North MP Amanda Solloway. It now appears to have been deleted from her timeline.

In the footage, Johnson says: "Hi folks, this is Boris Johnson appealing to all Derbyshire Conservatives to get out tomorrow and get as many people as possible to turn out and vote for us in the local elections. They are not swarming across to the Labour banner.

"I've been out campaigning across the country the last few weeks and they are not turning out for Keir Starmer, they don't want to go Labour, they know that everywhere and always the facts of life basically turn out to be Conservative. Conservative councillors deliver better services for better value for money and that has got to count at the polls tomorrow."

Johnson appears to be filming himself in the clip. The vehicle he was sitting in also appeared to be moving.

Will there be a police investigation?

Christine Jardine, Lib Dem Cabinet Office spokeswoman, said: “If confirmed, this would be just further proof that Johnson and Sunak are cut from the same cloth. Every time it’s one rule for the Conservatives and one for everybody else. The police should investigate this potential breach of the law immediately.”

However, Derbyshire Police has said that it is unlikely to move forward with a full investigation due to the fact that they cannot confirm that the video was filmed in the county, and officers were not notified of a visit by Johnson on 4 May.