Met Police to ‘make contact’ with two attendees of ‘illegal’ Tory HQ but will not investigate alleged No 10 gatherings

The Metropolitan Police have said that they will “make contact” will two attendees of an alleged illegal party held by Shaun Bailey’s London mayoral campaign team in December of last year.

Bailey quit as chair for the London Assembly’s police and crime committee after images of a Christmas party, held in December 2020, emerged showing Bailey alongside his campaign staff celebrating the festive season while London remained in tier two coronavirus restrictions.

Police have said that they will approached two of the people alleged to have attended the gathering on 14 December, however they have lamented that there will be no investigation into allegations that multiple illegal parties took place in Downing Street last December.

At a glance: 5 key points

• The Metropolitan Police has said that they will “make contact” with two people who are alleged to have attended an illegal gathering at Tory HQ in December last year
• Images of the gathering were leaked showing former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey celebrating with his campaign team, leading to Bailey quitting his role as chair for that London Assembly’s police and crime committee
• The images were released amongst allegations that illegal festive gatherings took place in Downing Street around the same time, while London was under strict Covid-19 restrictions which prohibited indoor mixing between households
• The Met Police have previously said that there will be no investigation into the alleged Number 10 parties and reiterated this further after revealing that some attendees of the party held by Bailey’s team will be contacted
• Boris Johnson and the Conservative have been embroiled in controversy since the beginning of the scandal, with leaked footage and images alluding to the gatherings taking place

What did the Met Police say?

Officers confirmed that they would be speaking to two people they believed attended a Christmas party held by Bailey’s mayoral campaign on 14 December 2020, while indoor mixing between households was illegal in London.

In leaked images, Bailey was pictured huddled together with his team, who were wearing Christmas jumpers, cheering with what appears to be alcohol, with a food buffet also on offer.

One of the attendees in the picture was identified as Tory donor Nick Candy, although the Met Police did not confirm who will be contacted in relation to the investigation.

In there statement, they said: “The Met is [also] aware of a gathering at an address in Matthew Parker Street, SW1 on 14 December 2020.

“Officers will be making contact with two people who attended in relation to alleged breaches of the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) Regulations.”

Despite the force approaching some attendees of this specific party, they also confirmed that there would be no investigation into additional allegations of illegal parties held in Downing Street around the same time.

The Met Police has been under pressure from the public and opposition politicians to investigate the claims, although officers will review any evidence collected by the Cabinet Secretary during an internal investigation.

They said: “The Met has received a significant amount of material in relation to the allegations reported in the media. All the material has been considered by detectives in detail and it does not provide evidence of a breach of the Health Protection Regulations, but restates allegations made in the media.

“In line with our policy where we do not normally investigate breaches of these regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place, unless there is evidence from the Cabinet Office or other evidence comes to light, the Met will not at this time commence an investigation.”

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