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Met police begin interviewing key witnesses about Partygate – UK politics live Met police begin interviewing key witnesses about Partygate – UK politics live
(32 minutes later)
Latest updates:Met Police issue Partygate update, saying they have now begun interviewing people on top of the questionnaires sent outLatest updates:Met Police issue Partygate update, saying they have now begun interviewing people on top of the questionnaires sent out
This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.
And this is from my colleague Aubrey Allegretti on another disclosure from the foreign affairs committee hearing.
Back at the foreign affairs committee, Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office permanent secretary, is being asked if Josie Stewart, the Foreign Office civil servant who has submitted a memo to the committee accusing him of lying (see 11.36am), will be suspended. He refuses to say, arguing that he cannot comment on disciplinary matters like this. But he claims that procedures are in place that can protect whistleblowers.
Alistair Burt, the former Conservative Middle East minister, has also urged the Commons foreign affairs committee to investigate the Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe case, my colleague Patrick Wintour reports. Burt says he was in favour of the £400m debt owed to Iran being paid but that, even thought he was in government, he could not find out who was blocking payment.
This is from Danny Shaw, the former BBC home affairs correspondent, on the significance of the Met statement on Partygate.
Here are the main things we have learned about the Met’s Partgate inquiry from the statement issued this afternoon.Here are the main things we have learned about the Met’s Partgate inquiry from the statement issued this afternoon.
More than 100 people have been sent questionnaires by the police about their alleged involvement in lockdown-busting parties at No 10 or elsewhere in Whitehall. That is the first time the police have given this figure. At first it was reported that around 50 people were going to get questionnaires. This means the Met think potential rule-breaking may have gone further than at first assumed.More than 100 people have been sent questionnaires by the police about their alleged involvement in lockdown-busting parties at No 10 or elsewhere in Whitehall. That is the first time the police have given this figure. At first it was reported that around 50 people were going to get questionnaires. This means the Met think potential rule-breaking may have gone further than at first assumed.
The investigation is widening, the Met says. It says:The investigation is widening, the Met says. It says:
This means people who may have thought they were at no risk of being accused of breaking lockdown rules are being implicated - because colleagues are naming them. Perhaps it is not surprising that, when accused of committing an offence, people might be saying: ‘I was sure it was fine, because these 20 other people were there too.’This means people who may have thought they were at no risk of being accused of breaking lockdown rules are being implicated - because colleagues are naming them. Perhaps it is not surprising that, when accused of committing an offence, people might be saying: ‘I was sure it was fine, because these 20 other people were there too.’
The police will start interviewing people in person - but as witneses. The questionnaires are equivalent to police interviews, but an in-person interview might be more intimidating. From a No 10 PR point of view, having Boris Johnson being interviewed by an officer taking notes would look worse than just having him reply to a questionnaire. But the Met statement says specifically people will be interviewed “as witnesses”. That implies they will not be interviewed as suspects.The police will start interviewing people in person - but as witneses. The questionnaires are equivalent to police interviews, but an in-person interview might be more intimidating. From a No 10 PR point of view, having Boris Johnson being interviewed by an officer taking notes would look worse than just having him reply to a questionnaire. But the Met statement says specifically people will be interviewed “as witnesses”. That implies they will not be interviewed as suspects.
The Met has implied that this investigation is particularly complicated. It says:The Met has implied that this investigation is particularly complicated. It says:
The Met has not yet obtained enough evidence to justify imposing a fixed-penalty notice on anyone, it suggests. It says:The Met has not yet obtained enough evidence to justify imposing a fixed-penalty notice on anyone, it suggests. It says:
This suggests that, of the more than 100 people who have sent back a questionnaire, not one person has admitted to breaking the rules.This suggests that, of the more than 100 people who have sent back a questionnaire, not one person has admitted to breaking the rules.
It also may imply that the police are having difficulty reaching the “evidential threshold”. When the senior civil servant Sue Gray published her first report on Partygate (or “update” as she called it, in recognition of the fact that she was not able to publish enough information to constitute a proper account), she implied the evidence submitted to the police was relatively damning. She said she had found “extensive substantive factual information” which she had passed to police and that it showed there was a “serious failure” to observe the standards expected of the entire population during lockdown. The police later revealed that they had received more than 300 photographs and 500 pages of documents from her. But, if there have been no fines issued yet, then the “evidential threshold” has not yet been reached. Perhaps that is because the evidence is still be assessed. Or perhaps it is because the “evidential threshold” for a fine is deemed to be higher than generally thought.It also may imply that the police are having difficulty reaching the “evidential threshold”. When the senior civil servant Sue Gray published her first report on Partygate (or “update” as she called it, in recognition of the fact that she was not able to publish enough information to constitute a proper account), she implied the evidence submitted to the police was relatively damning. She said she had found “extensive substantive factual information” which she had passed to police and that it showed there was a “serious failure” to observe the standards expected of the entire population during lockdown. The police later revealed that they had received more than 300 photographs and 500 pages of documents from her. But, if there have been no fines issued yet, then the “evidential threshold” has not yet been reached. Perhaps that is because the evidence is still be assessed. Or perhaps it is because the “evidential threshold” for a fine is deemed to be higher than generally thought.
Here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s story about the Met announcement.Here is my colleague Rowena Mason’s story about the Met announcement.
Here is the full Met statement on Partygate.Here is the full Met statement on Partygate.
And these are from ITV’s Paul Brand on the Met announcement.And these are from ITV’s Paul Brand on the Met announcement.
This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.This is from the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.
At the committee Barton is now addressing claims that he and his colleague, Nigel Casey, the special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan, misled the committee with previous answers about this.At the committee Barton is now addressing claims that he and his colleague, Nigel Casey, the special representative on Afghanistan and Pakistan, misled the committee with previous answers about this.
Barton says that it has taken the Foreign Office longer than usual to get to the bottom of what happened.Barton says that it has taken the Foreign Office longer than usual to get to the bottom of what happened.
He says the national security adviser told the Foreign Office at one point that Nowzad staff had been approved for evacuation. He says a Foreign Office official later assumed that that meant the order had come from the PM. That was understandable because of the “voices in the media” saying the PM was involved, he says.He says the national security adviser told the Foreign Office at one point that Nowzad staff had been approved for evacuation. He says a Foreign Office official later assumed that that meant the order had come from the PM. That was understandable because of the “voices in the media” saying the PM was involved, he says.
The foreign affairs committee has just started taking evidence from Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office permanent secretary, about the latest claims from a whisteblower about No 10 being involved in the decision to approve the evacuation of the Nowzad animal charity staff from Kabul last summer. (See 11.36am.)The foreign affairs committee has just started taking evidence from Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office permanent secretary, about the latest claims from a whisteblower about No 10 being involved in the decision to approve the evacuation of the Nowzad animal charity staff from Kabul last summer. (See 11.36am.)
Tom Tugendhat, the committee chair, set the tone with his first question, asking Barton if he felt he had a duty to give full and accurate answers to questions from parliamentarians.Tom Tugendhat, the committee chair, set the tone with his first question, asking Barton if he felt he had a duty to give full and accurate answers to questions from parliamentarians.
Barton said he did.Barton said he did.
A reader BTL (below the line) has asked what No 10 had to say at the morning lobby briefing about Boris Johnson’s Ukraine/Brexit comparision. (See 9.30am.) They took the Rishi Sunak line. The PM’s spokesperson said:A reader BTL (below the line) has asked what No 10 had to say at the morning lobby briefing about Boris Johnson’s Ukraine/Brexit comparision. (See 9.30am.) They took the Rishi Sunak line. The PM’s spokesperson said:
Keir Starmer has called on other areas of the UK to follow Wales in banning the smacking of children.Keir Starmer has called on other areas of the UK to follow Wales in banning the smacking of children.
The Labour government in Wales passed a ban on smacking two years ago, and it has become law today. Speaking during a visit to Stevenage, Starmer said the move was “welcome”. He went on:The Labour government in Wales passed a ban on smacking two years ago, and it has become law today. Speaking during a visit to Stevenage, Starmer said the move was “welcome”. He went on:
A similar ban is already in force in Scotland.A similar ban is already in force in Scotland.
Boris Johnson has reaffirmed his commitment to speeding up the construction of new nuclear power plants in the UK. After his roundtable meeting with nuclear industry leaders, No 10 released a readout of the event saying:
Downing Street also said that Johnson would publish the government’s energy security strategy before the end of this month. Last week Johnson said it would be published this week, but it has been reported that Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, said more time was needed to assess the potential costs of the push for nuclear.
The Russian state was responsible for hoax calls to Ben Wallace and Priti Patel, pretending to be the Ukrainian prime minister, Downing Street has said. My colleague Rowena Mason has the story here.
Here is my colleague Aubrey Allegretti’s story about the new allegations about the Nowzad animal charity being prioritised for evacuation from Afghanistan last summer.
An earlier post, at 11.36am, said that a Foreign Office whistleblower has published evidence claiming that officials lied about Boris Johnson’s role in authorising the evacuation of animals from the Nowzad charity from Kabul last summer. In fact, the new evidence refers to Johnson approving the decision to authorise the evacuation of the Nowzad staff, not their animals. I am sorry for the error and have corrected the original post.
This is from Patrick Dunleavy, an emeritus professor of politics, saying that Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was right to identify high ministerial turnover (see 2.15pm) as one of the problems bedevilling British politics.
For most of the last six years Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has, thanks to the campaigning efforts of her husband, been a public figure in the UK. Yet almost no one had heard her voice, and everything we knew about her – which was relatively little, in terms of her manner and character – came from what we were told about her by other people. Normally the main point of a press conference is find out what someone has to say but today was probably just as much about learning what Zaghari-Ratcliffe is actually like.
As some of the snap reaction on Twitter shows (see 1.16pm), the answer is clear; she was hugely impressive – dignified, moving, honest. She seemed commendably free of bitterness. And she came across as steely too. She was very firm about not wanting to answer questions that would force her to relive her ordeal, and there was a candid moment when she admitted that she was not willing to thank the government as generously as her husband. (See 12.21pm.) Mostly she avoided being overtly political, but she managed to deliver a clear political rebuke; the government should have done more to free her, she indicated.
Here are the main points.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe suggested ministers should have done more to secure her release from Iran. Pointing out that there have been five foreign secretaries since she was detained in 2016, she said:
Her husband, Richard, has thanked Liz Truss, the current foreign secretary, for her work on the case, but Zaghari-Ratcfliffe indicated that she was more sceptical, saying she did not agree with his positive comments about the government. She said:
The foreign secretaries have been, in order: Philip Hammond, Boris Johnson, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab and Truss.
Zaghari-Ratcliffe called for the release of other dual nationals being held in Iran. She said:
Tulip Siddiq, Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s MP, said she had written to the foreign affairs committee asking for an inquiry into the case. In particular, she said it was important to find out why it took so long for the UK to settle the £400m debt it owed Iran and why it took so long for Zaghari-Ratcliffe to be freed. She also suggested an incident in 2013, when Iranian officials coming to the UK to negotiate the debt repayment were detained, may have led to Zaghari-Ratcliffe being taken as effectively a hostage. (See 2.11pm.)
Zaghari-Ratcliffe said that, although she felt she had a “black hole” in her heart when she was detained, she was determined not to hold a grudge about her experience. (See 12.29pm.)
Richard Ratcliffe said that he was now retiring as a campaigner and he asked for his family to be given privacy as they recovered from their ordeal. “We will disappear off and heal a bit,” he said.
Here is some reaction to the press conference from journalists.
From Sky’s Sarah-Jane Mee
From the ITV broadcaster Julie Etchingham
From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar
From the broadcaster Matthew Stadlen
From the Spectator’s Isabel Hardman
And here’s an extract from Hardman’s piece.
From the Jewish Chronicle’s Stephen Pollard
This is from David Lammy, the shadow foreign secretary, on Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s press conference.
Tulip Siddiq asks the panel if they have any final comments.
Richard Ratcliffe says he wants to thank again their legal team.
Siddiq ends by asking the media not to bother Richard and Nazanin and Gabriella on their way out, and to respect their privacy.
And that’s it. I’ll post a summary shortly.