More than 300 photographs have been handed to the Metropolitan Police Service as part of its investigation into lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.
Catherine Roper, the police commander leading the investigation, said police received a raft of material last week as part of their probe into the allegations and now have a dossier spanning more than 500 pages.
She told reporters on Monday: “We had a bundle of material provided to us just Friday which is well over 500 pieces of paper, about a ream and a half, and over 300 photographs.”
Cdr Roper said police will begin contacting people “within weeks” with questions about suspected Downing Street parties, as the Prime Minister faces renewed scrutiny over potential breaches of Covid rules.
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“We’ll be contacting those people that we want to have further information from with a series of questions – that could be via email or it could be by post,” she said.
“My offices are prioritising this week to consider what’s been provided in that bundle of material, what further investigations that they need to do.”
It marks a significant development in the Met Police’s investigation into the allegations, and suggests further damaging material could be made public.
Met Police are investigating 12 separate events that took place in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid restrictions, including several attended by Mr Johnson himself and one that took place in his flat.
Scotland Yard has insisted its probe into the allegations will not amount to a criminal investigation, and that those found to have broken coronavirus guidelines at No 10 parties will be issued fixed penalty notices.
However, the admission has left many confused as to why Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street events cannot be published in full.
No 10 released a significantly pared-down version of the senior civil servant’s probe into Downing Street parties this afternoon, with Ms Gray lamenting that she was “extremely limited” in what she could say.
It follows an intervention by the police last week over fears that the publication of certain details could prejudice its ongoing investigation into events.
But despite lacking in details about the Downing Street gatherings, Ms Gray’s report was clear in its criticism of “failures of leadership and judgement” and a culture of excessive alcohol consumption in No 10.
She stated that the string of gatherings was “difficult to justify”, prompting fresh calls for the Prime Minister to resign.
Ten MPs publicly criticised the Prime Minister in the Commons this afternoon, including his predecessor Theresa May and Tory MP Andrew Mitchell, who said Mr Johnson “no longer enjoys my support”.
The Prime Minister acknowledged that the report represented “a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror and must learn”, though he refused to commit to publishing Ms Gray’s findings in full.
