The police probe of Downing Street parties, now known as Operation Hillman, is to begin quizzing party attendees from this week.
Detectives, working for the Metropolitan Police Service’s Special Enquiry Team, are set to contact more than 50 people in connection with allegations of lockdown-flouting events in Downing Street across 2020 and 2021.
The service, which is thought to be examining 12 separate gatherings across eight dates, has been handed more than 500 documents and 300 images by the Cabinet Office.
What is happening with Operation Hillman?
The Met said on Wednesday that it had requested “further information” from the Cabinet Office following Sue Gray’s internal investigation, the findings of which were mostly suppressed due to the police probe.
Meanwhile, “by the end of the week” the force will begin contacting the “more than 50” people believed to have taken part in the events in question. “In most cases contact is being made via email,” the force said.
A questionnaire to be sent to those under investigation “asks for an account and explanation of the recipient’s participation in an event, has formal legal status and must be answered truthfully.”
The Met added: “There may also be a need to contact further people in the coming days and weeks – should they be identified as having taken part in an event and having potentially breached regulations.
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“It should be noted that being contacted does not mean a fixed penalty notice will necessarily be issued to that person. Nevertheless, if following an investigation, officers believe it is appropriate because the Covid regulations have been breached without a reasonable excuse, a fixed penalty notice will normally be issued.
“We understand the interest in and impact of this case, and are progressing the investigation at pace. We are committed to completing our investigations proportionately, fairly and impartially.”
Who is leading Operation Hillman?
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors, the Met’s lead for Covid-19, is thought to be heading up the investigation.
Ms Connors, who has nearly 30 years of service in the Met, has overseen enforcement of lockdown laws in the city, with police handing out thousands of fines to rule-breakers, and has singled out those who held unsanctioned parties for particular criticism.
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In public warnings issued by the Met during last year’s lockdown, she had said: “I want to be clear, where people have dangerously and blatantly broken the rules, we won’t hesitate to take action by issuing fixed penalty notices.
“We make no apology for our tough stance on shutting down those large gatherings which pose a serious risk to public health.”
A long-serving Met officer who has worked her way up the ranks, Ms Connors is a trusted lieutenant of the Met commissioner, Dame Cressida Dick.
