NEW: Met Police refusing to investigate No 10 gatherings likely to be unlawful

A week since shocking stories first emerged of illegal gatherings in and around No 10 and still the Met Police won’t investigate. Would they be as shy had you or I broken the law? Look at the form they publish for gathering evidence on breaches of Coronavirus rules by normal people and you rather doubt it.

So why the difference?

We decided to cut through the nonsense and commission two of the country’s leading lawyers – top policing barrister Danny Friedman QC and leading authority on Covid regulations Adam Wagner – to advise on whether the Met Police refusal to investigate is unlawful. We are today publishing that advice in full.

Their view is that a policy of not investigating retrospective breaches is likely to be unlawful; a failure to publish the policy is likely to be unlawful; and a decision not to investigate based on an absence of evidence is also arguably unlawful.

We remain astonished at what looks, to us, like the Met’s willingness to tolerate conduct that undermines public health and erodes trust in the rule of law. In 1733 Dr Thomas Fuller wrote “Be you ever so high, the law is above you.” Those are fine words – and we think the Met should pay heed.

A week ago today we wrote to the Met telling them we intended to sue if they continued to refuse to uphold the law. They have two weeks to change their minds.

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