Crime

Despite the release of new Partygate photos, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under new criticism.

Published

3 years ago

May 24, 2022

By Derrick Bangura

Boris Johnson is facing fresh questions after photos showing the prime minister drinking at an event during a Covid lockdown were published.

The pictures, released by ITV News, are believed to show the prime minister at a leaving party on 13 November 2020.
The BBC has been told that at least one person who attended the event was fined, but the PM was not.

The Metropolitan Police are facing calls to explain why Mr Johnson did not receive a fine.

A government source told BBC News the photos may have been taken by the official No 10 photographer and proved Mr Johnson was there in a work capacity.

The police investigated two events in Downing Street on 13 November. Asked in Parliament by a Labour MP whether a party had taken place on that date, Mr Johnson said “no”, adding that “I’m sure…all the rules were followed”.

The Covid rules when Downing Street parties were held
What did Boris Johnson tell Parliament about parties?
Meanwhile, a government source has also told the BBC that civil servant Sue Gray may hand her report on parties to Downing Street on Wednesday, followed by a statement in Parliament and a press conference by the prime minister.

Responding to the leaks, Labour’s Jonathan Ashworth said it would be difficult for the PM to reconcile his statement to Parliament that no party had taken place with the pictures and called on Tory MPs to remove him from office.

The peer and former leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Ruth Davidson, said the prime minister had lied to Parliament and his position was now untenable.

Senior Conservative Tom Tugendhat was also critical telling the BBC that: “Seriousness in government matters. It costs us all. And I’m afraid this just doesn’t look serious.”

Former justice secretary Robert Buckland told BBC Radio Wiltshire that: “If there’s a deliberate lie, I can’t see how anybody, including this prime minister, can continue.”

“There are things we say honestly and genuinely at the time that we believe to be true… now that’s one thing. Going and deliberately saying X is Y knowing that is the case is, of course, beyond the pale.”

But Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said that while he found the picture “difficult to look at”, he suggested the presence of the PM’s ministerial red box “suggests he was probably on his way through”.

“I think he’s popped down there to raise a glass and say thank you to a long term member of staff who is leaving,” he said, adding that the police would have “thoroughly investigated” the event.

He also said the prime minister was “mortified”.

A No 10 spokeswoman said the prime minister would address Parliament “in full” after senior civil servant Sue Gray published her report into the gatherings “in the coming days”.

There was support for the PM from Conservative backbench MP Sir Desmond Swayne, who said he believed it was a “work do”, adding “that’s what people do at work”.

He told BBC Newsnight: “Now I understand entirely the public anguish at a time when they were locked down and they were not supposed to be together, but there clearly was a distinction between the workplace – where people work together and are effectively in a bubble – and what was taking place outside.

The prime minister and the Met are under fresh scrutiny after ITV News published four new photographs on Monday which it says were taken at the leaving do for Mr Johnson’s communications chief, Lee Cain on 13 November 2020.

Mr Johnson is pictured toasting colleagues while standing by a table laden with wine bottles, wine glasses, food and other drinks.

A second coronavirus lockdown was in place in England at the time the photographs were taken, with indoor gatherings of two or more people banned, except if “reasonably necessary” for work purposes.

Allegations about gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall throughout the pandemic led to a Metropolitan Police investigation into 12 events.

The inquiry concluded last week, with a total of 126 fixed penalty notices being issued to 83 individuals for parties held over eight separate dates.

Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak all received one fine each for attending a birthday party thrown in the PM’s honour in June 2020.

But No 10 confirmed the PM was not facing any additional fines from the police.

The emergence of the photographs has sparked fresh claims from opposition MPs and others that Mr Johnson knowingly misled Parliament when he previously told them no Covid rules had been broken in Downing Street.

On 8 December 2021, Labour MP Catherine West asked Mr Johnson in the Commons if a party had taken place in Downing Street on 13 November 2020 – though it is not clear if she was referring to the event photographed.

The PM replied: “No, but I’m sure whatever happened the guidance was followed and all the rules were followed at all times.”

The prime minister faces a probe by the Commons’ Privileges Committee about whether he lied to MPs. Under government guidelines, ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to resign.

MPs are also awaiting the outcome of an investigation by Durham Police into a gathering in the city on 30 April 2021 attended by Labour leader Keir Starmer and his deputy Ms Rayner.

Sir Keir has said he will resign if he is fined for attending the event.

Meanwhile, questioned about its decision making, the Met has declined to explain why the prime minister was not fined over the leaving party.

The Liberal Democrats have written to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, urging it to investigate the Met’s probe into events in No 10 and Whitehall during lockdown.

The party’s deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “If anyone else had been pictured at a party like this during lockdown, surely this would have been enough evidence for them to be fined.”

The Labour London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he though the police should “explain why they have reached their conclusions and provide that clarity”.

A No 10 spokeswoman said the Cabinet Office and the police had been given access to information, including photographs.

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Crime

2 ladies docked for allegedly obtaining money by fraud

Published

2 weeks ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

The police in Lagos have dragged two women, Mmesuma Ofunna, and Blessing Adimekwe, before an Ojo Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, over alleged obtaining money by false pretence.

Ofunna, 22, and Adimekwe, 25, were arraigned before the Magistrate, Mr L K J Layeni, on a four-count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining by false pretence, stealing and conduct likely to breach peace.

They each, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

The prosecutor, ASP Simon Uche, told the court that the defendants conspired with others now at large, to commit the offence on Oct. 26 at the Okokomaiko area of Ojo.

He alleged that they had obtained the sum of N70, 000 from one Faith Ahamefule, with a promise not to post her nude photo on social media.

The prosecutor alleged that the defendants later posted the nude photo of the nominal complainant on social media, knowing that their promise was false.

He alleged that they stole the N70, 0000, thereby conducting themselves in a manner likely to breach public peace.

The offence contravenes the provisions of sections 168(d), 287, 314, and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.

The court granted the defendants bails in the sum of N500, 000 each, with two sureties each in like sum.

He adjourned the case until Jan. 8, 2025 for mention.

Crime

Mechanic jailed 15 months for pickpocketing passengers

Published

2 weeks ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

A Jos Magistrates’ Court on Monday, sentenced a 26-year-old Mechanic, Sadiq Umar to 15 months imprisonment for pickpocketing from passengers.

The Magistrate, Shawomi Bokkos, summarily tried and sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the charge.

Bokkos in his judgment, ordered the convict to pay an option of N100, 000 fine or spend one year in prison.

He also asked him to pay a compensation of N15, 000 or an additional three months in prison in default.

Earlier, the Prosecutor, Insp Ijuptil Thiawur, told the court that the case was reported on Nov.16, at the “A” Division Police station by Moses Pam, Alexander Bakshak and Simon Justice the complaints.

Thiawur said that the convict attempted to steal from them before he was caught in the act and when the driver stopped the vehicle to search him he fled but was caught.

The Police said that the offence contravened the Plateau Penal Code Law.

Crime

Police detain 2 suspected fraudsters, reject N66m bribe in Lagos

Published

2 weeks ago

December 16, 2024

Saadatu Sahabo

Police rescue 14 passengers from bandits in Jibia

The Zone-2 Police Command in Lagos says it has detained two suspected international fraudsters that allegedly specialised in forging foreign certificates in Lagos and Ghana.

The AIG in charge of the zone, Adegoke Fayaode, confirmed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

Fayoade said that the suspects allegedly offered N66m to the operatives with a view to free them but the offer was turned down.

NAN reports that the same zone operatives rejected a N174m bribe offered by a suspect in November to set him free.

Fayoade said that the suspects simply identified as Elvis, 23 and Kelly, 24, allegedly specialised in forging certificates of different nations and African Universities and defrauding their unsuspecting victims on the internet.

He said that the suspects have succeeded in acquiring exotic cars and erecting mansions in different parts of the country with the proceeds of their loot.

The AIG pointed out that luck ran out of the suspects after detectives at the Anti-Corruption Unit of the Zone received credible information from Nigerians in diaspora concerning some group of boys that specialised in forging foreign certificates.

According to him, on getting the information, he detailed the anti-corruption unit to investigate it and arrest the suspects without delay.

Fayoade said that based on his directives, the detectives stormed Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos waiting for the arrival of the suspects, whom they trailed to a five star hotel at Osapa-London in Lekki Area.

He said that the operatives arrested the suspects at a bus stop while they were about to escape secretly from the hotel, after monitoring their activities.

“Searching their luggage, one certificate of Blue Crest College, Ghana, belonging to Elvis and a student identity card of Academic City College belonging to Kelly were recovered.

“Further search revealed a transcript of an academic record from Blue Crest University belonging to Elvis.

“A letter of English proficiency from the said college and a letter of recommendation from the same Blue Crest College were recovered,” he said.

The AIG said that the suspects made useful statements to the police and confessed that they never got any admission into the school, stressing that they only procured the degree certificates through the help of a female Nigerian resident in Ghana.

“The suspects further confessed that the major aim of doing that is to enable them to get Ghana resident permit, which they got.

“The resident permit is showing them also as a student of Academic City University and that none of them has ever been admitted in the school.

“They claimed they paid a total of 26,000 Ghana Cedis for all the documents procured.

“They confessed that they procured all the documents to evade arrest in Ghana since they don’t have any means of livelihood.

Whenever police intercepted them, they showed their passports that they were students in Ghana.”

Fayoade said that the suspects were also allegedly involved in online romance scam, provision of foreign bank accounts for fraudulent transactions on the internet through what they call ‘Facebook bombing’.

He said the suspects presented themselves as an American soldier by name Captain Donald Rowe, serving in Syria, whom they impersonated on Instagram, using his name to defraud innocent persons.

The AIG said that while detectives were making frantic efforts to get more credible information from the suspects, they started negotiating to bribe the operatives for them to be set free.

“I directed my men to play along and recover the money as an exhibit. Subsequently, the detectives played along and the suspects paid them a sum of N66m, which they collected and kept as an exhibit.

“The Nigeria Police authorities have written to the Ghana embassy to get more information about the result and their suspected partners in Ghana said to be spearheading the fraud.

Fayoade said that they had also spread their dragnets through the International Police, Interpol, to round up their foreign accomplices.