Boris Johnson must not use taxpayers’ cash for legal advice over law-breaking parties in Downing Street

Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey has demanded that Boris Johnson must not be able to use taxpayers' cash to fund his legal advice over the police investigation into law-breaking parties held in Downing Street.

Ed Davey has written to Treasury Solicitor Susanna McGibbon, who oversees the Government Legal Department, calling on her to ensure Boris Johnson does not receive taxpayer-funded legal advice or representation from government lawyers in relation to his alleged breaches of Covid laws.

The letter adds that it would be "completely unacceptable for taxpayers to bear the cost of the Prime Minister trying to defend himself from these allegations."

The Government Legal Department had total spending of over £264 million in 2020-21.

The Metropolitan Police yesterday confirmed they are investigating eight gatherings believed to have breached Covid rules on government premises and are reviewing evidence including 300 images.

Liberal Democrats Leader Ed Davey said: "After every party at Number Ten, the taxpayer-funded cleaners had to clear up the mess. Now Boris Johnson is asking government lawyers to clean up his latest mess.

"Sue Gray was clear: this behaviour was difficult to justify, and was a serious failure of judgement and leadership. These were personal decisions and personal actions, like the excessive and inappropriate consumption of alcohol. That means the Prime Minister should use personal lawyers.

"People are rightly furious that Boris Johnson broke the very rules he asked the rest of us to follow. Making taxpayers pay for his legal costs would be rubbing salt in the wound. Johnson should fork out for any legal advice about law-breaking parties from his own pocket, not pick the taxpayers' pockets for his defence."

The letter to Susanna McGibbon, Treasury Solicitor and Permanent Secretary of the Government Legal Department, said :

Dear Susanna,

I am writing to ask you to ensure that Boris Johnson does not receive legal advice or representation from government lawyers in relation to his alleged breaches of Covid laws.

Sue Gray's update on her investigation into Downing Street parties confirmed that the Metropolitan Police are investigating 12 gatherings on eight separate dates, including:

the garden party on 20th May 2020 that the Prime Minister has admitted to attending;

the Prime Minister's birthday party on 19th June 2020; and

a gathering in the Number 10 flat on 13th November 2020.

It therefore appears inevitable that the Prime Minister will be interviewed by the police in the course of their investigation. If he is found to have breached the Health Protection regulations, he would potentially be issued with Fixed Penalty Notices.

If the Prime Minister seeks legal advice in relation to the crimes he is alleged to have committed, he should be forced to pay for that advice out of his own pocket.

It would be completely unacceptable for taxpayers to bear the cost of the Prime Minister trying to defend himself from these allegations. This is clearly not work on behalf of the government, nor is it in the public interest.

Can you please confirm whether or not the Prime Minister has already received legal advice from the Government Legal Department in relation to these allegations? And can you please ensure that he does not receive any advice or representation at the taxpayer's expense?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Ed Davey
Leader of the Liberal Democrats