- The Metropolitan Police could investigate
Boris Johnson over a photo of him at a Christmas quiz. - Downing Street said the matter was being looked into by the civil service but not the police.
The Metropolitan Police could criminally investigate a potentially illegal Christmas quiz attended by Boris Johnson after a photo of the event was published which showed Boris Johnson standing near a bottle of prosecco.
The Metropolitan Police said it had previously declined to investigate the 2020 Christmas event — which Downing Street has described as a "virtual quiz" —but will now review that decision now that new evidence had emerged.
The police are currently investigating 12 alleged parties in Downing Street but the Christmas quiz was not considered to have met the threshold for investigation. Sue Gray, the civil servant carrying out a separate inquiry, is looking into 16 events.
"The MPS previously assessed this event and determined that on the basis of the evidence available at that time, it did not meet the threshold for criminal investigation," the Metropolitan Police said in a statement.
"That assessment is now being reviewed."
A photo published on Wednesday by The Daily Mirror showed Johnson standing next to Downing Street staff wearing tinsel, and near an open bottle of sparkling wine.
—Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) February 9, 2022
The Mirror reported that the photo was taken on December 15 2020, when the government's COVID-19 restrictions banned work gatherings from taking place.
Downing Street has previously claimed that the prime minister only attended the event briefly to "thank" staff for their work.
A Downing Street spokesperson on Wednesday insisted the event was a "virtual quiz."
The spokesperson said it "wouldn't be inappropriate for me to comment on specific evidence."