16 Wednesday February 16 2022 | the times
News
Boris Johnson must resign if he attend-
ed a lockdown-breaking party, a former
Conservative attorney-general said.
Jeremy Wright, who held the role
under both David Cameron and Ther-
esa May, said that the prime minister
should be removed from office if he
attended a party or was aware that one
had taken place.
In a letter to his constituents seen by
The Times, the MP for Kenilworth and
Southam said he found it “frustrating”
that the Metropolitan Police had failed
to take action sooner and there was no
need for a “lengthy investigation” into
Downing Street parties.
He said that the publication of the
full report by Sue Gray, the senior civil
servant investigating the gatherings,
would provide “crucial” further details.
Johnson would have to resign if he
attended a party, he said, because it
would mean he had misled parliament.
In December, Johnson had told the
House of Commons: “All guidance was
followed completely in No 10.”
“If the prime minister has attended
events he knew broke the rules, or was
aware of events he knew broke the
rules, he should not have advised the
House of Commons, on several occa-
sions, that as far as he was aware, no
DIMITRIJE GOLL/SERBIAN PRESIDENCY/EPAPM must quit if he
broke party rules,
says former law chief
rules were broken there,” Wright wrote
to his constituents. “Doing so in those
circumstances would be misleading the
House and must in my view lead to his
resignation or removal from office.”
Wright said that members of the
public had the right to expect accounta-
bility, but he said the prime minister
also had the right to “due process”.
“There is little in this episode or the
handling of it of which the prime minis-
ter can be proud, and he may yet need
to leave office because of it,” he said.
“But the decision to remove a sitting
prime minister two years after his elect-
ion with a large majority requires
proper consideration of the relevant
evidence, as my constituents are
entitled to expect me to give it.”
Johnson has hired a lawyer to help
him draft a response to a questionnaire
sent to him by the Met. In total, 90 sus-
pected attendees will receive question-
naires from Scotland Yard.
The prime minister will argue that he
was working when he attended as many
as six different gatherings, The Times
understands. These included a “bring
your own bottle” event in the Downing
Street garden, a birthday celebration in
the Cabinet room, three leaving events
for Downing Street staff and a party in
Johnson’s Number 11 flat.
Partying at work, letters, page 26George Grylls Political Reporter
Balkan honour Johnny Depp shows off a gold medal of merit awarded to him by
President Vucic of Serbia in recognition of his efforts to help the country’s artistsUnion ‘wasted
£70m building
f lagship hotel’
The Unite trade union spent almost
£100 million building a four-star hotel
and conference centre that is worth less
than £30 million, its general secretary,
Sharon Graham, has revealed.
The £70 million overspend on the
flagship Birmingham hotel is under
investigation by a QC-led inquiry and
initial findings are due next month.
A source close to the union said
members would be “enraged” by the
“staggering waste of their money”.
Concerns about the spiralling costs
were revealed by The Times last year.
The main contractor was a Liverpool
building firm owned by Paul Flanagan,
an associate of Unite’s former leader,
Len McCluskey. A health and safety
contract was given to another Liver-
pool firm owned by David Anderson,
34, son of the city’s former mayor, Joe
Anderson. Flanagan, 58, and both
Andersons were arrested in 2020 for
alleged bribery in an unrelated criminal
inquiry. They have been released pend-
ing inquiries and deny any wrongdoing.
McCluskey, 71, retired last August
and Graham has ordered an independ-
ent inquiry into the project.
Unite said the contract awarded to
Flanagan’s company was subject to a
strict tendering process. It has no con-
nection with the Merseyside police in-
quiry and it is not suggested that there
was any criminal wrongdoing in the
contracts awarded by the union.Andrew Norfolk