Sadiq Khan has written to the Metropolitan Police seeking a “detailed explanation” as to why Boris Johnson was not fined for attending a leaving party in Downing Street during lockdown.
A photograph obtained by ITV News showed the prime minister raising a glass while stood behind a table littered with wine bottles and food on November 13, 2020.
Others who attended the bash, held for departing communications director Lee Cain, were issued fixed penalty notices. But Johnson was not.
In a letter sent to acting Metropolitan Police commissioner Sir Stephen House on Tuesday, Khan said Scotland Yard risked undermining public trust in the police.
A spokesperson for the London mayor said: “Sadiq has today written to the acting commissioner of the Met to seek a detailed explanation of the factors which were taken into account by investigating officers when decisions were made about whether to take action in individual cases in the Downing Street ‘partygate’ investigation.
“He has asked them to take steps to also reassure Londoners by making this explanation to them directly, because he is concerned that the trust and confidence of Londoners in the police is being further eroded by this lack of clarity.
“The mayor has been clear he cannot and would not intervene in operational decisions, however with the investigation now complete, he has made this request in accordance with the Policing Protocol Order 2011 paragraph 23(g).”
The photographs show at least eight people standing close together. Eight days earlier, Johnson had imposed England’s second national lockdown.
Under the rules only two people from different households were allowed to mix indoors – unless it was for work purposes.
The long-awaited Sue Gray report into lockdown busting parties in Downing Street and Whitehall is expected to be published this week, possibly as early as tomorrow.