Covid lockdown: No police action over Shaun Bailey Tory event

Scotland Yard is taking nary enactment against erstwhile London mayoral campaigner Shaun Bailey nor different radical who attended a gathering astatine Conservative Party HQ during a Covid lockdown.

Mr Bailey and Tory aides were seen posing for a photo, raising glasses too buffet nutrient portion London was nether restrictions successful December 2020.

Socialising indoors was banned.

But the Met said it recovered "insufficient grounds to disprove the mentation of events provided by attendees".

Fresh questions astir the lawsuit astatine Conservative Campaign Headquarters successful Westminster were raised aft it was reported that erstwhile premier curate Boris Johnson had enactment Mr Bailey guardant for a peerage successful his resignation honours list.

After the Daily Mirror published a representation of the gathering successful December 2021, the Metropolitan Police launched an investigation.

Mr Bailey, a erstwhile campaigner to beryllium London's politician apologised "unreservedly" for the lawsuit organised by his run squad and said it was a "serious mistake of judgment".

Before the photograph was published, the Times had reported that a "raucous" enactment took spot successful the basement portion Covid restrictions were successful place.

The Met concluded the "photo by itself is not capable grounds connected which to measure that an offence had been committed".

Officers issued attendees with questionnaires to determine whether breaches of the rules were committed and fines should beryllium issued.

"The probe reviewed each the worldly thoroughly and aft cautious consideration, it was determined that determination was insufficient grounds to disprove the mentation of events provided by attendees to a modular that would conscionable the threshold required," the Met said.

"As a result, a determination was made that nary further enactment should beryllium taken."

Mr Bailey, who remains a London Assembly Member, resigned arsenic president of the governing body's Police and Crime Committee aft the representation emerged.

Scotland Yard issued a full of 126 fines implicit regularisation breaches successful Whitehall and Downing Street portion Mr Johnson was premier minister, successful a ungraded that helped extremity his tenure successful No 10.

Mr Johnson and his then-chancellor Rishi Sunak paid fixed-penalty notices implicit a gathering held for Mr Johnson's 56th birthday.