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The Metropolitan Police is investigating parties held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the coronavirus pandemic.

It was launched after a separate inquiry, passed information to The Force .

What events are Police investigating?

We don't know how many events The Police are looking at.

So Far The Met has only said it is investigating " A Number of events that took place at Downing Street and Whitehall in The Last two years in relation to potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations".

The decision to start The Investigation was the result of information provided by the senior civil servant Sue Gray 's inquiry team and " officers' own assessments" Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said.

Why are Police investigating No 10 parties?

The Commissioner said The Met would not normally investigate past breaches of Covid-19 regulations.

But She Said retrospective investigations were carried out for " The Most serious and flagrant type of breach" where there was evidence and certain criteria were met, including:

How long Will The Police investigation take?

In some ways this is a very straightforward investigation for The Police , says BBC Home Affairs correspondent Daniel Sandford .

Much of the Leg Work Will have been done and The Police need to decide who was at The Events and whether they had a good reason to be there, he says.

" This is not a multi-month investigation, this is something that should be containable in a small number of weeks. "

What action could be taken?

Under, Covid breaches are classified as summary offences.

This means they do not come with prison sentences, but are punishable by fines.

During the summer of 2020, The Met Police had The Power to fine people £100 for The First Covid offence (lowered to £50 if paid within 14 days). Fines for subsequent offences could then double, up to a maximum of £3,200.

Failure or refusal to pay the fine could result in being prosecuted and having to go to court.

However, the fact The Police are investigating Downing Street events does not mean " fixed penalty notices Will necessarily be issued in every instance and to every person involved" Dame Cressida said.

Who Will be investigated and interviewed?

We don't know for sure as The Met has not said which gatherings it is investigating.

As well as those it is looking into, Dame Cressida said " several other events" had been assessed but were not thought to have reached the threshold for an investigation.

Asked by journalists whether the Prime Minister was willing to be interviewed by officers, his spokesman responded: " Anyone asked to Will cooperate fully as you would expect. "

Has The Police investigated a serving PM before?

Back in 2006, Tony Blair became The First Prime Minister to be questioned by Police in The Course of an investigation.

The Investigation was into allegations that peerages were given out In Return for donations.

Mr Blair was not interviewed under caution, so he was treated as A Witness rather than a suspect.

In July 2007, it was announced that.

What does The Investigation mean for the Sue Gray Report ?

The Police investigation could mean that the separate investigation into Downing Street parties - carried out by senior civil servant Sue Gray - Will be delayed.

However, a Downing Street spokesman said some parts of The Report - The Elements not being investigated by The Police - could still be published.

How has Boris Johnson responded?

The Prime Minister said he welcomed The Met 's announcement because it would " help to give The Public the clarity it needs and help to draw a line under matters".

His spokesman said Mr Johnson did not think he had broken The Law .

Opposition parties have repeated their calls for him to resign.

Source of news: bbc.com