Police reopen Partygate probes

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [The Independent]( July 05, 2023 [View online](   [Morning Headlines]( 1 /[Two new Partygate investigations opened by Met Police – as Boris Johnson let off the hook]( The [Partygate scandal]( deepened on Tuesday night as police dramatically opened two new investigations into events held in parliament and [Conservative Party headquarters during Covid restrictions]( – but said they would take no further action against [Boris Johnson](. Scotland Yard announced that it was reinvestigating a [“jingle and mingle” Christmas party]( held by [Shaun Bailey](’s London mayoral campaign staff at CCHQ on 14 December 2020, after assessing new video evidence. [Rishi Sunak]( immediately faced fresh calls to [block Mr Bailey’s peerage]( – handed to the failed mayoral candidate by Mr Johnson in his resignation honours – while the police investigation takes place. The [Metropolitan Police]( also announced an investigation into “potential breaches” of Covid rules at a gathering inside parliament on 8 December the same year, the date of an alleged drinks event attended by Tory grandee Sir [Bernard Jenkin]( for his wife’s birthday., More than 18 months into the Partygate scandal, the latest move means that questionnaires will be sent out to those who were present at either of the events, asking if they had a “reasonable excuse” to attend a gathering under the Covid laws in place at the time. But police said that “a number of other events” at Downing Street and the prime minister’s country residence, Chequers, that were believed to involve Mr Johnson in 2020 and 2021, would not be investigated further.   2 /[Fears mortgage rates could hit 7 per cent as experts say rises are ‘out of control’]( Bank of England urged to pause hikes and Sunak pressured to offer more support to homeowners facing ‘rolling financial thunder’ 3 /[Rail ticket office closures loom as ministers and train firms sideline union]( Exclusive: ‘The removal of ticket offices would create the conditions for a muggers’ paradise on the railways’ says RMT general secretary Mick Lynch 4 /[Classic British sitcoms like Fawlty Towers and ‘Allo ‘Allo! ‘contributed to Brexit vote’]( The shows reveal the ‘core differences between Britain and her European neighbours’, historian says 5 /[Fiona Phillips, 62, reveals she has Alzheimer’s disease]( The former breakfast TV host was diagnosed 18 months ago after suffering brain fog and anxiety THE BIG QUESTION Paris riots: Does France have a police problem? Young people from our neighbourhood go to prison for so much less”, said Hatifa, the aunt of a French teenager whose shooting by a police officer at a traffic stop last week[ignited nationwide protests]( and violent unrest. The killing of [Nahel](, 17, which was caught on camera, has thrust his family, who are of Algerian and Moroccan origin, into the international spotlight. Alarmed by the rising violence, [his aunt wanted to make it clear]( they were calling for calm and an end to the ransacking and looting. “I hope that Nahel’s death is going to trigger some kind of change,” she told me, in tears. “Because we have a problem of racism and discrimination in France.” In this part of Nanterre, the impoverished area of Paris where Nahel lived and was killed, her words were echoed by the local community. “There is a two-tiered system of nationality if you are not white,” one man told me. [For the full article click here]( Enjoy a year of unlimited digital access for just £99 £20 ✓ Full access to Premium news analysis ✓ Advert-free reading across web and app ✓ The Independent Daily Edition newspaper ✓ Puzzles, virtual event tickets and more [SUBSCRIBE NOW](   Watch /[CCTV captures moment of car-ramming attack in Tel Aviv]( NUMBER OF THE DAY 7% – Homeowners have been warned that Britain is heading for a mortgage-rate “disaster” as the average five-year fixed-rate deal jumped above 6 per cent for the first time since November. [Read more]( QUOTE OF THE DAY “This disease has ravaged my family and now it has come for me. And all over the country there are people of all different ages whose lives are being affected by it - it’s heartbreaking.” – TV presenter [Fiona Phillips]( has revealed she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. 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