Inside Politics: Boris Johnson to fill in police questionnaire on Partygate

And they’re off! Jet-setting cabinet members are here, there and everywhere this morning. Boris Johnson is in Brussels to speak to Nato leaders. Foreign secretary Liz Truss is in Moscow for crunch talks. And Northern Ireland secretary Brandon Lewis is in Washington to twist the arms of Joe Biden’s team over the protocol. But they will all have one eye on London, where the Met is finally on the move. Scotland Yard’s investigating team is to start interviewing more than 50 Downing Street party attendees – including the prime minister.

Inside the bubble

Policy correspondent Jon Stone on what to look out for today:

Grab the popcorn for Sir John Major’s speech at the Institute for Government at 11am this morning. The former PM is expected to “intervene” and criticise Boris Johnson.

Daily briefing

HILLMAN STREET BLUES: Has a questionnaire ever assumed such historic importance? Detectives from Operation Hillman investigating the lockdown parties at No 10 and Whitehall will this week send out questionnaires to more than 50 people thought to have taken part. The announcement comes after the Met Police also revealed that they would be widening their inquiries to cover the No 10 quiz night on 15 December 2020 after a photo emerged of Boris Johnson, three staff (one with tinsel and another in a Santa hat) near an open bottle of bubbly. Has the photo – published by The Mirror during PMQs on Wednesday – changed the prime minister’s short-term fate?

PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN: Boris Johnson faced the humiliation of heading into the post-PMQs tea room only to be grilled by Tory MPs about the Xmas quiz photo. The PM thought he had bought himself a bit of time with his mini-reshuffle and No 10 shake-up. But his team now fears a further “drip drip drip” of damaging evidence emerging which could force the hand of wavering MPs who have drafted those no-confidence letters. Dominic Cummings said “waaaaay worse” photos existed, suggesting there were pics of an alleged “Abba party” held in Johnson’s Downing Street flat. New Commons leader Mark Spencer asked whether people in the “real world” were interested in parties. Yes, Mark. They are.

MAKING AN EXHIBITION OF HIMSELF: The Met madness doesn’t end there. Scotland Yard is mulling over a call to investigate Johnson under anti-bribery laws, after he appeared to back a “Great Exhibition” plan suggested for the donor who funded his luxury wallpaper. Lawyers from Edwards Duthie Shamash argued the Met is “duty-bound” to investigate. The force said the matter was being “considered by officers”. It comes as London mayor Sadiq Khan warned that Met chief Cressida Dick had only “days” to come up a plan to deal with the vile messages exchanged by officers.

ONLY THE BRAVE (OR STUPID): Boris Johnson had his own rabbit in hat trick at PMQs, delighting the lockdown sceptics (some of who don’t like him anyway) by announcing that he planned on ending all domestic Covid restrictions in England one month early. But the surprise decision to bring forward the date from 24 March is either “very brave or very stupid”, scientists warned. Prof John Edmunds, the Sage adviser, told Peston there were “dangers” with the plan. And he revealed Sage had not discussed it. The Lib Dems said the PM was playing “fast and loose with people’s health”, while Labour said it had been “designed to dig him out of a political hole”. Johnson – if he is still at No 10 – will present his living with Covid strategy on 21 February. Remaining curbs are expected to be lifted a few days later.

MUSCLES FLEXED IN BRUSSELS: Boris Johnson has the pleasant distraction of talks with Nato’s secretary general on the Ukraine crisis in Brussels this morning, before flying off to Poland on a trip designed to reassure eastern European allies about UK support in the face of Russian aggression. Liz Truss has a more daunting enough task. She becomes the first foreign secretary in more than four years to travel to Russia, where she meets counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

BLAMING THE SHAMELESS: Keir Starmer has blamed Boris Johnson for being mobbed outside parliament by antivax protesters shouting the Savile smear – saying the PM knowingly pedalled “a conspiracy theory of violent fascists”. In an interview with The Times, the Labour leader said Johnson had used a “deliberate slur without any basis in fact”. He added: “The PM knew exactly what he was doing. It is a conspiracy theory of violent fascists that has been doing the rounds for some time.”

ANY PORT IN THE BREXIT STORM: Port operators have slammed the government for leaving them in the dark about arrangements for new Brexit-related controls and red tape to be phased in this year. The UK Major Ports Group – which represents 40 ports around the UK – said there was still no clear plan or estimate of charges for further checks on the way. Ministers have yet to say how much they will charge for processing imports at border control posts, including at Sevington in Kent that will handle goods going through Dover and Folkestone. Wasn’t Brexit supposed to have been well and truly done by 2022?

On the record

“No school should be encouraging young people to pin their colours to a political mast.”

Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi says pupils shouldn’t be criticising the PM in class.

From the Twitterati

“Do Tory MPs need to see a photo of Boris Johnson passed out on the floor next to empty wine bottles before they submit a letter of no confidence? What are they waiting for?”

Daniela Nadj on the photo of the PM next to the bubbly...

“A small part of it, but nobody opens a bag of crisps like that unless they’re sharing. Sharing food with hands and mouths and saliva.”

… while Mikey Smith focuses on the party crisps.

Essential reading

Andrew Grice, The Independent: Boris Johnson is in his bunker and the end is nigh

Hannah Fearn, The Independent: The ‘new normal’ for Britain? Poverty and destitution

Martin Kettle, The Times: No amount of reshuffles can hide the truth – Boris Johnson is finished

Anoosh Chakelian, New Statesman: Nadine Dorries – from the celebrity jungle to Johnson’s loudest cheerleader

Sign up here to receive this free daily briefing in your email inbox every morning