Home Secretary Priti Patel, Police Officer Kit Malthouse and Attorney General Suella Braverman have been advised not to publicly support Mr Johnson for their “supervisory” role in criminal justice, although all are ardent supporters. David Gauke, a former justice minister, said he was “not surprised” by Lord Wolfson’s resignation, adding: “I think it’s a very uncomfortable issue for anyone in the Department of Justice or this issue for legal officials.” It comes as sources close to the “partygate” investigation revealed that Johnson is facing a second fine after he attended and gave a speech at a retirement party for Lee Cain, his outgoing communications director, on November 13, 2020. It is understandable that he remained in the gathering for some time, making it more difficult for him to claim that it was a work event and that he had a “reasonable excuse” to be there. However, Simon Hart, the Welsh minister, said on Wednesday that Mr Johnson would not resign even if he was fined several times as part of the Met Police investigation into Operation Hillman. The Prime Minister is reported to have attended six of the 12 events under investigation. Mr Hart told Times Radio: “I do not necessarily see the difference between one or two [fines]for example, the principle is the same. “I personally do not think that for people in public life – or any other area of life, in this case – this should necessarily be accompanied by another penalty, which is the removal of your job or something like that.”
