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LONDON, Jan 13 (Reuters) - British police will not investigate gatherings held in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's residence during a coronavirus lockdown unless an internal government inquiry finds evidence of potential criminal offences, the Metropolitan Police said.
Johnson's leadership is in the balance as he faces calls to resign from some in his party over Wednesday's admission that he attended staff drinks during the May 2020 lockdown. He apologised for the error and said he though it was a work event.
A senior government official is conducting an inquiry into that gathering and several others reported by media to establish the facts.
"The Met has ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office in relation to this inquiry. If the inquiry identifies evidence of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence it will be passed to the Met for further consideration," the statement said.
Political opponents have urged police to investigate whether laws were broken. Johnson's key backers in cabinet have instead offered their leader qualified support, saying he was right to apologise awaiting the results of the internal inquiry. (Reporting by William James. Editing by Andrew MacAskill and Alistair Bell)
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