Newspaper headlines: 'Cops probe Boris again' and 'secret Rolf funeral'

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By BBC News
Staff
Reuters

A number of Wednesday's papers lead with the news that former prime minister Boris Johnson - who last year was fined for parties held in Downing Street during the coronavirus lockdown - has been referred to the police by the Cabinet Office over claims he also hosted events at Chequers, the prime ministerial residence in Buckinghamshire.

The Guardian says the events were found in Mr Johnson's diary by government-funded lawyers who were working on his defence for the public inquiry into the pandemic. The paper says the lawyers raised the entries with the Cabinet Office, which was then obliged under the civil service code to refer the matter to the police.

"Cops probe Boris again", is the headline in the Daily Mirror, while the Daily Express brands the referral a "stitch up". The Daily Mail says Mr Johnson is "livid" that the government gave extracts from his prime ministerial diaries to the police without telling him.

The Times has been told the alleged breaches involved Mr Johnson's family and friends, a claim denied by a source close to him. The paper adds no ministers were involved.

Reuters

Sir Salman Rushdie attended Windsor Castle on Tuesday to be made a Companion of Honour by the Princess Royal

According to the Daily Telegraph, one event was a lunch in the Number 10 garden for Mr Johnson and his late mother, Charlotte Johnson Wahl. Another is said to have been a meeting with television presenter Kate Garraway, whose husband was left in a life-threatening condition after catching Covid early in the pandemic. Whitehall sources have vehemently denied this was a breach of the rules.

A number of papers report on a "secret funeral" held for disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris, who it has emerged was cremated some weeks ago. The Sun describes the secrecy surrounding his passing as a "final snub to his victims", while the Daily Mirror calls it a "pariah's send off".

Sangita Myska, columnist for the i, criticises a statement released by Harris's family that said he "died in peace". Myska says it is a "peace that will elude his victims for the rest of their lives".

A picture of Sir Salman Rushdie - who last August lost the sight in one eye in an attack in New York - appears on the front page of the Times. Sir Salman attended Windsor Castle on Tuesday to be made a Companion of Honour by the Princess Royal. The paper reports that Sir Salman said it has taken him a "while" but he is writing again. Asked when he expects his next book to be finished, he said: "Oh, I'll let you know."