Could the mysterious red briefcase get Boris Johnson off the hook? This is what some members of his party suggest.
The British Prime Minister is currently at the heart of “partygate”, this scandal of parties organized at 10 Downing Street in full confinement. Latest episode: photos of a party Boris Johnson allegedly attended on November 13, 2020, when the UK was undergoing a second lockdown and indoor parties were banned. The photos show Boris Johnson, a smile on his face, raising his glass. In front of him, snacks and drinks placed on a table. And on a chair, right next to him, sits the famous red briefcase which he never separates from.
But what does this little red suitcase really contain and, above all, how could it save Boris Johnson’s skin? Well known to the British, who gave it the nickname “red box”, this red briefcase accompanies Boris Johnson wherever he is: on the move in the United Kingdom and abroad, at home in the evening or at work. The system was set up in 1860. Documents to sign or read, daily briefings, etc. : the red briefcase contains documents addressed to the British Prime Minister, renewed every day. Only the most important papers are inside the briefcase, monogrammed with the effigy of the reigning monarch. The Queen and other ministers also have one. Like his predecessors, Boris Johnson therefore almost always has it with him.
For some members of Boris Johnson’s party, the fact that the red briefcase appears in images of the party at 10 Downing Street is a very good sign. Indeed, they claim that this proves that he was unaware of the evening and that he had joined the staff members while he was on his way home. They would have given him a drink and he would have put down the “red box” to toast.
“I think he stopped by to raise his glass and say thank you to a longtime member of staff who is leaving,” said Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps. He also said the Prime Minister was “mortified”.
What may be whitewashing Boris Johnson in the eyes of some of the British … The Prime Minister would however be preparing an apology, after having already assured Parliament that he had no intention of insist on lockdown parties.
Problematic WhatsApp messages
This is not the first time that the briefcase has found itself at the heart of a controversy. At the end of March, court documents confirmed that Boris Johnson was receiving information on important government business via Whatsapp. These communications, which came from the “red box”, were sent to his phone for reasons of “administrative ease”.
For Good Law Project and Foxglove, two campaigning legal groups, the practice poses a security risk. The latter disputed the use of the courier service, claiming that it violated the law on the preservation of public documents.
The judges, however, decided that the use of Whatsapp did not break the law. The government has called the lawsuit “an unnecessary waste of taxpayers’ time and money”.