A SCRAWLED self-portrait by Boris Johnson has revealed further links between the Prime Minister and the former student who filmed Sir Keir Starmer drinking beer in Durham.
The hand-drawn picture sent to Ivo Delingpole emerged during a Northern Echo investigation into the so-called ‘beergate’ scandal.
The Guardian recently revealed it was Mr Delingpole, a former Durham University English literature graduate who shot the grainy mobile phone footage at Redhills.
It is understood Mr Delingpole has said he was not trying to ‘help Boris in any way’, but the footage has been used to press police, who previously said no rules had been broken, to reinvestigate the Labour Party leader.
Sir Keir and his deputy, Angela Rayner, have both said they will resign if they are issued with fixed penalty notices for their actions last April.
Although there is no suggestion of wrongdoing, further research by the Northern Echo into Mr Delingpole’s background suggest there are connections between his family and Mr Johnson that go back many years.
A fellow Old Etonian, Ivo Delingpole is the son of James Delingpole, a right-wing journalist and Oxford University contemporary of Boris Johnson.
Like the Prime Minister, Ivo Delingpole was also editor of The Eton College Chronicle during his time at the exclusive boarding school.
He started writing articles for The Spectator, previously edited by Mr Johnson, when he was 16, and his father remains the magazine’s television critic.
Ivo Delingpole revealed his own connections to the Prime Minster with a post on his Facebook page on December 13, 2019, the day Mr Johnson’s landslide General Election victory was announced.
Mr Delingpole, a second-year student in Durham at the time, wrote: “As a five-year-old I met Boris at a party and liked him enough to write him a letter.
“He included this flattering self-portrait in his reply.”
The post shows a picture he claims was drawn by Mr Johnson.
Alongside a scrawled self-portrait are the words: ‘Dear Ivo, Here is a picture, from Boris.’ The picture is thought to have been drawn between 2004 and 2006 when Mr Johnson was MP for Henley and the editor of The Spectator.
It is understood Mr Delingpole shot the footage as Sir Keir visited Durham City MP Mary Foy’s constituency office, the home of Durham Miners’ Association and the region’s left-wing politics.
He reportedly lived near the site and witnessed Sir Keir drinking beer and eating a takeaway curry at a time when large indoor social gatherings were banned.
The video was passed to the Lewis actor and anti-lockdown activist Laurence Fox, who posted it on Twitter.
The footage was largely ignored by the mainstream media but re-emerged earlier this year, after Mr Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were issued with fixed penalty notices for Covid breaches at Downing Street.
North-West Durham MP Richard Holden, and the Daily Mail, successfully lobbied to have the inquiry into Sir Keir reopened, which Durham Constabulary agreed to, confirming ‘new information’ had come to light.
The Metropolitan Police has now concluded its own ‘Partygate’ inquiry into Covid breaches, however the Prime Minister is facing fresh criticism after new pictures emerged of him raising a glass at a Downing Street gathering.
The Guardian reported that James Delingpole, a former executive editor for Breitbart News Network, has confirmed it was his son who shot the footage.
Palatinate, Durham University’s student newspaper, has carried an anonymous interview with the student behind the initial film.
He is quoted as saying: “I saw something that I thought was an injustice and decided to film it because it made me angry.
“There were such double standards in place.
“The very people that were pushing for more restrictions weren’t even following them themselves.
“I didn’t want to help Boris in any way.”
The Northern Echo has contacted Ivo Delingpole for comment.
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