Boris Johnson receives Downing Street partygate report from Sue Gray

Sue Gray has handed over her long-awaited report to No 10
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Sue Gray has provided an update on her inquiry into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street to the Prime Minister, a Cabinet Office spokesman has confirmed.

The senior civil servant, who is investigating a series of events in No 10 and across Whitehall which allegedly broke Covid rules, has now handed over her long-awaited report to No 10 and Boris Johnson us due to make a statement later today (31 January).

Boris Johnson has recieved Sue Gray’s partygate inquiry (Composite: Mark Hall / JPIMedia)Boris Johnson has recieved Sue Gray’s partygate inquiry (Composite: Mark Hall / JPIMedia)
Boris Johnson has recieved Sue Gray’s partygate inquiry (Composite: Mark Hall / JPIMedia)
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Parliamentary sources said they were expecting the Prime Minister to make a statement to the House of Commons some time after 3.30pm.

Downing Street has committed to publishing the report before Mr Johnson addresses MPs, but the Cabinet Office is yet to confirm when it will be handed over and further delays cannot be ruled out.

The publication of the report was expected last week but was delayed after the Metropolitan Police opened a criminal investigation.

The report was then thrown into disarray when Scotland Yard last week requested for “minimal reference” to be made in Ms Gray’s inquiry to the events that officers are investigating.

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Scotland Yard insisted that officers had not asked for the report to be delayed, or placed any further restrictions on other events.

But the force said it remained in contact with the Cabinet Office team to “avoid any prejudice to our investigation”.

In a statement last week, Scotland Yard said: “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.

“The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.”

What has Boris Johnson said about the report?

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Downing Street has committed to quickly publishing the inquiry after receiving it, but the request to make “minimal reference” to events under investigation from the Met Police suggests that Ms Gray may have had to make significant changes to her report before publication.

Officers have not confirmed how many events they are investigating, but reports have suggested it could be up to eight.

A government minister said the details contained in the report is down to Ms Gray and the police to “work out between them”.

Asked about fears the inquiry will be a “whitewash” because of the changes, Mr Johnson said: “You are going to have to wait and see both what Sue says and of course what the Met says.”

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The Prime Minister was also questioned about reportedly telling MPs privately he thinks he has done nothing wrong.

During a visit to a freeport in Tilbury, Essex, he said: “You’re going to have to wait and see the outcome of the investigations, but of course I stick absolutely to what I’ve said in the past.”

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