Closing summary
Here is a summary of the latest key developments:
- Boris Johnson is braced for the most perilous 48 hours of his premiership, with exasperated Conservative MPs due to see an official inquiry by the senior civil servant Sue Gray, reportedly set to be published this week.
- The Metropolitan Police has launched an investigation into alleged parties held in Number 10 during lockdown. Officers were looking into “potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations” in Downing Street and Whitehall since 2020, Commissioner Cressida Dick said.
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Number 10 said it had not yet received Sue Gray’s report but reports say the PM could make a statement on it in the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon.
- Many Conservative MPs said they are waiting for the report before deciding whether to try to remove Johnson. North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen said he hoped the report would be published “unredacted” on Wednesday.
- Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns claimed the prime minister had been “ambushed with a cake” during his birthday when, according to reports, his wife Carrie Johnson organised a surprise birthday get-together on 19 June 2020 against Covid restrictions.
- Labour leader Keir Starmer said trust in Boris Johnson is at an “all-time low”, adding that some members of the Cabinet “need to look themselves in the mirror and ask themselves why they are still supporting this prime minister.”
Tory MPs have told The Telegraph that Boris Johnson would have to go as prime minister if he was fined for breaching Covid laws. One said:
If you are found to have broken the laws that you yourself have set, I do think that would be impossible for you to continue. And frankly, anyone with decency would not do so.
And another told the paper:
If the Met rules against the PM, he will have to go.
From their associate editor, Christopher Hope:
NEW Number 10 has NOT been handed the Sue Gray report.
— Christopher Hope📝 (@christopherhope) January 25, 2022
Senior Government figures now think it might not be delivered tomorrow and might not be handed over until next week.
Everyone may have to stand down. #partygate
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