Boris Johnson has been warned that Tory MPs have put “on hold” the “big call” on whether he remains Prime Minister.
Senior Conservative MP and former chief whip Mark Harper laid out the stark reality for Mr Johnson as he faced the possibility of being interviewed by police over the Downing Street partygate scandal.
Mr Johnson might have hoped to draw a line under the affair following Monday’s limited but damning report from Sue Gray which revealed Scotland Yard is now investigating 12 different gatherings, including at least three which may have been attended by the Prime Minister.
But as Mr Johnson flew to Ukraine on Tuesday morning for crisis talks on the threat of a Russian invasion, Mr Harper said the Prime Minister’s future was still very much up in the air.
“[Sue Gray] said in that update that she could not produce a meaningful report at all at the moment because of the Metropolitan Police investigations,” Mr Harper, chair of the influential Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs, told Talk Radio. “We are very much on hold at the moment, waiting I’m afraid for Sue Gray’s report properly and the Met to finish its investigation.”
The Met has said that it would be necessary to contact “each individual” who attended the events to get an account, raising the prospect that Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie may have to give evidence to police within days.
With the police inquiry set to hang over Mr Johnson’s administration for weeks, the Standard understands that a significant proportion of Tory MPs have decided to wait until Scotland Yard completes it before deciding whether to call for Mr Johnson to go.
“People are all over the place,” said one senior Conservative following Mr Johnson’s crunch meeting with members of the 1922 backbench committee of Tory MPs last night.
Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab took to the airwaves on Tuesday morning to defend Mr Johnson, insisting he had addressed the issues raised in the interim report by top civil servant Ms Gray by announcing plans to revamp his No10 operation with a new office for the Prime Minister and a new permanent secretary.
He told Sky News: “On the specific issues Sue Gray cited he has addressed all of those questions in a fulsome way.
“And frankly at the political level my experience was in the chamber but also at the meeting of Conservative MPs, overwhelmingly MPs backing him, wanting to see us get on with the job.”
Other supporters of Mr Johnson told the Standard that the number of letters which had been submitted to the 1922 committee calling for a vote on Mr Johnson’s leadership had fallen overnight and were now less than 20. A total of 54 letters must be received by the committee to force a vote on the Prime Minister’s future.
Tory MP Gary Sambrook, who had previously indicated he wanted Mr Johnson to go, tweeted on Monday night: “I’ve listened carefully to the Prime Minister today, the Boris Johnson we love and who has delivered. He’s made promises on how he wants to change how he does things, how he wants to deliver for my constituents and the UK and I support him in doing that. Let’s get on with the job.” Other Conservative MPs have made it clear that their continued support rested on publication of the full Gray report once the Met has completed its inquiries.
Despite No 10 issuing a statement committing to publish a further update from Ms Gray, Mr Harper expressed doubts, accusing Downing Street of using “dodgy wording” which he said left open the possibility for “changes to be made”. Mr Harper added: “I just want to see it all published and then we can make a decision. It’s a big call that Conservative MPs have got to make about whether the Prime Minister stays or whether he goes.”
But some Tory MPs have already made up their minds with Andrew Mitchell, another former chief whip, telling Mr Johnson during a stormy session in the Commons yesterday that he no longer had his support.
Mr Mitchell was one of a number of senior Tories, including former Prime Minister Theresa May, who voiced serious concerns over the way Mr Johnson had handled the partygate scandal.
A spokesman for the Met said on Mondaythat anyone found to have breached Covid rules without a reasonable excuse could be issued with a fixed penalty notice. Individuals they need to question further will be sent questions by post or email before officers decide whether they should be fined.
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