Senior civil servant Sue Gray's report could force Prime Minister Boris Johnson to resign after examining government breaches into Covid rules.
She was forced to delay the publication of her investigation of alleged parties held at both Downing Street and Whitehall during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic when strict lockdown rules were in place all across the country.
The report, which was delayed due to the Metropolitan Police starting its own inquiry, had an interim report published in January. Ms Gray noted that there had been "failures of leadership and judgement" in No 10 over the so-called partygate scandal, Hull Live reports.
Read more:
According to The Times, which cited an official it described as being familiar with the content of the report, said her findings could put an end to Mr Johnson's leadership. According to the paper, the official said: “Sue’s report is excoriating. It will make things incredibly difficult for the Prime Minister. There’s an immense amount of pressure on her - her report could be enough to end him.” No 10 declined to comment.
A separate report in the i newspaper noted that Conservative rebels are preparing to kick out Mr Johnson if next month's local elections show a poor result or if more fines are issued against him. Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have all received fines from Scotland Yard for attending the Prime Minister's 56th birthday party in June 2020.
Meanwhile, Downing Street is said to be braced for a second fixed-penalty notice to be issued to Mr Johnson after police reportedly began issuing fines relating to a "bring your own bottle" party in the No 10 garden on May 20, 2020. He reportedly attended half of the 12 gatherings currently being investigated by police.
Cabinet ministers yesterday (Sunday) offered a defence of the Prime Minister, with Conservative Party chairman Oliver Dowden suggesting it was “quite a speculation” to predict Mr Johnson could receive more FPNs. Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg is also continuing to back Mr Johnson to lead the Tories into the next general elections, which is currently scheduled for January 2025 at the latest.
Mr Dowden told Sky News there was a “very strong case for the Prime Minister remaining in office” despite mounting pressure from his own backbenches to step down. According to the i, critics of the Prime Minister have begun working in a coordinated fashion and are "holding back" until the local election results or whether more fines will be issued.
The paper cited other reports that some backbenchers have already prepared no-confidence letters which will be submitted en masse to the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should the local elections produce very poor results.
Click here for the latest headlines from the Manchester Evening News
