A Labour MP has questioned if Boris Johnson's top advisor got a glimpse of the Sue Gray report the night before it was officially published.
Raising a point of order in the Commons, Angela Eagle noted the Prime Minister confirmed he did not receive the report in advance, but did not clarify if anyone else in Downing Street did.
Ms Eagle said Steve Barclay, the PM's chief of staff and a cabinet minister, was linked to swirling theories of someone in Downing Street having access to potentially edit the report before it was published.
Mr Barclay, MP for Northeast Cambridgeshire, was sat next to the PM as he addressed the Commons insisted he was not seeking to “absolve myself from responsibility” Ms Gray's damning report.
Ms Eagle told MPs: "The Prime Minister said he did not receive the report in advance but did not answer the question of whether anyone else in Downing Street did.
"There's since been further speculation that this official was in fact the Right Honourable Member for Northeast Cambridgeshire, who doubles up as the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff.
"Given his unique position as a member of this House, a member of the cabinet and the Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, can I seek your guidance on if it would be in order to table and named day question asking if he received a copy of the SU grade report in advance, and whether he sought either successfully or unsuccessfully, to make amendments to it.
Ms Eagle made her point of order came hours after the Prime Minister's official spokesman issued a personal apology for not telling the truth to journalists about parties in Downing Street.
Yesterday Tory MPs yesterday expressed fears of a cover up over the 'Abba party' in the Downing Street flat after Sue Gray admitted she did not fully investigate the gathering.
Ms Gray's long-awaited report into the Partygate scandal admitted her information on the event was "limited" as she had stopped when the police probe began.
After Scotland Yard wrapped up its inquiry last week she decided it was "not appropriate or proportionate" to carry on looking at the event.
Boris Johnson's wife Carrie is alleged to have blasted out the Abba song 'Winner Takes It All' at the event in the flat on 13 November 2020.
