MPs and the British public will have to wait at least another day to hear from Boris Johnson about the findings of Sue Gray’s Partygate report, after it was revealed that legal checks delayed its publication.
Officials in Westminster are now said to be fearful the document may not become public until Monday due to a process of “legal scrubbing” currently taking place. This ensures that the final report does not unfairly identify junior staff or cut across the separate investigation by Metropolitan Police.
Ms Gray, the senior civil servant who is leading the Cabinet Office investigation into alleged lockdown-breaching parties at No 10, was given the green light by police to publish her report in full on Tuesday night. Reports from Sky News suggested she was in possession of photographs showing parties in Downing Street, including images of the PM, alcohol bottles and people stood close together.
Despite this, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg said today he was “sure” Mr Johnson would “survive” the current storm. “He’s done so much for the country,” the Tory MP said of his boss, citing the furlough scheme and Covid vaccine rollout.
