Boris Johnson has received the Sue Gray report on the series of rule-breaking events in Downing Street and Whitehall during the coronavirus lockdown.
Publication of the report leaves Johnson facing an onslaught of criticism and a Commons statement to try an explain away covid rule breaches in Downing Street.
A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office confirmed shortly after 10am that the report was in the Prime Minister's hands. It is expected to be published online shorty.
The Prime Minister hopes he can get the Commons showdown with MPs out of the way on the same day as Prime Minister’s Questions and before parliament breaks for a Whitsun recess.
He is also expected to hold an afternoon press conference and then face Tory backbench MPs in a meeting of the 1922 Committee later on.
As well as having to repeat humble apologies for breaking lockdown rules the PM faces the danger that the contents of the report will trigger Tory MPs into finally submitting enough letters of no confidence to the parliamentary party to kick off a leadership contest.
Several Tory MPs are said to be poised to submit their letters to the 1922 committee although whether Douglas Ross, the Scottish Tory leader, will resubmit his is not yet clear.
Gray's report will pile pressure on the PM in a week that has seen pictures of him toasting colleagues at a booze-strewn Downing Street party published.
The senior official was tasked with investigating covid lawbreaking at the heart of Government after civil service chief Simon Case had to step aside from running the probe because a party had been held in his own office.
Her report was originally due in January but its publication was put on hold after the police dramatically decided to open an investigation.
Instead she published a short interim document where she blasted “failures of leadership and judgement” in No 10.
Gray’s full report is expected to be highly critical of the culture in Downing Street during the pandemic.
In Operation Hillman, the Met investigation, Boris Johnson received one fixed penalty notice for his lockdown birthday bash in June 2020 - despite over 100 fines being issued in total.
The Met issued 126 Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) to those found guilty of breaching lockdown regulations, including one for the chancellor and Carrie Johnson for attending the Prime Minister’s birthday party.
However, the force is facing questions over why it did not fine Johnson for his attendance at a leaving drinks held for his former director of communications on 13 November 2021, after pictures leaked to ITV and reported on Monday appeared to show him drinking wine and raising a toast.
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