The report from Sue Gray, the senior civil servant, into lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street has finally been published.
On Wednesday, the prime minister adopted a “masochism strategy” of making a statement in the Commons, followed by a news conference and an address to Conservative MPs in a private meeting.
The report has assumed an almost mythical status in British politics, especially after its publication was postponed in January, because the police had decided that the allegations were so serious that they warranted a criminal investigation.
Now that it is finally seeing the light of day, Independent readers will no doubt have more questions, and I will be here on Thursday lunchtime to try to answer as many as I can.
The announcement by the police that they had completed their inquiries raised questions about how they came to their decisions, issuing just one penalty notice to the prime minister for the gathering to celebrate his birthday in between meetings, which had seemed to be one of the less serious allegations.
Those questions were intensified by the publication of the photographs showing Boris Johnson raising a toast at what looked very much like a party to mark the departure of Lee Cain, the prime minister’s deputy head of communications, in November 2020.
While some of the people attending that gathering were issued with fines by the police, the prime minister himself was not even asked to fill in a police questionnaire about it.
Once we have read Gray’s report, looked at the photographs, and once we have heard what the prime minister has to say about it all, it will be time to step back and try to make sense of it all.
How on earth did it happen? Why did the prime minister tell parliament that the guidance was always followed when he must have known that this claim was dubious at best?
Downing Street staff were reported by BBC Panorama on Tuesday night to have watched their boss in the Commons with disbelief: “We were watching it all live and we just sort of looked at each other in disbelief like – why? Why is he denying this?”
And yet Conservative MPs still seem to be reluctant to move against Johnson. Nor is the Sue Gray report the end of the matter. There will now be another investigation by the Commons committee of privileges, to determine whether the prime minister “knowingly misled” parliament by saying when the allegations were first reported that “the rules were followed at all times”.
If you have a question about anything to do with what is known as Partygate (despite my attempt to ban journalists from adding “gate” to any controversy), submit it now, or when I join you live at 1pm on Thursday 26 May for the “Ask Me Anything” event.
To get involved all you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments box to leave your question.
Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they may be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 1pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.
