The much-discussed Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties is set to finally be published on Monday, January 31, it has been reported - but with key parts left out.
Boris Johnson is expected to give a statement to Parliament after 3.30pm shortly after the long-awaited inquiry is made public.
But the report will be stripped of key details after the Met Police launched an investigation into around eight of the lockdown gatherings, and asked Ms Gray to make only "minimal reference" to them in her report, the Mirror's political team reports.
Ms Gray had still not sent her report to Downing Street as of 10am today, the Mirror understands. There was still a slim chance it could be delayed again.
The Prime Minister is expected to apologise to the Commons again and tell them that he accepts her redacted findings in full.
Sources said he was planning to tell MPs that the Government will "learn the lessons" of the row before announcing changes to his top team. The PM could announce a new chief operating officer at No10 to review HR policies and set up a new code of conduct for staff, according to one ally.
Mr Johnson is also set to speak to Tory MPs and members of his Cabinet on Monday, January 31 to shore up support.
Whitehall enforcer Ms Gray took over running the inquiry at the end of last year after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was sacked when allegations emerged of a party in his department.
Police are also investigating "a number of events" in Downing Street and Whitehall during the pandemic after Ms Gray handed over evidence to Scotland Yard.
The force previously resisted calls to probe allegations of Covid rule-breaking bashes, which were first reported by the Mirror in November.
Metropolitan Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick delivered the bombshell U-turn last Tuesday, making Mr Johnson the first PM to face the threat of being interviewed under police caution.
Downing Street said Boris Johnson was willing to cooperate with the police if necessary and Ms Gray handed a dossier of evidence to Scotland Yard on Friday.
Asked if the PM would submit himself to questioning, the PM's official spokesman said: "Anyone who is required to would be expected to cooperate in any way they are asked to."
But police later said any punishments they dish out are likely to be limited to fixed penalty notices, which are not a criminal conviction.
On a visit to the port in Tilbury, Essex, on Monday morning, January 31, the Prime Minister refused to say if the imminent report would be a “whitewash".
He added: “Of course I stick absolutely to what I’ve said in the past”.
The police announcement prompted a Whitehall row, with Ms Gray's report delayed by several days while officials tried to work out if it would prejudice a police probe.
The report could reignite Tory pressure on Boris Johnson to resign. 54 MPs need to submit no confidence letters to trigger a formal challenge, and many were holding theirs back until they read the Gray report.
More than 16 parties have been uncovered across Downing Street, Whitehall and Tory HQ during lockdown rules since the Mirror’s first revelations on December 1.
What is the Sue Gray report?
Top civil servant Sue Gray investigated a string of parties between May 2020 and April 2021 - mostly in No10 and its garden.
The 64-year-old took over the inquiry from Cabinet Secretary Simon Case after it emerged a party had been held in his own office.
Her probe was set up to get “a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings”. That means saying who attended, the “setting and the purpose”, and “reference to adherence to the guidance in place at the time”.
But she cannot rule whether the PM broke the law (which is for police) or the Ministerial Code (which is for a different watchdog).
And the names of junior staff are likely to be kept anonymous. Disciplinary action will be kept secret, too.
Why is it delayed?
Her report was due last week, with Boris Johnson promising to publish it within a short time of receiving it.
But it was thrown into chaos after the Met Police began investigating “a number of” the Downing Street gatherings she’d looked at.
Government and police officials were left wrangling over what parts of the report could prejudice a police investigation.
Sources claimed that Scotland Yard had no objection to the report being published. But after days of confusion, the Met Police clarified: "For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report."
This meant the report had to be either published with key details missing, or delayed entirely. On Friday evening, it emerged Ms Gray had decided to send a stripped-back report to No10 "shortly".
Do the police have a good reason for cutting down the report?
Scotland Yard’s decision prompted bafflement after the force spent weeks not investigating, only to launch one at the worst moment.
Lawyers pointed out Sue Gray’s report was very unlikely to prejudice any court case, because lockdown breaches are almost always punished with on-the-spot fines.
Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West, said on Twitter : "This is absolute nonsense from the Met Police. A purely factual report by Sue Gray cannot possibly prejudice a police investigation. They just have to follow the evidence, of which the report will be a part."
Top barrister Adam Wagner, who is an expert on Covid rules, tweeted: "I am not a criminal lawyer so perhaps I am missing something. How would a factual civil service report about events the police is investigating 'prejudice' their investigation?"
But others pointed out that Scotland Yard wanted to “avoid any prejudice to our investigation ” - “investigation”, not prosecution.
Nick Aldworth, a former Met chief superintendent, said knowing what’s in the report could “give the potential defendants an opportunity to conceal or alter evidence".
Will the Sue Gray report be published in full?
No10 has repeatedly promised to publish the full findings of Sue Gray - the same report she hands to No10.
But the more relevant question is how much Sue Gray’s report will be “self-censored” before it gets to No10.
Even before the Met statement, the Mirror understood it would not contain all the evidence she received, only a summary, and could leave out individual staff names.
This meant it would not contain elements like text exchanges or photos of Boris Johnson with wine bottles.
After the Met Police have intervened, whole parts of Sue Gray’s account - by definition the most damaging ones - were due to be left out too.
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