Who arranged the meeting? That’s the question everyone in Westminster wants to know, regarding the hitherto unknown catch-up between the Prime Minister and Sue Gray. Ministers say it was the senior civil servant. But other reports suggest that, while Gray sent the calendar invite, it was at Boris Johnson’s behest.
These may seem like inconsequential details. We already know from the Metropolitan Police that lockdown regulations were broken more than 100 times and from Gray’s interim report that the culture and leadership in Downing Street has come in for stinging criticism.
But this latest briefing war is symptomatic of the Government’s attempt to dissemble at every turn. It is hard to get a straight answer from any minister on this question, and it threatens to damage the credibility of the final report — no matter how damning its conclusions are.
This is all the more reason for the Gray report to be published as soon as possible and in its fullest conceivable form. It is on this basis that public confidence stands or falls. But whatever Gray concludes, the fundamentals have not shifted. It is up to Conservative MPs to decide on Johnson’s fate, and they appear set on sticking with him.
