A Tory cabinet Minister has been unable to say who organised a "sleekit" meeting between Boris Johnson and Partygate report author Sue Gray.
Nadhim Zahawi, the Tory Education Secretary, was repeatedly unable to say who organised a meeting between the senior civil servant who is on the verge of publishing an explosive report into the Prime Minister’s law-breaking at Downing Street.
Johnson is under pressure to explain the meeting with Gray ahead of her highly anticipated report which could be published in the next few days.
It is understood the pair met at least once to give an update on the document’s progress while it was being drafted, but a Whitehall source said that its contents were not discussed at any point.
Downing Street insisted the talks were not initiated by the PM but Gray’s team is said to have insisted that the idea originated from No10.
In a car crash Sunday morning interview, Zahawi failed to clear the up the matter and could not provide answers on who was behind talks between Johnson and the senior civil servant.
In a tetchy interview with Sky News’ Sophie Ridge insisted the Sue Gray report would pull no punches and hadn’t been altered by the PM.
He said: “I don’t know the details of all the meetings that happen but what I do know is that the PM has never intervened in the investigation that Sue Gray conducted.
“He’s always wanted her to go wherever the evidence takes her.”
Zahawi added: “She didn’t pull her punches in her first report you remember and then the PM came to Parliament, made the changes in fact to No10 as the report was critical of the way No10 was operating.”
Pressed again, he said: “All I can say to you is the meeting that took place between Sue Gray and the Prime Minister - I can’t tell you who called the meeting.”
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the meeting should never have taken place.
He tweeted: “So an ‘independent’ report, yet number 10 calls in the author, for, let us call it a friendly chat, oh really! This sums up Johnson’s Govt, sleekit and underhand. Johnson and number 10 should never have gone anywhere near Gray until the report was published."
Officials who are due to be named and shamed in Gray’s report have been given until Sunday afternoon to object if they so wish to do so.
A potential legal challenge from anyone in the report could further delay publication of the details of numerous parties in Downing Street during lockdown.
Gray was tasked with investigating the partygate saga but her report was delayed until Scotland Yard concluded its investigations.
With police having issued 126 fines, including one each for the Prime Minister, his wife and chancellor Rishi Sunak, the way is now clear for the full Sue Gray report to be published.
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