A U.K. government probe into alleged rule-breaking parties in Boris Johnson’s office during the pandemic could be stripped of key details at the request of the police, potentially handing the prime minister a boost as he tries to persuade his Conservatives not to mount a leadership challenge.
Facing a major public backlash, Johnson commissioned the civil service to look into reports he and his staff broke coronavirus lockdown rules with various events in Downing Street. The report, by senior civil servant Sue Gray, was expected to be published this week.
But the decision by London’s Metropolitan Police to start its own probe into some — but not all — of the alleged parties caused a delay. That’s prolonging the uncertainty at the top of the ruling Conservative Party, with many Tory members of Parliament saying they will wait for Gray’s findings before deciding whether to demand Johnson step down.
