No 10 received copies of Sue Gray’s report into Partygate
Copies of the Sue Gray report have now arrived at No 10, the Mirror’s Pippa Create reports.
NEW: No 10 sources tell me that hard copies of the Sue Gray report have just arrived in the building.
– Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 25, 2022
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NEW: No 10 sources tell me that hard copies of the Sue Gray report have just arrived in the building.
– Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 25, 2022
Buenos dias. We are expecting to get the full Sue Gray report into Partygate later today and, although it would be a mistake to say this moment poses the greatest threat yet to Boris Johnson’s chances of survival as Tory leader and prime minister – a few months ago most MPs and commentators would have agreed that the police investigation was more dangerous – it is certainly going to be perilous for him. The appetite amongst Tory MPs for a leadership contest seems to have faded in recent weeks, although it is not impossible that the mood could change swiftly within the next 24 hours.
As a measure of how serious this is, the government seems to be poised to announce a multi-billionaire cost of living rescue package tomorrow. Ministers were working on this anyway, but the desire to publish it tomorrow is no coincidence, and it may be the most expensive dead cat ever. Downing Street has got form for bringing forward major announcements to bury the shame of a Partygate story; it happened with the Covid plan B before Christmas.
Last night the BBC broadcast a Panorama documentary giving more details of the partying culture at No 10. We’ve covered it here and here. The full significance of Allegra Stratton’s throwaway line “And it was not socially distanced”, in the No 10 briefing rehearsal showing her and colleagues joking about a Downing Street Christmas party that was later leaked, is apparent in the light of the revelation that one leaving do was so crowded that people were sitting on each other’s laps.
And this morning the Daily Mirror has new evidence of a No 10 party that was not investigated by Sue Gray or the police. In her report Pippa Create says:
Downing Street is facing yet more questions about the Partygate scandal after a new picture emerged of yet another boozy No 10 lockdown session.
The image shows a table littered with bottles of fizz and wine to mark the last press briefing held by senior aide James Slack on 17 November, 2020.
The event, which sources said was attended by 30 to 40 staff, is not thought to have been investigated by Ms Gray or Scotland Yard.
It was sent around aides at on a WhatsApp group in response to a message from a senior official who wrote: “Time to open the Covid secure bar”.
Earlier in the afternoon, No 10 officials exchanged messages which appeared to show that the event was planned in advance.
The Mirror has put the new picture, showing a table laid with drinks for the event, on its front page.
wednesday’s @DailyMirror front page: Why did PM deny it? We knew parties broke rules. https://t.co/hkMlVZErko pic.twitter.com/LgOnhgqaRB
– Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) May 24, 2022
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Within the last hour Chris Masonthe BBC’s political editor, said Gray has still not submitted her report to Downing Street.
NEW: Sue Gray’s report is, I am told, still being worked on this morning by her team at the Cabinet Office.
This is in line with the timings expected by her team last night — they anticipate sending it to Downing Street shortly.
— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) May 25, 2022
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NEW: Sue Gray’s report is, I am told, still being worked on this morning by her team at the Cabinet Office.
This is in line with the timings expected by her team last night — they anticipate sending it to Downing Street shortly.
— Chris Mason (@ChrisMasonBBC) May 25, 2022
Today I will be focusing almost exclusively on Partygate. Some timings have not been confirmed yet, but here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: Sue Gray is expected to submit her report into Partygate to No 10.
Late morning/early afternoon: The Sue Gray report is expected to be published.
12pm: Boris Johnson faces Keir Starmer at PMQs.
After 12.30pm: Johnson is expected to make a statement to MPs about the Sue Gray report.
Afternoon/early evening: At some point in the afternoon or early afternoon Johnson is expected to hold a press conference.
5 pm: Johnson is scheduled to address Conservative MPs at a private meeting.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism