Boris braces as damning Partygate report could be published TODAY

1.5k

View
comments

Boris Johnson is bracing for a shattering 48 hours that could define his premiership with the Partygate report set to be released as early as today.

The PM and his aides are bunkered down waiting for Sue Gray to deliver her findings about the swathe of allegedly lockdown-busting gatherings in Downing Street and Whitehall.

The level of criticism – and whether it is directed at Mr Johnson personally – will be critical to his chances of survival, after Tories held back from mounting a coup to see the results.

Allies have been desperately mobilising to shore up the premier, with Jacob Rees-Mogg warning that ousting him would almost certainly trigger a snap general election. 

But even if he can stave off the immediate threat the police have already announced they have been supplied with enough material to launch a criminal probe, which could see him become the first sitting PM ever interviewed under caution. No premier has been convicted of a crime, and the stakes have been raised dramatically now Mr Johnson and staff are facing questioning from police rather than civil servants.   

There had been hopes Mr Johnson could publish Ms Gray’s conclusions in time for PMQs, but that schedule appears to be slipping – although he could yet return to the Commons again this afternoon for what will inevitably be a marathon grilling from MPs. 

There is also set to be a huge row about how much of the report is released. The Cabinet Office initially suggested yesterday that Ms Gray would hold off publishing until the Met had completed their probe.

But that stance was abandoned after Scotland Yard made clear they had no objection to the findings being issued in full. 

In a round of interviews this morning, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss indicated that some of the report might be held back for ‘security’ reasons.

Asked if the report will be published in full, Ms Truss told Sky News: ‘We have been absolutely clear that we will publish the findings of the report.

‘We don’t know the content of the report, so there could be, for example, security issues that mean parts of it are problematic to publish. But we will absolutely publish the findings of the report.’

Ms Truss said the government had to acknowledge ‘public anger’. But she said: ‘I think the PM should continue in office. I think he is doing a great job… I support him 100 per cent.’ 

One Tory plotter last night claimed five more MPs are poised to call for the PM’s resignation as soon as the report is published.

A no-confidence vote is automatically triggered when 54 MPs send letters to the chair of the powerful 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady – although he never discloses how many he has received before the threshold is reached.  

The PM faces the most dangerous spell of his premiership as:

Mr Johnson faced claims that he kept news of the police probe from senior ministers when Cabinet met on Tuesday morning, leaving them to find out from the media when they turned on their phones as they left No10;Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors has been named as the senior officer leading the investigation into parties at Downing Street. She was previously embroiled in a row over the policing of the Sarah Everard vigil;Tory MPs have ridiculed Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns after he defended Mr Johnson’s presence at a birthday bash in the Cabinet room on June 19, 2020 by insisting he had been ‘ambushed with a cake’;  Senior Labour figures celebrated the PM’s discomfort, with an ally of leader Keir Starmer saying: ‘This is very good for us’; The PM’s official spokesman signalled that Mr Johnson is willing to speak to police investigating the alleged breaches of coronavirus rules over the past two years.

Ms Gray is reported to have told Number 10 that she expects her findings to be released in full within ‘hours’ of them being handed to Downing Street.

The PM’s office had not received them early this morning, but their delivery is thought to be imminent and could see the report released after PMQs this afternoon. 

The chairman of the Commons Standards Committee has warned that Mr Johnson could attempt ‘jiggery-pokery’ to dodge scrutiny.

Labour MP Chris Bryant said the PM was likely intending to ‘manipulate Parliament’ by depriving the leader of the opposition of time to respond properly in the House of Commons. 

Sky News last night claimed that Ms Gray had been handed photographs of Boris Johnson next to wine bottles at an alleged lockdown breaking party, and has identified eight parties that breached the rules. 

Many Tory MPs are awaiting the findings before deciding whether to submit letters of no confidence in Johnson that could topple him as Prime Minister and trigger a Tory leadership contest.

Conservative MP for Harlow Robert Halfon said he would like to see the PM ‘respond and take responsibility’ following the news that Boris Johnson faces a police interview over alleged coronavirus rule-breaking parties.

Mr Halfon told Times Radio: ‘I don’t need Sue Gray or the police to tell me or my constituents of Harlow that what’s gone on has been pretty awful. We all feel let down and disappointed.

‘We’ve just been talking about education and what I’d say is, I call it the three Rs, I’d like to see the three Rs from the Prime Minister.

‘How he’s going to respond to the anguish and upset from the public, how he’s going to take responsibility himself and his own staff and how he’s going to reset the Government. I’ll wait for the parliamentary statement.’

Former minister Matt Warman said the accusations against Mr Johnson were ‘unedifying’.

He told Times Radio: ‘I definitely think it’s unedifying. I definitely think it’s a huge distraction from all the really important work that the Government is doing and needs to get on with.

‘I suppose that is one of the reasons why the PM commissioned Sue Gray’s report in the first place… because he recognises the need to draw a line and to establish some of the facts.’

Asked what he will do next if it is found that Mr Johnson misled Parliament, Mr Warman said that ‘prejudging both the inquiry and the Metropolitan Police work is not a helpful starting point’.

‘I think what we should be doing is establishing those facts and then looking at them at that point, rather than saying ‘Well, here’s a series of ever more or less unlikely hypotheticals’,’ he added. 

Potentially more serious for the PM is Scotland Yard’s criminal investigation into the parties which was announced yesterday.

Police sources told The Times that it was ‘inevitable’ that the PM would have to speak to detectives, making him the second sitting Prime Minister to be interviewed after Tony Blair was quizzed over the cash-for-honours scandal 15 years ago.

However Blair was interviewed as a witness – and no sitting Prime Minister has ever been interviewed under caution which requires officers to read them their rights before the questions begin. Reports at the time indicated that Blair would resign if he was interviewed under caution.  

The final report, which could name senior political figures and civil servants, was likely to list Ms Gray’s conclusions but would not include a ‘significant amount of evidence’ from interviews, such as photos or messages. 

Senior Tories last night called for a ‘sense of perspective’ over the ‘partygate’ row as police launched a formal probe.

They urged colleagues and critics of Mr Johnson to let him try to shore up the West’s response to Russian aggression in Ukraine and deal with the cost of living crisis.

Former minister Crispin Blunt said: ‘We’ve lost our sense of perspective on this. Everybody needs to take a step back.’ The warning followed a dramatic announcement that Scotland Yard will now investigate ‘potential breaches of Covid regulations’ at numerous alleged events in No 10.

But Northern Ireland minister Conor Burns faced ridicule for defending Mr Johnson’s presence at a surprise birthday bash in the Cabinet room on June 19 2020 when social events indoors were banned, saying he had been ‘ambushed with a cake’. 

And Tory MP Andrew Bridgen said last night the ‘sooner the report comes out now the better’, adding: ‘We can’t sit under this cloud, paralysing the Prime Minister, paralysing the Government.’

Referencing the threat of Russian invasion into Ukraine, he continued: ‘These issues that are hanging over our Government at the moment, they need to be dealt with as soon as possible and I do hope that Sue Gray gets her report in tonight and it is published tomorrow.’

It is not clear whether Mr Johnson was personally involved in any of the the incidents under criminal investigation. The offences carry £100 fixed penalty fines. 

The PM’s official spokesman signalled that Mr Johnson would be willing to speak to those at Scotland Yard investigating the alleged breaches of coronavirus rules over the past two years.

However, he said Mr Johnson believes he has not broken the law.

The chaos erupted on Tuesday after it was revealed that a birthday party, complete with cake and singing, was held for Mr Johnson in No10 in June 2020. 

The police probe represents a step change in the seriousness of the situation facing the Prime Minister and senior staff at No10, who could face £100 fines, and, more seriously, the end of their political careers.  

Despite a mounting Tory revolt, a slew of MPs gave noisy support to the premier in the chamber, branding the accusations ‘vexatious’ and asking why Keir Starmer was not under investigation.

During a hearing at the London Assembly yesterday, Dame Cressida pointed out that under guidelines police have not examined historical allegations of lockdown breaches unless there is clear evidence and a lack of a defence. 

‘We have a long-established and effective working relationship with the Cabinet Office, who have an investigative capability,’ she said.

‘As you well know they have been carrying out an investigation over the last few weeks.

‘What I can tell you this morning is that as a result of the information provided by the Cabinet Office inquiry team and, secondly, my officers’ own assessment, I can confirm that the Met is now investigating a number of events that took place at Downing Street and Whitehall in the last two years in relation to potential breaches of Covid-19 regulations.’

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Jane Connors, the Metropolitan Police’s lead for Covid-19 who was previously embroiled in row over policing of the Sarah Everard vigil, has been put in charge of the investigation.

A Scotland Yard spokeswoman said: ‘The Special Enquiry Team will lead the investigations. DAC Jane Connors will oversee the investigation in her role as the Met’s lead officer for Covid.’ 

Tory MPs are on high alert for more damaging revelations after it emerged that the PM’s 56th birthday celebration included a Union Jack cake, Marks and Spencer’s nibbles and singing.

The event, first revealed by ITV, was apparently already on Ms Gray’s radar. Earlier that day Mr Johnson had posed with his arms outstretched with children at a school in Hertfordshire to show the importance of social distancing. 

In March, Mr Johnson had praised a girl named Josephine who wrote to him saying she was cancelling her seventh birthday while the pandemic was raging.  

Getting to his feet in the Commons yesterday, Mr Johnson said: ‘A few weeks ago I commissioned an independent inquiry into a series of events in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office as well as some other Whitehall departments that may have constituted potential breaches of the Covid regulations.

‘That process has quite properly involved sharing information continuously with the Metropolitan Police.

‘So I welcome the Met’s decision to conduct its own investigation because I believe this will help to give the public the clarity it needs and help to draw a line under matters.

‘But I want to reassure the House, Mr Speaker, and the country that I and the whole Government are focused 100 per cent on dealing with the people’s priorities, including the UK’s leading role in protecting freedom around the world.’

Dame Cressida told London Assembly members that investigations were carried out for ‘the most serious and flagrant type of breach’ where there was evidence and three criteria were met.

‘My three factors were and are: there was evidence that those involved knew, or ought to have known that what they were doing was an offence.

‘Where not investigating would significantly undermine the legitimacy of the law.

‘And where there was little ambiguity around the absence of any reasonable defence.

‘So in those cases, where those criteria were met, the guidelines suggested that we should potentially investigate further and end up giving people tickets.’

Dame Cressida said that the police officers on site at Downing Street concentrate on ‘protective security’.

She said: ‘There are a number of officers posted in the surrounds of Downing Street and indeed what we call generally the government security zone.

‘They have a very clear role and that is protective security. You’ll be aware that the ones you see are all armed, and they have a job to do.

‘In relation to anything they may have seen or heard, or done or not done. Again, I’m afraid I’m not prepared to comment.

‘But I can assure you that we are carrying out our investigations and if that is a relevant matter, we will find out about that.’

Told that there must by CCTV of the alleged breaches in Downing Street, Dame Cressida said: ‘I don’t anticipate any difficulty in obtaining the evidence that it is both necessary, proportionate and appropriate for us to obtain in order to get to the right conclusions.’ 

The Met said it had carried out ‘detailed assessments of these outline findings’ from the Cabinet Office.

The force is investigating whether regulations were breached ‘during events at Downing Street and Whitehall on a number of dates’.

‘The MPS has written to the Cabinet Office this morning with a formal request for it to refer all relevant information gathered from its inquiry in relation to events on the dates in question to support the police investigations,’ the statement said.

Jacob Rees Mogg says there should be an ELECTION if Boris is ousted by the Conservative party in fresh warning to Tory MPs about perils of toppling PM over partygate 

Leader of the House of Commons and Conservative party MP Jacob Rees Mogg has claimed that there would need to be a general election if Boris Johnson were to be ousted as Prime Minister. 

Rees Mogg yesterday argued on BBC Two’s Newsnight that any would-be successor to the Prime Minister should call an election to receive the public’s backing.

There is no rule in British law stipulating that a new Tory leader would be required to call a general election after winning a party leadership race.

But Rees Mogg told Newsnight’s Kirsty Wark that Britain’s parliament has moved to ‘an essentially Presidential system’ and declared that any new PM would be ‘well-advised’ to seek a fresh mandate.

It comes as the Prime Minister and the Tory party await the findings of Whitehall ethics inquisitor Sue Gray’s report into ‘partygate’ and the alleged lockdown-breaking No10 gatherings.

Johnson could also become the first Prime Minister to be interviewed under police caution after it emerged yesterday that Scotland Yard is opening a criminal investigation into the parties.

Some Conservative MPs have already publicly called for the Prime Minister’s resignation, but others have said they will await the publication of the Gray report before trying to trigger a vote of no confidence.

But Rees Mogg’s Newsnight interview suggests that supporters of Johnson among the party are keen to dissuade any attempts from rebel Tory MPs to bring down the Prime Minister by piling on the pressure of a potential general election. 

The Commons leader said: ‘It is my view that we have moved, for better or worse, to essentially a presidential system and that therefore the mandate is personal rather than entirely party, and that any Prime Minister would be very well advised to seek a fresh mandate.’

When asked whether the Prime Minister should resign if there is a photograph of him at a drinks party in No 10, Rees Mogg urged people to wait for Gray’s report to be published and denounced what he described as ‘gossip’ around the issue.

‘Trying to speculate on bits of gossip and tittle-tattle around the report doesn’t really get us anywhere,’ he added.