Afternoon summary
Here’s a roundup of what has happened in UK politics today:
- Scotland Yard has said it has asked for references to matters it is now investigating to be removed from Sue Gray’s report on parties held in breach of lockdown restrictions at Downing Street. “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report,” the Metropolitan police said in a statement on Friday morning.
- Key parts of the long-awaited report into allegations of parties in No 10 that broke Covid rules could be pared back, after Scotland Yard’s statement.
- Theresa May has broken her silence on partygate and said she is “angry” at the allegations of parties held in Downing Street during lockdowns. The former prime minister, who has so far not publicly commented on the saga engulfing No 10, told constituents that “nobody is above the law”, in a letter seen by her local newspaper.
- Downing Street said it was not the case that No 10 had asked Gray’s team to go back to the Metropolitan police to ensure her report did not interfere with police investigations. A spokesperson for Boris Johnson said: “We haven’t been privy to the details of that investigation or any of its content.”
- Senior lawyers were today split over whether the Met was justified in asking Gray to only make minimal references to events under investigation. Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor, wrote: “This is absolute nonsense from the Met police.”
- The Liberal Democrats have warned against giving the appearance of an “establishment stitch-up” between Scotland Yard and the Gray inquiry as the report publication plan was thrown into disarray.
- The Treasury is becoming increasingly alarmed that Boris Johnson may be preparing to scrap the national insurance rise in a desperate attempt to placate rightwing Tory MPs, as he fights to save his job. The Guardian understands Rishi Sunak has privately stressed to MPs that the tax rise must go ahead as planned.
- The veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale has accused Boris Johnson of being a “lame duck” prime minister as Downing Street is investigated by police over allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in No 10. Gale told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One programme that the cost of living crisis and Russian aggression towards Ukraine required the “full and undivided attention” of the UK prime minister.
- The Conservative MP Peter Bone said he could not follow the logic of the Commons leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, who in comments made to BBC Newsnight earlier this week insisted Britain’s parliament has moved to “an essentially presidential system”.
- A senior official at the Foreign Office has apologised for misleading MPs over whether Boris Johnson’s views had been sought over the evacuation of animals from Kabul during the chaotic retreat from Afghanistan last August.
- A proposal to give British Sign Language (BSL) legal recognition and enhance its use in public services has been backed in the Commons. The measures are included in a private member’s bill which has the backing of the Strictly Come Dancing champion and EastEnders actor Rose Ayling-Ellis.
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Updated
Society Syndrome, a transparency thinktank, has put in a complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) relating to the apparent delay in Sue Gray being able to release her report on Downing Street parties.
The complaint is as follows:
We have been extremely concerned that the Metropolitan Police have seemingly delayed publication of Sue Gray’s important report into breaches of lockdown in and around Downing Street, by requesting that any potential criminal events be excluded.
As a report from a senior civil servant, it should contribute to any evidence required by the police, not adversely affect enquiries in any way.
Nazir Afzal, a former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West, said: “This is absolute nonsense from the Met Police. A purely factual report by Sue Gray cannot possibly prejudice a police investigation. They just have to follow the evidence, of which the report will be a part.”
Whilst the Met is very welcome to conduct any investigation, the public needs to have swift information - as will be provided by an un-redacted report from Ms Gray - in order to form an opinion in a democracy - as do Members of Parliament.
There is no reasonable likelihood of any trial by jury arising from the police investigation, it could either lead to fixed penalty fines or a magistrates hearing, there is therefore no rational reason for the report not to be published in full as soon as it has been completed.
If publication is being obstructed by the Metropolitan Police, we wish the IOPC to investigate and recommend appropriate action to enable the report to be published.
The IOPC has been contacted by The Guardian for comment.
Leader of the House Jacob Rees-Mogg said the Chancellor faced a “difficult choice” with the decision to raise National Insurance.
Rees-Mogg, who was previously reported to have urged Rishi Sunak to ditch the increase, told the BBC’s Political Thinking podcast:
It is a difficult choice for the Chancellor, but we do need to raise funds to pay for the extra nine million scans to get rid of the backlog in the NHS and all those sorts of things.
I think governments have to have a set purpose and a clear course, and we can’t be buffeted by every wind.
So, I think it is important to recognise the need to raise the money that we are determined to spend.
Earlier this month, The Daily Telegraph reported that Mr Rees-Mogg had told Sunak at a Cabinet meeting that the increase must be scrapped to stem the rising cost-of-living crisis engulfing the government.
Rees-Mogg did not deny calling for the increase to be scrapped when appearing in the Commons for business questions on January 6.
A proposal to give British Sign Language (BSL) legal recognition and enhance its use in public services has been backed in the commons.
The measures are included in a private member’s bill which has the backing of Strictly Come Dancing champion and EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis, PA News reports.
The British Sign Language Bill was given an unopposed second reading in the commons after securing government support.
Although BSL was recognised as a language in its own right by the Government in 2003, it has no legal protection.
Labour MP Rosie Cooper, who put forward the bill, said making BSL a legally-recognised language will send a clear message to every deaf person that “their language is equal and should be treated as equal”.
In an emotional speech in the commons, Cooper recalled her own experiences of growing up as the hearing child of deaf parents.
The MP for West Lancashire said:
Growing up, I saw first-hand the difficulties deaf people face every day. The huge challenges my parents had to overcome, to be heard, to be listened to.
More importantly, to be understood. Now, I’m told I booked my first family holiday when I was four years old. I don’t remember but I did.
Explaining the objectives of her bill, Cooper said:
I want to finally recognise BSL in statute, not just a gesture, but a law which requires positive action from the government, with real progress putting deaf people on an equal footing with those of us who hear.
For every deaf person like my parents, who’ve been ignored, misunderstood or even treated as unintelligent for simply relying on BSL, this recognition will be clear and will be a message that their language is equal and should be treated as equal.
The MP thanked Strictly winner Ayling-Ellis, saying:
Clearly, much of the awareness is due to Rose Ayling-Ellis in Strictly, she proved what my dad always says ‘deaf people can do anything, even the impossible’, such as winning Strictly when you can’t hear the music.
That 10-second glimpse she gave the hearing world into deafness when the music stopped was truly momentous.
People became aware and interested in BSL like never before. I know we have much support across the House, so let me say this Bill isn’t about politics. After more than 230 years, this Bill is about doing the right thing.”
Using BSL at the same time, Cooper said: “So, in closing, I’d like to say to the minister, thank you for supporting this Bill. Thank you.”
Conservative former cabinet minister Robert Buckland thanked Labour MP Ms Cooper “from the bottom of my heart” for bringing the suggested change forward.
He said:
Let’s not forget the thousands of people with learning difficulties, who use BSL, including members of my family. On her behalf, may I thank her? Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Speaking in support of the Bill before its second reading, Ayling-Ellis told The Big Issue:
If it becomes an official language, which we’ve been fighting for all these years, it will be so emotional for us.
Because of the massive interest in BSL recently, a lot of people don’t realise how much of a fight the deaf community have had.
The bill will now now undergo further parliamentary scrutiny at a later date.
A senior official at the Foreign Office has apologised for misleading MPs over whether Boris Johnson’s views had been sought over the evacuation of animals from Kabul during the chaotic retreat from Afghanistan last August.
Sir Philip Barton, the Foreign Office’s permanent undersecretary, had told the foreign affairs committee that Nigel Casey, the prime minister’s special representative for Afghanistan, had not received any correspondence referring to an intervention by Boris Johnson in the evacuation of animals from the Nowzad charity.
But emails revealed by Newsnight, showed Casey did “seek clear guidance for us from No 10 asap on what they would like us to do” in the case.
Barton has now written to the committee’s chairman, the Tory MP Tom Tugendhat, to apologise for giving “inadvertently inaccurate answers”. He said that “on the day the email was sent, Nigel was almost entirely focused, in his role as Gold in our crisis response, on the terrorist threat to the evacuation”.
Read more here:
“The Metropolitan police is usurping its position by seeking to interfere in the affairs of state,” the Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope has said.
Raising a point of order in the Commons, the MP for Christchurch asked the deputy speaker if she had “been able to express your views about the issues which are currently confronting the government which relate directly to the separation of powers.”
I thought that it was this house which held the government to account for its policies, and not the Metropolitan Police.
He added:
There is no reason for the Metropolitan police to be able to require Sue Gray not to issue her report in an unamended way for the benefit of the Prime Minister who ordered that report, and for this House, which is eager to see that report.
It seems that the Metropolitan police is usurping its position by seeking to interfere in the affairs of state without there being any criminal offences or any grounds for them carrying out such interference.
Deputy Commons Speaker Dame Rosie Winterton said: “It is not a matter for the chair.”
Updated
The Conservative MP Peter Bone said he could not follow the logic of commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg, who in comments made to BBC Newsnight earlier this week insisted Britain’s parliament has moved to “an essentially presidential system”
Opening the second reading debate of his business of the house commission bill, which would regulate the timetabling of business in the house of commons, the MP for Wellingborough said:
Did the leader of the house suggest earlier on this week that we have got a presidential system? That there might have to be a general election if they change the prime minister?
We are not a presidential system and, by the way, I do happen to know if the president is removed, there is always someone to replace him. There is never an election. I didn’t follow that logic.
Making an intervention during Bone’s speech, Conservative MP Sir Christopher Chope argued the Metropolitan police stance, that the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into possible No 10 lockdown breaches should omit details that “could avoid any prejudice”, was a “specious justification”.
He said:
We have got the spectacle today of the Metropolitan police seeking to interfere with the content of Sue Gray’s report on the specious justification that it wishes to prevent prejudice to a criminal investigation.
Yet the only law on the statute book in relation to prejudicing a criminal investigation is relating to proceeds of crime legislation, which is certainly not what we are talking about at the moment.
Updated
A former director of public prosecutions has suggested the Metropolitan police stance, that the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into possible No 10 lockdown breaches should omit details that “could avoid any prejudice”, was “disproportionate”.
Lord Macdonald told BBC Radio 4’s World at One programme:
“The risk of the police intervention this morning is that this leaves things hanging in the air for weeks and months, and that seems obviously not to be in the public interest.
If we’re talking about fixed penalty notices - like parking tickets, essentially - if we’re talking about that kind of resolution, then to take the rather grave step to delay a report that is going to shed public light on the subject matter of what may be a major public scandal, I think that is undesirable and I think it may be a misjudgment.
But only police know what it is that is really at play here.
It is really to say that if we are simply talking about lockdown breaches and fixed penalty notices, this move by the police this morning seems to be disproportionate.
The crossbench peer said that what was not known was whether Gray had uncovered “slightly more complex behaviour that the police believes needs more sense of investigation”, offering the example of “the co-ordinated deletion of emails or text messages” that had possibly “raised the stakes and brought forward the consideration of more serious offending into play”.
Updated
Veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale has accused Boris Johnson of being a “lame duck” prime minister as Downing Street is investigated by police over allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in No 10.
Gale told BBC Radio 4’s The World at One programme that the cost of living crisis and Russian aggression towards Ukraine require “full and undivided attention” of the UK prime minister.
At the moment what we’ve got, not entirely now of his own making, is a lame duck prime minister that is soldiering on while all this indecision is surrounding him and frankly if I was Vladimir Putin I would be laughing all the way to the Lubyanka.
I don’t think his position is sustainable, under most circumstances a prime minister who has misled the House from the despatch box would have resigned.
He could soldier on but I don’t think it’s in the interest of the United Kingdom, and that’s what really matters.”
Updated
My colleague Matthew Weaver has been looking at Theresa May’s first intervention in the row over Downing Street parties, saying she was angry to hear about them.
You can read his report here:
Speaking during a visit to Glasgow, Keir Starmer said he wants a general election as soon as possible and he does not care who leads the Conservatives into it.
Conservative ministers including Jacob Rees-Mogg have argued that if the Tories oust Boris Johnson over the partygate scandal, the new leader should call a general election.
Asked whether any new prime minister should seek a mandate from the country, Starmer said he is keen for an election even if Johnson remains in charge.
PA Media reports he told broadcasters:
I don’t mind who leads the Conservative party or who is the prime minister, we’ll go up against them and make the powerful case against them.
And the sooner they call a general election the better, as far as I’m concerned.
Commons Leader Rees-Mogg said on Tuesday that the modern precedent is for a new incumbent in Downing Street to go to the polls to seek a fresh mandate.
Updated
Labour leader Keir Starmer reiterates his call for Boris Johnson to resign.
I want to see the Gray report in full.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 28, 2022
Our country faces huge challenges and it’s offensive that the Government’s sole focus is on cleaning up after themselves.
Britain deserves better. The Prime Minister is unfit for office and must resign.
Here’s Nicola Sturgeon’s take on the latest Gray report developments.
Scotland’s first minister tweeted:
1/ This gets murkier by the minute. Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion - however unfairly - that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability https://t.co/wZd4FlvgbY
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 28, 2022
2/ I doubt Johnson cares about damage to the reputations of others - individuals or institutions - as long as he saves his own skin. But these things matter. Rapid conclusion and full publication of the findings of inquiries surely now essential for public trust.
— Nicola Sturgeon (@NicolaSturgeon) January 28, 2022
Senior lawyers were today split over whether the Met was justified in asking Sue Gray to only make minimal references to events under investigation.
Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor, who has been critical of the police for not investigating parties in Downing Street, wrote:
This is absolute nonsense from the Met police.
A purely factual report by Sue Gray cannot possibly prejudice a police investigation.
They just have to follow the evidence, of which the report will be a part.
Andrew Keogh, the barrister who runs the criminal law resource CrimeLine, wrote that there is a possibility that proceedings are already active – so an arrest, warrant, or proceedings issues could be imminent – and the Met’s request “seems sensible”.
He wrote:
The report may well contain detail that could potentially advantage a suspect. One of the great advantages that police enjoy is control of disclosure during a police investigation. I can see why they would not wish to lose that.
The Secret Barrister, the bestselling author and criminal barrister, wrote that the Met had “handled his whole affair catastrophically” but added: “I can see why restricting information affords a tactical advantage in the investigation.”
He said:
Whatever the reason, it is an unedifying look for the Met to refuse to investigate despite clear evidence of criminality, then to subcontract the function to a civil servant, and then to frantically try to stem the flow of information when they change their minds.
Matthew Scott, the criminal barrister and legal blogger, has warned that the criminal inquiry announced by the Met would be used as “the fig leaf” behind which Boris Johnson would be able to hide. But he wrote today that the statement from the Met was about protecting the police evidence-gathering operation.
He said:
Police should never want witnesses to be told what other witnesses have said, or certainly not in detail.
Updated
A long-awaited report on the extent of Covid rule-breaking at parties in Downing Street and across government was expected to be published this week.
Boris Johnson’s premiership could hang on its findings; Tory MPs have said they want to see what evidence of wrongdoing is dug up by Sue Gray – a senior civil servant known as a ruthless Whitehall enforcer – before deciding whether to call for him to quit.
But despite speculation reaching fever pitch on Tuesday that the report would be released imminently, its contents remain shrouded in mystery.
Read the answers to your questions about the report here:
The Conservative MP Roger Gale has made his feelings clear about the Met police asking for “minimal references” in the Gray report to matters under police investigation.
A Whitehall Farce created in Scotland Yard! “You can release your report but you cannot refer to the details upon which it is based” Pure genius.
— Sir Roger Gale MP (@SirRogerGale) January 28, 2022
Updated
No 10 said it could not comment on whether or not there was cake at a birthday celebration for the prime minister until investigations into the partygate saga had concluded.
The Tory MP Conor Burns previously said the prime minister had been “ambushed with a cake” at a surprise birthday bash in the Cabinet room on 19 June 2020 when social events indoors were banned.
But Burns later told the Telegraph’s political podcast:
I’m told under some authority, indeed from him, that there actually wasn’t a cake.
However an article from the Times from 20 June 2020, has since resurfaced where it was reported the group “tucked into a union jack cake” at the gathering.
A spokesperson for Boris Johnson said:
So you will know what we said earlier this week on the matter, that a small number of staff briefly came into the cabinet room on the PM’s birthday.
Beyond that I can’t comment further ahead of any conclusion of the investigation.
He said:
As you’re aware there’s an independent investigation ongoing by Sue Gray in the Cabinet Office. I can only point you back to what we said earlier this week.
Updated
No 10 denies talking to Met police about Gray report and what could be published
Downing Street said it was not the case that No 10 had asked Sue Gray’s team to go back to the Metropolitan Police to ensure her report did not interfere with police investigations.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said:
No, you’ll be aware that the terms of reference clearly set out that the Cabinet Office would keep in contact with the police and again it’s an independent investigation. we haven’t been privy to the details of that investigation or any of its content.
So that would be a matter for the investigations team and the Met.
Asked if No 10 had any conversations with the Met about the Gray report and what could be published, the spokesman said:
Not that I’m aware of, no.
Asked if it was correct that the announcement from the Met - that they asked for the Gray report to make minimal reference to alleged events they are investigating - had no involvement from No 10, the spokesman said:
I believe that’s correct.
Updated
Downing Street insisted the rise in national insurance contributions in April would still go ahead.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson denied the prime minister was getting “wobbly” about the increase.
He said:
The prime minister and chancellor are fully committed to introducing the health and social care levy in April.
We’ve spoken before about why we are doing that, in order to give the NHS the funds it needs to tackle the backlog that has built up, as well as tackling the long-term issue of social care. So as I say, we are committed to introducing that in April.
The spokesman said:
I would point back to the fact that this is something that we’ve legislated for to come in April, and again, we’ve been clear with the rationale for it.
Asked if he could guarantee no U-turns on the policy, he added: “As I say, we are introducing it in April.”
The spokesman said ultimately the public would support the aims of the national insurance rise, PA news reports.
He said:
Of course we understand that people may not want to pay more in tax.
But we’ve set out the rationale for this and I think it’s clear that one of the public’s number one priorities is to support the NHS and to help the NHS.
Asked if the rise was therefore coming in “no ifs, no buts”, the spokesman said: “Yeah.”
He added:
I think the chancellor set out at the time when we announced this policy why it is the right and best way to raise this money.
Again, the prime minister and the chancellor both said at that point, obviously, they would like to lower taxes in the future also, but it is important that we do what we need to do now to tackle the backlog that’s grown in the NHS.
Updated
Key parts of a long-awaited report into allegations of parties in No 10 that broke Covid rules could be pared back, after Scotland Yard revealed it had asked for references to matters it is now investigating to be removed from Sue Gray’s report.
After days of anticipation that the findings could imminently be made public, government sources admitted the prospect of a “meaningful” report that laid bare the extent of social gatherings during lockdown being published soon had shrunk.
The Metropolitan police announced on Tuesday it was launching its own investigation, prompting wrangling with the Cabinet Office about what needed to be censored in the findings handed to No 10 to avoid prejudicing officers’ inquiries.
Scotland Yard initially denied holding up Gray’s report, but in a statement on Friday, it admitted that for events it was looking into, “we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report”.
The Met said it “did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation”.
The admission led the Liberal Democrats to warn it would be “profoundly damaging” for there to be a hint of “establishment stitch-up” between the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, and the government.
Read more from my colleagues Ben Quinn and Aubrey Allegretti:
Government minister Chris Philp said he was “completely confident” that the Whitehall and police investigations into Downing Street parties would provide “all of the information” MPs and the public need about the allegations.
Speaking to BBC News following the development that the Metropolitan Police have asked senior civil servant Sue Gray to make “minimal reference” to events they are investigating in her report, the technology minister said:
Clearly, the government can’t get involved in interfering in any way with the way Sue Gray conducts her report or the way the Metropolitan Police conduct their investigation.
They are completely independent and completely separate from government, which is as it should be.
I think what is clear is that, between Sue Gray’s report and the police investigation, everything will be fully covered and that will give
Parliament, and indeed the public, all of the information they need about these incidents.
Asked how confident he was that the published Gray findings would give Conservative MPs “closure” following the party claims, Philp added:
I’m completely confident that between the Sue Gray and the police investigation everything will be covered.
It is important that we move on and draw a line under this because there are very important things the government is working on.
Keir Starmer said the conservatives have “disdain” for Scotland and that the longer Boris Johnson is prime minister “the more danger there is to the union”.
Speaking on a visit to Glasgow, the Labour leader said:
It goes to a deeper point, I think, which is the demonstration that you can’t rely on the Conservatives to hold together the Union, only the Labour Party can support and hold together the Union.
I think the longer Boris Johnson is in office, the more danger there is to the Union.
Keir Starmer said the government had been “paralysed” by the Sue Gray investigation and the subsequent police inquiry into partygate.
The Labour leader told broadcasters he wanted to “see Sue Gray’s report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible, because we’re in this situation where the whole of government is paralysed because the police are looking at what the Prime Minister was getting up to in Downing Street”.
Starmer added:
We’ve got a criminal investigation into the behaviour of the prime minister and what went on in Downing Street. There are bound to be process issues along the way, but this is caused by one thing, and that’s the behaviour of the prime minister.
Asked whether, with his legal background, he saw any issues of prejudice, Starmer said:
Any issues of prejudice have got to be worked through but this whole mess, this whole of paralysing of politics, is being caused by the Prime Minister and his wrongdoing.
'Nobody is above the law': Theresa May breaks silence on 'partygate'
Theresa May’s reported comments mark her first intervention over the partygate scandal.
The former prime minister, who has so far not publicly commented on the saga engulfing No 10, told constituents that “nobody is above the law”, in a letter seen by her local newspaper.
The Maidenhead Advertiser reported that May wrote:
I have said previously that it is vital that those who set the rules, follow the rules. Nobody is above the law.
This is important for ensuring the necessary degree of trust between the public and government.
Like so many, I was angry to hear stories of those in Number 10, who are responsible for setting the coronavirus rules, not properly following the rules.
The letter – sent before the Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry into the alleged parties – referred to senior official Sue Gray’s investigation, which has now been delayed due to the criminal probe.
May said that “if there is evidence of deliberate or premeditated wrongdoing, I expect full accountability to follow”.
She added:
All those working at the heart of government should conduct themselves with the highest of standards which befits the work they do, and this applies as much to those working in Number 10 as to other parts of government.
May has been a critic of Boris Johnson’s policies in the Commons.
Johnson’s resignation from May’s Cabinet was seen as one of the blows to her authority that led to her leaving No 10 in 2019.
Updated
Theresa May has broken her silence on partygate and said she is “angry” at the allegations of parties held in Downing Street during lockdowns.
If wrongdoing is found, she expects full accountability from those responsible, she told the Maidenhead Advertiser, her local paper.
She added: “Nobody is above the law.”
Read the full article here and here is an excerpt:
🚨Theresa May has made a scathing intervention on partygate to her local paper. “Nobody is above the law.” (Below from PA) pic.twitter.com/exKbVHdhwT
— Ben Riley-Smith (@benrileysmith) January 28, 2022
The Liberal Democrats have warned against giving the appearance of an “establishment stitch-up” between Scotland Yard and the Sue Gray inquiry as the report publication plan was thrown into disarray.
The party’s home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael said:
So first the police were waiting for Sue Gray, now Sue Gray has to wait for the police?
Any appearance of an establishment stitch-up between the Met Commissioner and the Government is profoundly damaging. Police officers need the trust and confidence of the public to do their jobs and keep our communities safe.
The Sue Gray report must be published in full, including all photos, text messages and other evidence. If it is redacted now, a full, unredacted version must be published as soon as the police investigation is complete.
SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford MP said:
The Sue Gray report must be published in full and undoctored without further delay.
This UK government farce has gone on long enough.
People are understandably concerned that this increasingly looks like a cover up.
It is a fact that Boris Johnson broke the rules, lied about it, and misled parliament. This is an extremely serious resignation matter - and he must be held to account.
The prime minister cannot be allowed to wriggle off the hook by using the Metropolitan Police investigation as an excuse to further delay or doctor the report.
This cannot be another Whitewall whitewash. There must be maximum transparency.
Any attempt to cover this up or delay the inevitable would be completely unacceptable - and would erode any last remnants of public trust in the Westminster government.
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said there is a question of integrity surrounding the leadership of prime minster Boris Johnson.
Speaking as the nation awaits Sue Gray’s report, the Labour MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I think there is a question of integrity, honesty and decency.
You have got the prime minister on the one hand, who is in this sort of lies and scandal and parties, and then you have got Keir Starmer on the other hand, who is a man of integrity and honesty, who you can put your trust in.
Reeves said “the Sue Gray report needs to be published in full as the prime minister has said it will be”, but that there should be a focus on tackling major issues facing the country.
What really frustrates me (is) we have these massive challenges as a country - the cost-of-living crisis, how to properly fund our National Health Service, how to get to net zero - all these big challenges, and where is the government?
Labour has set out its plans, the government has no plans. It is incredibly frustrating and letting down the country.
Mike Bird of the Economist has pointed out that Boris Johnson’s birthday party was reported at the time by the Times.
Contrary to denials of the presence of a cake, the report says Johnson and those attending ate slices of a union jack cake.
The report also says Rishi Sunak was at the gathering. It recently emerged that Sunak had “wandered into” the event.
So this was just out there the whole time then? pic.twitter.com/3s0rmJICrv
— Mike Bird (@Birdyword) January 28, 2022
Updated
What details are contained in Sue Gray’s report is for the senior civil servant and the police to “work out between them”, a government minister has said.
It came after Scotland Yard asked for the Whitehall inquiry into allegations of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street to make only “minimal reference” to the events being investigated by police.
Technology minister Chris Philp, asked on ITV’s Good Morning Britain programme about the development, said:
I saw that report just a few minutes ago. The way that the Sue Gray report gets put together is something that is a matter entirely for Sue Gray. It is up to her and the police how to handle that.
Clearly, between Sue Gray and the police, this will get fully investigated – as it should.
But the important thing to say is that the government have no influence and no involvement in how Sue Gray and the police conduct their respective reports and investigations, which is right - it is right they are fully independent.
So, between the two of them, they will cover all of the incidents that need investigating so the public and parliament have a full and proper account. But that is up to Sue Gray and the police to work that out between them - it is not something the government should or would interfere with.
No 10 has given no indication that it has received the Sue Gray report into possible rule-breaking parties in Downing Street, Chris Philp said.
The technology minister, asked on Sky News whether the civil servant’s inquiry findings have been handed in, said:
I spoke to someone in Downing Street about half an hour ago, and they certainly didn’t indicate that it had been received.
So, I don’t know a lot more than you do but I’ve certainly got no information as of right now that it has been received.
Here’s more on the national insurance rise from my colleagues Heather Stewart, Jessica Elgot and Denis Campbell:
The Treasury is becoming increasingly alarmed that Boris Johnson may be preparing to scrap the national insurance rise in a desperate attempt to placate rightwing Tory MPs as he fights to save his job.
The Guardian understands Rishi Sunak has privately stressed to MPs that the tax rise must go ahead as planned – with one frontbencher who has met him in recent days speculating the chancellor’s position could become untenable if Johnson seeks to overrule him.
Treasury aides claim the embattled prime minister has not yet raised the prospect of cancelling or delaying the £12bn tax rise, with Johnson saying “there’s been no discussion at any level”.
Yet speaking in Wales on Thursday, the prime minister again refused to commit to pressing ahead with the 1.25 percentage point rise in national insurance contributions (NICs), which will be badged a “health and social care levy”.
Johnson said it was “absolutely vital” to find the money, saying: “We have to fund the Covid backlogs, we have to fix social care. Every penny will go to that end.” But when asked to confirm explicitly that the increase would go ahead as planned, he declined to do so.
One person with knowledge of the thinking in No 10 said there were no firm plans yet to change course on NICs – but predicted that Johnson would do so if he faced a vote of no confidence.
Read more here:
The proposed increase in National Insurance is “the wrong tax at the wrong time”, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said.
Asked whether credibility means you have to raise tax if you want to spend, she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
I think you have to explain where every pound is going to come from, and that is why I think it is right to ask those who can pay a bit more and to ask those with the broadest shoulders to make the contribution.
This is the wrong tax at the wrong time. It is a tax on ordinary working people and on jobs.
There are people who could afford to pay a bit more tax. I think that is the right approach.
The national insurance hike is not popular with all Tories. One of them has spoken out this morning against the rise this Spring and said the government should look at different ways to support struggling families.
Robert Halfon told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme:
We are going to have a cost-of-living crisis next year. It is not just going to suddenly magic away.
People are struggling at the moment because of everything that has happened ... with Covid, because of energy bills.
If we borrow, we are just deferring taxation.
What I think the government should do is look at it again and look at how to raise that £12bn, and whether or not it is possible to have windfall taxes on businesses, possibly to increase capital gains tax, to raise the funds that are needed, but we need a cost-of-living package in general.
I would like to see the £4bn they have saved from cutting overseas aid... to use that to cut taxes for the lower paid as well, and also to do something on the green levies which we know amount to roughly 25% of our energy bills.
If they introduced a green escalator going downwards because the international energy price is so high, it could make a huge significant difference to people’s energy bills as they go up by many hundreds of pounds from April onwards.
Partygate isn’t the only topic of conversation this morning. The hike in national insurance is also on politician’s minds as constituents struggle with the rise in the cost of living.
Technology minister Chris Philp said it was still “going ahead”, following reports the prime minister is “wobbling” over the planned April tax rise to boost health funding.
He told Sky News:
Yes, it is going ahead.
It was approved by the whole Cabinet, it was passed by parliament with a significant majority, and the money is needed to fund the NHS, which I think is something that is a national priority.
It is 36 billion over three years to fund the NHS and social care.
We need to put that money in to make sure the NHS has the resources it needs to recover after the pandemic, and this is a proportionate way of finding that money.
Boris Johnson has been told it is “time for the truth to be released” as he faced more calls to publish a long-awaited report into “partygate” in full and not “suppress crucial details”.
Sources said on Thursday night that the senior civil servant’s findings had still not been sent to No 10, with government lawyers studying the document amid concerns that publishing some information could prejudice the new investigation.
Gray is said to want to send it in a state that can then be published by Downing Street in full, without the need for any further redactions.
Some Tories believe the report will not be released until early next week, given they think Gray will be mindful of criticism it is being sneaked out if publication came on Friday or the weekend, when most MPs will be back in their constituencies.
Government insiders have rejected accusations they are responsible for the delay, and suggested instead it is because of the Metropolitan police’s discussions with the Cabinet Office.
But Scotland Yard has not formally objected to full publication of the Gray report, sources said.
Gray’s findings were sufficiently clear cut in their detailing of rule breaches to trigger a criminal investigation, according to the explanation about why police were acting, from the Met commissioner, Cressida Dick.
Read more from my colleagues Aubrey Allegretti and Vikram Dodd here:
Technology minister Chris Philp was on LBC this morning.
He was asked why the Gray report hand-in had been delayed.
He said:
You will have to ask Sue Gray that, because the timing of the report is up to her.
You will have seen, as I have seen, press speculation is it is because she’s discussing with lawyers and police exactly what can and can’t go in it.
But the bottom line is, I don’t know because it is a report she’s compiling independently and I have no visibility of what may or may not be in it, or what her thought process is.
Asked what he could offer in terms of a defence of the prime minister, Philp said he would not “speculate” on what happened in No 10 amid claims there were parties held at the top of Government during lockdown, PA news reports.
He added:
Like everybody else, I’m just going to wait until it is published, I’ll read it very carefully when it comes out and I’m not going to speculate... about what the report may or may not contain and what that may or may not mean.
Let’s just wait until it comes out. Hopefully it will be soon because I think all of us want to be able to draw a line under this.
Met asks for 'minimal references' to police investigation in Gray report
Scotland Yard has said it has asked for references to matters it is now investigating to be removed from Sue Gray’s report into parties held in breach of lockdown restrictions at Downing Street.
“For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report,” the Metropolitan police said in a statement on Friday morning.
“The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.”
The force issued the statement in response to questions from journalists about any role it had played in seeking to delay the report.
Boris Johnson has been told it is “time for the truth to be released” as he faced more calls to publish the long-awaited report into “partygate” in full and not “suppress crucial details”.
Officials in the Cabinet Office are still wrangling over the final version of Sue Gray’s findings on a string of alleged Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street and other parts of government.
Despite anticipation reaching fever pitch earlier this week that the report on which the prime minister’s premiership could hang was close to completion, its publication was delayed when Scotland Yard opened its own investigation.
Read the full story from my colleague Ben Quinn here:
My name is Nicola Slawson and I’ll be taking you through today’s events. Do get in touch with any questions or if you think I’m missing anything. My email is nicola.slawson@theguardian.com or you can find me on Twitter: @Nicola_Slawson.
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