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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Nadeem Badshah (now) and Andrew Sparrow (earlier)

Partygate live: Boris Johnson says no plan to resign over Sue Gray report despite Tory MP calling for him to step down – as it happened

Sue Gray Boris Johnson Partygate (Facility) No 10 (Facility) Downing Street (Organization) Chris Mason Pippa Crerar Covid-19

A summary of today's developments

  • Boris Johnson says he has no plan to resign over the Sue Gray report and insisted that staff in his press office thought they were “working around the clock” when they were partying in No 10. In his Commons statement he justified his own attendance at leaving do events on the grounds that they were work, but he said he could not defend what happened later. But, when asked why his press office had said that no parties took place even though the gatherings had actually taken place in the press office, Johnson said his press team thought what they were doing was allowed.
  • The prime minister sidestepped a question about whether his political team had asked for the removal of any facts from the Sue Gray report before its release and did not deny the report saying that he floated with Gray the idea of shelving her report. He insisted that the alleged party in the Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020 was a work event and added he was making inquiries to find out who was rude to cleaning and security staff.
  • Julian Sturdy has become the first Conservative MP to say that in light of the contents of the Gray report he is now calling for Johnson’s resignation. Meanwhile, responding to the report in the Lords, Labour frontbencher Lord Collins of Highbury called on Conservative members to act “to stop this out-of-touch, out-of-control prime minister from driving Britain towards disaster”.
  • Boris Johnson will not be apologising to the Queen during their audience despite Gray’s findings on the party held on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, according to a Conservative party source. Asked if Johnson will be apologising to the Queen during their call this evening, the party source told PA: “What does he need to apologise to the Queen for?”
  • Two-thirds of people believe Boris Johnson should resign given the findings from Gray’s report into Partygate, according to a snap poll from Savanta ComRes.
  • This figure is higher than the proportion who thought the prime minister should resign when he was issued with a fixed-penalty notice last month (61%), but it is lower than when Sue Gray’s initial interim findings were published in January at the height of the scandal (69%).
  • Rishi Sunak will push the button on a controversial windfall tax on energy companies on Thursday, as he lays out measures to ease the pain of rising household bills. The chancellor has confirmed he will announce fresh support for people struggling with the cost of living crisis. The measures are expected to help the poorest households as rampant inflation pushes up the price of everything from food to fuel. Sunak is expected to announce an increase in the warm home discount scheme, which is worth £150 to 3 million low-income households. This figure could rise to as much as £500.
  • The takeover of British microchip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab by a Chinese-owned company has been called in for a “full national security assessment”, the government said. Boris Johnson said in July 2021 that he had asked the national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, to look at the reported £63m purchase by Nexperia, a company said to be linked to the Chinese Communist party, PA reports. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said that the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, has finally called in the takeover.

Updated

The plot against Boris Johnson could hardly be more different from the sound and fury that characterised the one against Theresa May, which took place in crammed and sweaty meeting rooms and with public denunciations in front of amassed journalists.

Instead, those hoping to oust this prime minister tend to meet in pairs over bottles of wine in the Adjournment cafe or catch a quiet word in a corridor.

But MPs keeping close tally said they believed at least three more letters had been given to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the Tory 1922 Committee, asking for a vote of no confidence.

Multiple MPs who spoke to the Guardian said Johnson’s future was not secure. “I think this is the day it really hit home to some of my colleagues that we are on the brink of losing the next election,” said one former minister.

Updated

The culture secretary Nadine Dorries has claimed that Boris Johnson would “absolutely” win a no-confidence vote if one was forced following the publication of the Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties.

Speaking on TalkTV’s The News Desk, Dorries criticised Johnson’s detractors within the Conservative party saying: “What the nation doesn’t need is a navel-gazing party and a leadership crisis in the middle of some of the most important and difficult challenges we’ve ever faced as a nation.”

She also believes Johnson could not have known about all the events in No 10 due to the size of the building and asserted that some of his critics in the media “are determined to remove the prime minister” because he delivered on Brexit.

Updated

Rishi Sunak will push the button on a controversial windfall tax on energy companies on Thursday, as he lays out measures to ease the pain of rising household bills.

The chancellor has confirmed he will announce fresh support for people struggling with the cost of living crisis. The measures are expected to help the poorest households as rampant inflation pushes up the price of everything from food to fuel.

Sunak is expected to announce an increase in the warm home discount scheme, which is worth £150 to 3 million low-income households. This figure could rise to as much as £500.

The government could also bring forward a planned increase in benefits that had been expected next year. Sunak could also opt to directly fund a discount on energy bills or offer a council tax rebate.

Updated

Labour MP Wes Streeting has tweeted:

Updated

Boris Johnson will not be apologising to the Queen during their audience despite Sue Gray’s findings on the party held on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral, according to a Conservative party source.

Asked if Johnson will be apologising to the Queen during their call this evening, the party source told PA: “What does he need to apologise to the Queen for?

“We all know he wasn’t anywhere near ... he was 50 miles away from the gathering that had happened on the eve of the funeral of the Duke of Edinburgh.”

The Northern Ireland secretary, Brandon Lewis, has said he will act “within weeks” to commission abortion services if Stormont does not.
Last week, the UK government took further legislative action in a bid to ensure the full delivery of abortion services in Northern Ireland, allowing the Stormont health minister, Robin Swann, to commission services without executive approval.

Swann is in the process of seeking legal advice.

Lewis, who met with volunteers in Belfast who support women through terminations, told the PA news agency: “The statement and the action we took last week does two things: it takes away the final hurdle that the department of health have had here to have to go through the executive, so the department of health can act, and I expect to see them take action because we have taken away the hurdle that the department of health said was there.

“If they don’t take action, there is a secondary point in what we did last week, which is that we have now taken a power so that the secretary of state, I, can act, I have got the legal basis to act and commission services directly in Northern Ireland.”

Updated

The daughter of a Covid victim has said she believes “selfish” Boris Johnson must resign after “raucous and savage behaviour” in Westminster during the pandemic was laid bare in Sue Gray’s report.

Safiah Ngah, 29, wept as she recalled how restrictions in place last February meant she was denied a final goodbye in person with her father, Zahari Ngah, before he died.

Ngah said her 68-year-old father, a retired NHS worker, would have been “scared” and vulnerable without his family in hospital during his last days.

The family had to settle for a video call as their last contact with him – meanwhile government officials were “cheers-ing”, partying and joking about getting away with it, she said.

She told the PA news agency: “It’s disgusting. It makes me embarrassed to be British.

“The government is completely out of touch with what real people are experiencing and it’s unsurprising. They’re obviously a group of very privileged people with limited experience.”

“I think it is raucous and savage behaviour from the people that are leading us and supposed to be protecting us,” she added.

Ngah said she thought her father, who believed in democratic accountability, would have been “ashamed” and “disappointed” at how the government responded to the health crisis.

Updated

Boris Johnson has dismissed the idea of an alcohol ban in No 10 in the wake of the damning findings of the Sue Gray inquiry.

After the prime minister was asked about the suggestion during a meeting of the 1922 Committee of Tory MPs, a party source told PA: “He made the point he’s not a big drinker himself but had alcohol been banned in 1940 we might not have won the second world war.

“The fact about No 10 is there is an alcohol policy that now sets guidelines to its use.”

He added: “There’s a recognition that at the end of a really long, hard day ... the remedy for decompressing ... is to have a glass of wine or a beer.

“So, there’s recognition that part of decompressing at the end of a long day involves having a drink, but not checking out at 4am absolutely legless, having been rude to a member of staff, having thrown up over a sofa.”

The source added the prime minister was due to have “an audience with the Queen” this evening virtually following the publication of the Sue Gray Partygate investigation.

Updated

A Tory party source said the new package of measures to be announced will contain details of where extra funds will be raised, in a hint at a windfall tax.

He told PA: “There will be a fresh package of measures in the very near future with an explanation of where some extra funds may be acquired in order to fund that.

“On the debate on the windfall tax ... the focus of any package that will be announced by us will not be on raising taxes as an end in themselves, but on what that enables us to do to help the people suffering.

“The arguments have been tested rigorously both within the Treasury and within the government, so there’s a high threshold that any package that we bring forward delivers more gain than pain, that the gain is worth the pain, that it does not jeopardise the investment that Conservatives are acutely aware of.

“That you don’t introduce random taxes that make the economic environment unpredictable.”

Updated

The takeover of British microchip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab by a Chinese-owned company has been called in for a “full national security assessment”, the government has said.

The move follows growing pressure from MPs amid concerns that one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of semiconductors has been acquired by a “strategic competitor”.

Boris Johnson said in July 2021 that he had asked the national security adviser, Sir Stephen Lovegrove, to look at the reported £63m purchase by Nexperia, a company said to be linked to the Chinese Communist party, PA reports.

However in a report last month, the Commons foreign affairs committee said there was no sign that any investigation had begun.

The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said today that the business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, had finally called in the takeover.

Under the terms of the legislation, ministers have the power to scrutinise and, if necessary, intervene in the acquisition on national security grounds.

The government has an initial period of 30 working days - potentially extendable by up to 45 days - to carry out that assessment.

Updated

Two-thirds of people believe Boris Johnson should resign given the findings from Sue Gray’s report into Partygate, according to a snap poll from Savanta ComRes.

This figure is higher than the proportion who thought the prime minister should resign when he was issued with a fixed-penalty notice last month (61%), but it is lower than when Sue Gray’s initial interim findings were published in January at the height of the scandal (69%).

While 49% believe it is not yet time to allow Johnson to move on from Partygate, 38% say that it is time, including one in five (21%) who have an unfavourable opinion of him.

And while 52% say they think worse of Johnson given the findings of the Gray report, that includes 73% of those who already have an unfavourable opinion of him.

Updated

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, says Boris Johnson should stay as prime minister until the war in Ukraine is over. (See 4.54pm.) But Ross also says Johnson will have to go if the privileges committee concludes he lied to parliament. He says:

If they reach a conclusion that the prime minister deliberately and intentionally went to the House of Commons to mislead people, then the ministerial code is actually very clear. The expectation is that the prime minister or any minister should stand down.

I think that’s why it’s absolutely vital that the privileges committee are now given the opportunity to look at every single piece of evidence, everything that was said, everything that was done, every picture that’s available, and crucially interview everyone they need to to get to the bottom of this, because this is a very serious accusation and the prime minister has to be able to answer all the questions.

That is all from me for today. My colleague Nadeem Badshah is taking over now.

From Adam Payne at Politics Home

Boris Johnson has been addressing Tory MPs at the 1922 Committee. These are from the Mail’s David Wilcock who has been doorstepping the meeting.

This is from Tom Harwood from GB News.

And this is from ITV’s Paul Brand.

This is from my colleague John Harris on one of the main arguments deployed by Boris Johnson today.

Tory MP Julian Sturdy says following Gray report he is now calling for Johnson's resignation

Julian Sturdy has become the first (and so far only) Conservative MP to say that, in the light of the contents of the Sue Gray report, he is now calling for Boris Johnson’s resignation.

Sturdy has been critical of Johnson over Partygate in the past, but has not previously said he should quit.

There is growing interest in a question raised by the Labour MP Wayne David during the Commo ns exchanges earlier. David asked:

It is absolutely imperative that the British public are told the whole truth. Everyone hopes that there have been no redactions or changes to the report. Indeed, Downing Street said that its intention was to publish the report in full, in its entirety, unchanged. Did anyone in No 10 receive a copy of the report yesterday, and were any requests made for sections to be removed or altered? Were any changes made, following requests, to the section relating to the gathering in the No 10 flat on 13 November 2020?

Boris Johnson’s response was evasive. He said:

I received the report—I had not seen it before— shortly after 10 o’clock this morning. On [David’s] second point about the events on 13 November, I have addressed those several times.

Johnson gave a similar reply at the press conference. See. 4.40pm.

This is what David said about Johnson’s answer on Twitter.

The Commons Hansard with a transcript of all the exchanges earlier between Boris Johnson and MPs on the Sue Gray report is now available here.

Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, has released a statement saying the Sue Gray report shows the need to reassert the importance of standards in public life. He says:

Sue Gray’s report shows that culture, behaviour and standards in public life really matter. We need to be able to trust our national institutions, particularly in times of great trouble. Jesus commands us to serve the most vulnerable and those in need. To help achieve this we must recover the principles of mutual flourishing and the common good in the way we are governed. Standards in public life are the glue that holds us together – we need to rediscover them and abide by them.

Cabinet ministers are posting messages on Twitter expressing their support for the PM. They acknowledge his apology, and argue that it is time to move on. Here are some examples.

From Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, who was fined himself for being at the surprise birthday party for the PM in the cabinet room

From Liz Truss, the foreign secretary

From Dominic Raab, the justice secretary and deputy prime minister

From Michael Gove, the levelling up secretary

From Sajid Javid, the health secretary

Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, was one of the first Tory MPs to call for Boris Johnson’s resignation when the Partygate scandal first erupted. Then, when Russia invaded Ukraine, he retracted his call for Johnson’s resignation, saying it would be wrong for him to go at a time of crisis. Today, as Sky’s James Matthews reports, Ross is saying Johnson should stay for now, but resign when the war is over.

One of those named in Gray’s report is Kate Josephs, chief executive of Sheffield city council (SCC), formerly director general in the Covid task force. More than 20 people attended her leaving party on 17 December 2020, which Gray criticises for its lack of social distancing.

Joseph has been on paid leave from her £190,000-a-year post since the revelations emerged in January, and today apologised again “unequivocally” for her involvement.

But she said she couldn’t comment further while a cross-party council committee investigated her Partygate antics.

Today, the council’s leader, Terry Fox, said that the investigation was continuing and that the committee would have to meet again before any decision could be made. He said:

In terms of Kate Josephs, I’ve expressed my feelings and deep disappointment many times about the gathering that took place in her former role at the Cabinet Office – I find myself having to do that again today ... We’ve all had to wait for the process to be followed properly, and we must continue to let the committee do its work. It’s absolutely vital we get this right for Sheffield and all involved.

Updated

Summary of Boris Johnson's press conference

Here are the main points from Boris Johnson’s press conference.

  • Johnson claimed that staff in his press office thought they were “working around the clock” when they were partying in No 10. In his Commons statement he justified his own attendance at leaving do events on the grounds that they were work, but he said he could not defend what happened later. (See 3.02pm.) But, when asked why his press office had said that no parties took place even though the parties had actually taken place in the press office, Johnson said his press team thought what they were doing was allowed. He said:

I don’t know exactly what they what they told you, but having talked to people in this building about what happened and what was said, it’s my strong impression that they genuinely believed what they were doing was working, and they were working around the clock. They did not think that what they were doing was in conflict with the rules. That’s what they told me.

As Newsnight’s Lewis Goodall points out, this answer is hard to square with what the Sue Gray report says about these events.

  • He sidestepped a question about whether his political team had asked for the removal of any facts from the Sue Gray report before its release. Asked about this, he replied:

The first I saw the report and read it in its entirety – and, to the best of my knowledge, the first any of my team saw it – was when we got it shortly after 10am this morning.

  • He did not deny the report saying that he floated with Gray the idea of shelving her report.
  • He insisted that the alleged party in the Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020 was a work event. He said:

On the Downing Street flat, what Sue says in her previous interim report is that the flat has a dual use. Historically, prime ministers have used it for meetings. The event in question was a work meeting and ... the Metropolitan police did investigate and that was certainly the outcome of their investigation.

  • Johnson refused to comment on the conduct of his former principle private secretary Martin Reynolds. Asked about Reynolds, who does not emerge well from the Sue Gray report, Johnson said:

I don’t want to comment on individuals who are named in the report. I don’t think it’s right for politicians to talk about officials in that way.

  • He said he was making inquiries to find out who was rude to cleaning and security staff. He said:

On the behaviour of staff and alleged rudeness, I don’t know who is specifically guilty of that. In the course of my apologies today, I began to make some inquiries and I will, of course, continue them.

As I said earlier on, I think it is utterly intolerable for people to be rude to hard-working staff. At the very least, they should apologise but I don’t yet have the names of those who were responsible.

  • He rejected a suggestion that it was the lockdown rules themselves that were flawed because they were too strict.
Boris Johnson speaking at his press conference.
Boris Johnson speaking at his press conference. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images

Updated

We definitely are getting a Treasury statement on a cost of living support package tomorrow, ITV’s Anushka Asthana reports.

Q: Is it right for Martin Reynolds to get a post as an ambassador after this?

Johnson says he does not think it is right for him to talk about individual officials. He takes responsibility, he says.

And Johnson wraps up there.

Q: When the reports first came out about the parties, did it not occur to you to find out what actually happened?

Of course, says Johnson. That is why he set up the Sue Gray inquiry.

Johnson says he has to leave. There are some objections. He says he was told to take no more than nine questions, but that he will take three more because of his “natural generosity”.

Q: What were you, your wife, and five aides doing in your flat for several hours on the night of 13 November 2020.

Johnson says that was a work meeting. The Met police investigated it, and that is what they concluded.

Q: Did you see the Sue Gray report in advance?

Johnson says he did not see it before 10am today.

Johnson says it did not occur to him that the surprise birthday event in the cabinet room was a breach of the rules. There were not many people there, he says.

And it did not occur to him that speaking at a leaving event for someone was a breach of the rules.

Q: Did you not know about the events going on late into the night?

No, says Johnson. He says it is a big building with many rooms.

The best thing he can do now is get on with delivering on the priorities of the people.

Updated

Johnson suggests press officers thought late-night partying counted as work

Q: Your press office told us there were no parties – even though the parties took place in the press office. Did you tell them to lie?

Johnson says the press office thought they were holding work events.

Updated

Johnson has no plans to resign

Q: Did you never think about resigning? Three out of five Britons think you should.

Johnson says he understands people’s anger. But it is his job to get on and serve the people of this country – not only getting us through the biggest war in Europe for 70 years, but dealing with the cost of living crisis, and delivering on his manifesto promises.

I overwhelmingly feel it is my job to get on with my job and deliver.

He is addressing difficult issues – like the legacy issues in Northern Ireland. He says he was pleased to see Peter Mandelson supporting the Northern Ireland Troubles bill, even though the Labour party voted against.

Updated

Johnson says pressure on household incomes will continue 'for a while to come'

Q: Do you think the rules were too strict in the first place?

Johnson says some people argue you could do without rules. But we were facing a pandemic of the kind we had never seen before. All the scientific advice said non-pharmaceutical interventions (ie, lockdowns) were needed.

Q: Incomes in real terms will be lower in 2026 than 2008. What is your response?

Johnson says the pandemic has had an impact. And there have been global supply chain shocks. So pressures will continue “for a while to come”. They will affect household budgets, he says.

But we will get through this, he says. And having the lowest unemployment rate since 1974 helps.

There is no question we have pressure now on household finances ... The government is going to do everything it can to help people.

Updated

Q: Why did you not stop Martin Reynolds, your principle private secretary, organising events? The report quotes him boasting about getting away with it. (See 12.04pm.)

Johnson says he does not want to comment on individuals.

Updated

Q: What were your failings that allowed this to happen?

Johnson urges the questioner (Matt Frei) to look at the Gray report to see what happened.

He has made changes to No 10, he says.

He says the crucial thing is the difference between working and socialising.

Q: What are you going to do about the officials who treated security staff like this?

Johnson says he does not know who was responsible for treating security and cleaners like this. He has begun to make inquiries, he says. But he does not yet have the names.

Q: Did you ask Sue Gray not to publish her report?

Johnson says the terms of reference said she had to publish. And he says no one reading it would think she has swept things under the table.

Updated

Johnson is now taking questions. The BBC’s new political editor, Chris Mason, goes first.

Q: What would you say to a viewer who thinks you are willing to lie to get out of a tight spot?

Johnson says he has tried to explain what happened. And he has tried to explain the context of other events; he went to events where he said farewell to valued colleagues. Some people think that was wrong. But he thinks it was right to thank people who were leaving.

He says he believed they were work events. “They were part of my job.” That was substantiated by the fact he was not fined for those.

What happened to the cleaners and the custodians (security guards) was unacceptable, he says.

Johnson says it is because he has changed the way No 10 works, in response to Partygate, that he feels an even greater responsibility to carry on and deliver on the concerns of the British people.

Johnson says he has personally apologised to cleaners and security staff at No 10 for the way they were treated.

Boris Johnson's press conference

Boris Johnson is opening his press conference. He starts with a statement that is broadly the same (so far) as the one he used in the House of Commons earlier.

Updated

The British Cleaning Council has condemned the way cleaning staff were treated at No 10. This is from Jim Melvin, its chairman.

At a time when many cleaning and hygiene operational staff were putting themselves at risk to maintain high standards of hygiene and ensure that key workers and the public were safe and well during the pandemic, it is absolutely appalling and upsetting to hear that they were being treated with such contempt by people who sit within government or the civil service and who frankly should know better.

Cleaning staff are hardworking, professional and deserve to be respected in their vital work, just like anyone one else, and certainly how the people concerned would expect to be treated.

David Davis, the Conservative former Brexit secretary, told GB News he had no regrets about calling for Boris Johnson’s resignation earlier this year. He said:

I don’t regret it. I had a thousand enemies the next day - well, later that day. But since then I’ve had a million supporters.

It is quite plain that no ordinary person outside of Boris’ circle, of course they are upset with me ... but on the doorstep, on the train, in the streets, in the tea room, everywhere, people say, ‘Actually you were right.’

Updated

According to a snap YouGov poll, 59% of Britons think Boris Johnson should resign.

That seems a lot, but it is slightly lower than the 63% who said he should resign in a YouGov poll in January, when the interim Sue Gray report was published.

Updated

Johnson's statment to MPs on Sue Gray's report - verdict

This was the fourth major statement Boris Johnson has made to MPs in which he has had to apologise for failings related to Partygate. Of the three previous ones, two were immediate failures in that Johnson made a poor impression on MPs, and non-loyalist commentators, straight away. The only one that was moderately successful was the last one, following the Met’s decision to fine Johnson last month, which worked because Johnson managed to maintain a tone of contrition more or less throughout the whole thing. But then he ruined it later by going to a private meeting with Tory MPs and sounding unrepentant - which prompted Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter and fearsome backbench organiser, to declare that he was no longer capable of forgiving Johnson (quite a statement - Baker is a devout Christian) and that he wanted him gone.

Today Johnson did not sound remotely “humbled”. He even sounded reluctant to use the words briefed out in advance: “I am humbled by the whole experience.” (See 11.24am.) When Johnson first delivered the line, it was “we are humbled by the experience” implying - not for the first time - that others were at fault, not him (although Johnson did go on to say “I am humbled” later). Then, to make things worse, he embarked on an attack on Keir Starmer which at the best of times would have sounded churlish, but which ended up sounding puerile too, because Johnson could not resist a cheap pun. (See 1.06pm.) Dominic Raab’s response (see below) was very telling. Presumably Johnson’s media team are telling him now in No 10 that he misjudged the tone and that he needs to show more humility at the press conference later.

For weeks Johnson has been saying that he was looking forward to giving a full account of Partygate when he could, but his version today was hardly thorough, and he showed a marked refusal to elaborate when pressed for detail. For example, we still don’t know why his wife felt the need to play Abba music at loud volume at her “strategy meeting”. (See 1.12pm.)

He also provided what might turn out to be a less than robust defence to the claim that he lied when he told MPs the rules were followed in parliament at all times. He told MPs:

It is clear from what Sue Gray has had to say that several of these gatherings then went on far longer than was necessary. They were clearly in breach of the rules and they clearly fell foul of the rules.

I have to tell the house - because the house will need to know this, and again this is not to mitigate or extenuate - but I had no knowledge of subsequent proceedings because I simply wasn’t there, and I have been as surprised and disappointed as anyone else in this house as the revelations unfolded.

But did he really not know that these sort of parties were going on late into the night in Downing Street? This is something the privileges committee will consider when it carries out its inquiry into claims he lied to MPs.

Updated

In his final answer in the statement Boris Johnson said the SNP were helping to make the case for the union because they were doing such a bad job at governing ferries. They could not even buy ferries, he claimed.

And that’s it. The statement is over. We will be hearing from Johnson again at press conference, scheduled for 3.30pm.

From Insider’s Cat Neilan

Johnson says he has not had time to identify the cleaners and security staff referred to in the report who were treated with a lack of respect. But when he does identify them, he will apologise in person, he says.

Andrew Gwynne (Lab) asks if Johnson was present at any point for the party where red wine was spilt on the wall. (See 12.37pm.)

Johnson says the answer is in the Sue Gray report.

(The report does not say that Johnson did not attend. But it does not mention his attendance either, which implies he was not there.)

Liz Saville Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, told MPs:

To call this a damning report for the prime minister is an understatement ...

For 168 days he’s used Sue Gray as a human shield against this duty.

In this farce of a parliamentary system it’s now all down to Tory MPs ... for them to grow a backbone and oust this moral vacuum of a prime minister. Will he spare them the trouble and resign?

Richard Thomson (SNP) says we now know that, as well as being willing to let “the bodies pile high” outside No 10, he was willing to let the bottles pile high inside Downing Street.

Updated

Justin Madders (Lab) says, contrary to what Johnson said earlier (see 1.12pm), the alleged party in the Downing Street flat was not properly investigated. Can Johnson assure MPs that there was no alcohol served, no music played, and nothing else that might have made it look like a party?

Johnson says he has nothing to add to what he said earlier.

Johnson claims that the lines of responsibility in No 10 are now “much sharper” following the management changes introduced recently.

Sarah Jones (Lab) says she worked as a civil servant under Gordon Brown and Theresa May and neither of them would have allowed behaviour like this at No 10.

Johnson says he never threw a stapler at anyone (a reference to an incident reportedly involving Brown).

In the Commons Johnson is just taking questions from opposition MPs, because Conservatives have given up asking questions.

This is from the Spectator’s James Forsyth.

Asked if he asked Sue Gray not to publish her report, Johnson says no.

But the claim this week was not that he asked her not to publish it – just that he floated the idea with her.

Updated

I have beefed up some of the earlier posts with direct quotes from what was said in the chamber. To see the updates, you may need to refresh the page.

Johnson sidesteps question about claims senior figures at No 10 did not fully respond to police questions about Partygate

Wendy Chamberlain (Lib Dem) asks Johnson about report that senior figures at No 10 did not fully cooperate with the Metropolitan police, by not answering in full the questions about Partygate put in the questionnaires.

Johnson says that is a matter for the Met.

This is from Angela Rayner, the Labour deputy leader, on the way cleaners and security staff at No 10 were treated.

Alison McGovern (Lab) asks if Boris Johnson has peronally apologised to the cleaner and security staff who were treated with lack of respect.

Johnson says he has apologised through his statement to the Commons.

Chris Bryant (Lab) says Johnson’s statement is “baloney”. He says one of the most damning features of the report is the revelation that cleaners and security staff were treated badly when they complained. They knew what the rules said, even if the Downing Street officials did not. He says Johnson was responsible.

Downing Street under him has been a cesspit full of arrogant, entitled narcissists.

Updated

Johnson refuses to deny report that he floated with Sue Gray idea of shelving her investigation

Aaron Bell (Con) says when he previously asked Boris Johnson about Partygate in the Commons, Johnson told him to wait for the Sue Gray report. So he was surprised to read in the papers this week that Johnson suggested to Gray that her report should not be published. Is there any truth in that?

Johnson says that what Gray published was entirely up to her.

He does not deny the report – just as No 10 did not yesterday.

Updated

Joanna Cherry (SNP) asks what the PM can say to assure her that the Met police were not “nobbled”.

Johnson says she should read the report.

John Baron (Con) asks Johnson if he thinks what he said to the house about there being no rule breaking at No 10 passed the test of reasonableness.

Johnson says he believed he was attending work events. With the exception of what happened in the cabinet room, that view has been backed up by the investigation.

Responding to the publication of the Sue Gray report, the leader of the civil servants’ union Prospect, Mike Clancy, said it would be a travesty if junior civil servants suffered consequences while senior leaders are not. He said:

The public will be shocked but not surprised by Sue Gray’s findings, which show what has been clear to all for some time: that there was an unacceptable culture of drinking and rule-breaking in Downing Street, set from the very top.

Gray rightly concludes that senior leadership must bear responsibility for this culture. It would be a travesty if junior civil servants paid the price for this culture when their political bosses get off scot free. The measure of a boss is how they treat their staff, and with relentless attacks on civil servants in the press and threats to their jobs and pay, it’s clear what kind of boss Boris Johnson is.

Updated

Angela Eagle (Lab) asks why Johnson told MPs that there was no party in No 10 on 13 November 2020 when pictures have been published showing him at a leaving do.

Johnson says he believed it was a work event. He says, as he explained in his opening statement, he thought it was his duty to attend these events.

Tobias Ellwood, the Tory chair of the Commons defence committee, says this is a damning report. He asks how long his colleagues are willing to defend Johnson.

This is a damning report about the absence of leadership, focus and discipline in No 10 - the one place where you expect to find those attributes in abundance. I’ve made my point and my position very clear to the prime minister: he does not have my support. But a question I humbly put to my colleagues is ‘are you willing day in and day out to defend this behaviour publicly?’

He asks Johnson is if he can name any other PM who would have tolerated this sort of behaviour.

In his response, Johnson ignores the question.

Updated

Johnson claims alleged party in Downing Street flat has been 'extensively investigated' and refuses to discuss it further

Catherine West (Lab) asks about the party in the Downing Street flat on 13 November 2020. Boris Johnson says he was interviewing Henry Newman for a job. What were the other advisers doing there.

Johnson says that event was extensively investigated. He says he has nothing to add.

This is not correct. As the Gray report reveals, Sue Gray did not investigate this properly. (See 11.44am.) And it has been reported that the police did not even send Johnson a questionnaire to get his account of what happened at this gathering.

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminister, says Boris Johnson should take responsibility for what happened. “The fish rots from the head.”

He refers to this advert, tweeted recently by the Tory MP Steve Baker.

And Blackford urges Tory MPs to remove the PM.

Updated

Johnson rounds on 'sanctimonious' Labour leader, accusing 'Sir Beer Korma' of hypocrisy and saying he should apologise too

Boris Johnson is responding to Keir Starmer.

He says that during Covid Starmer was “sniping from the sidelines and veering from one position to the next”.

In his response today, Starmer failed to show “common sense”, he claims. He says Starmer failed to appreciate the context of what happened. He says the boundaries between work and socialisting became blurred.

He accuses Starmer of being “sanctimonious”, and he descibes him as a “gaseous Zeppelin”, saying his pomposity has been punctured.

He goes on:

Sir Beer Korma is currently failing to hold himself to the same high standards he demanded of me.

Johnson says Starmer said that Johnson should resign when he was being investigated by the police. But Starmer is being investigated by the police, and he has not resigned.

He urges Starmer to apologise

This is from Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief adviser, on Boris Johnson’s opening statement.

Starmer says what Johnson told MPs about the rules being followed at all times has been shown to be wrong.

Johnson seems to be proud of the fact he was only fined once, he says.

And he accuses Tory MPs of setting the hurdle for the PM’s survival at “lower than a snake’s belly”.

Starmer says he believes in leadership. The public need to know that not all politicians are the same, he says.

And he says it it now time for Tory MPs to show leadership too.

This prime minister is steering the country in the wrong direction.

Tory MPs should stop him driving the country “to disaster”.

The values symbolised by the door at No 10 need to be restored.

You cannot be a law maker and a law breaker.

UPDATE: Starmer said:

I have been clear what leadership looks like. I haven’t broken any rules and any attempt to compare a perfectly legal takeaway while working to this catalogue of criminality looks even more ridiculous today.

But if the police decide otherwise, I will do the decent thing and step down. The public need to know that not all politicians are the same. That not all politicians put themselves above their country. That honesty integrity and accountability matter.

Members on the opposite benches now also need to show leadership. This Prime Minister is steering the country in the wrong direction. They can hide in the backseat, eyes covered, praying for a miracle or they can act. Stop this out-of-touch, out-of-control Prime Minister from driving Britain towards disaster.

We waited for the Sue Gray report. The country can’t wait any longer. The value symbolised by the door of Number 10 must be restored. Members opposite must finally do their bit, they must tell the current inhabitant, their leader, that his has gone on too long. The game is up. You cannot be a lawmaker and a law breaker.

Updated

Starmer says Sue Gray report is 'monument to hubris and arrogance' of Johnson's government

Keir Starmer says the door of 10 Downing Street is a national symbol.

The Sue Gray report has revealed what happened, and how staff were treated. He says it is a “monument to the hubris and the arrogance of a government that believed it was one rule for them, and another rule for everyone else”.

Updated

Johnson says there have been changes at No 10. Staff have changed, and there is now a permanent secretary for the PM’s department.

He uses the line about how “we have learnt our lesson” that was briefed earlier. (See 11.24am.)

He pays tribute to the work done by his officials. And he says he thinks it is now time to move one.

His opening statement is over. It did not seem to go down particularly well in the chamber.

UPDATE: Johnson said:

I am confident with the changes and new structures that are now in place, that we are humbled by the experience and we have learned our lesson.

And I want to conclude by saying that I, I am humbled and I have learned a lesson and I want to conclude by saying that whatever the failings - of Number 10 and the Cabinet Office throughout this very difficult period, for which I take full responsibility.

I continue to believe that the civil and advisers in question, hundreds of them, thousands of them, some of whom are the very people who’ve received fines, are good, hard working people, motivated by the highest calling to do the very best for our country and I will always be proud of what they achieved, including procuring essential life saving PPE, creating the biggest testing programme in Europe and helping to enable the development and distribution of the vaccine which got this country through the worst pandemic of a century.

Updated

Johnson defends attending leaving dos, but says he was 'appalled' by what happened at events when he wasn't there

Johnson says this is his first chance to set out the context.

Since these investigations have now come to an end, this is my first opportunity to set out some of the context and to explain both my understanding of what happened and also to explain what I had previously said to this House.

And it’s important to set out that over a period of about 600 days, gatherings on a total of eight dates have been found to be in breach of the regulations in a building that is 5,300 metres square across five floors, excluding the flats.

Hundreds of staff are entitled to work and in the Cabinet Office, which has thousands of officials, and now is the biggest it has been in any point in its 100-year history. That is itself one of the reasons why the Government is now looking for change and reform.

Those staff working in Downing Street were permitted to continue attending their office for the purpose of work and the exemption under the regulations applied to their work because of the nature of their jobs, reporting directly to the prime minister.

It was appropriate to thank people for leaving. He says he thinks this is an important feature of leadership. He was present at some of these; he is trying to explain why he was there.

Some of these gatherings went on late.

He says he had no knowledge of that. He was not there. He was surprised and “appalled” by what he learnt. He is particularly shocked by how security and cleaning staff were treated. (See 11.33am.)

I have been as surprised and disappointed as anyone else in this House as the revelations have unfolded and, frankly, I have been appalled by some of the behaviour, particularly in the treatment of the security and the cleaning staff.

And I’d like to apologise to those members of staff and I expect anyone who behaved in that way to apologise to them as well.

He says his attendance at these events has been found to be acceptable.

But he says that when he said the rules were followed at all time, he was wrong.

He says Sue Gray has said she is pleased that progress has been made in addressing the points she raised her interim report.

UPDATE: Johnson said:

I’m happy to set on the record now that when I came to this house and said, in all sincerity, that the rules and guidance had been followed at all times, it was what I believed to be true.

It was certainly the case that when I was present at gatherings to wish staff a farewell, and the house will note that my attendance at these moments - brief as it was - has not been found to be outside the rules.

But clearly this was not the case for some of those gatherings after I had left and at other gatherings when I was not even in the building.

So I would like to correct the record, to take this opportunity, not in any sense to absolve myself of responsibility - which I take and have always taken - but simply to explain why I spoke as I did in this house.

Updated

Johnson's statement to MPs on Sue Gray report

Boris Johnson starts by thanking Sue Gray for her report and renewing his apology for the short gathering in the cabinet office for which he was fined. He says he takes full responsibility for everything that occurred on his watch.

Updated

This is from Andrew Fisher, Jeremy Corbyn’s policy chief, responding to something Johnson said at PMQs a few minutes ago.

Christian Wakeford, who defected to Labour from the Tories, complains about Johnson drafting “half-arsed apologies”. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Speaker, appeals for moderate language.

Back at PMQs Johnson says Labour has a “lust” to raise taxes.

Back to the Sue Gray report, and this is what it says about a particularly raucous Christmas party on 18 December 2020.

An ‘awards ceremony’ took place, at around 19.45. A No 10 official sent a message to one of the WhatsApp groups at 19.49 stating ‘prize giving now guys, return’. The investigation was informed that this was an extension of the type of awards ceremony which might take place on ‘Wine Time Friday’. Those present gathered together at the meeting table in the small area outside the main Press Office. Awards certificates were handed out to staff by Jack Doyle, a senior special adviser. There were about 30 certificates prepared, although not all those awarded certificates were present. The ceremony lasted between 10-25 minutes and between 15 and 45 people were in the room during that time.

At approximately 19.45 that evening, a panic alarm button was accidentally triggered by a member of staff. The custodians on duty responded, as did one of the police officers on No 10 door duty. They observed a large number of people in the area outside of the main Press Office and one individual giving a speech. Inside the Press Office a further 15-20 people were present.

There was food and alcohol available which had been bought and brought in by staff. Some members of staff drank excessively. The event was crowded and noisy 32 such that some people working elsewhere in the No 10 building that evening heard significant levels of noise coming from what they characterised as a ‘party’ in the Press Office. A cleaner who attended the room the next morning noted that there had been red wine spilled on one wall and on a number of boxes of photocopier paper.

The event lasted for several hours, with varying levels of attendance throughout, including because officials left to attend official meetings. Attendance peaked during the awards ceremony. No 10 exit logs show a number of members of staff remaining in the office until after midnight.

Updated

Andy Mcdonald (Lab) asks how the PM sleeps at night “with so much blood on his filthy, privileged hands”.

Johnson says the government prioritised helping people during the pandemic. And it will continue with a high wage, high skills, high employment economy, he says.

Back at PMQs William Wragg (Con), chair of the public administrative and constitutional affairs commtitee, says Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, was banned from giving evidence to his committee this week. Saying he may be a cynic, he asks what topic was the PM worried about Case being asked about.

Johnson says Wragg is not a cynic but an idealist. He says he will ensure that the officials give evidence.

More pictures from the Sue Gray report have dropped on our picture wires. Here’s a selection:

Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are seen in the cabinet room in 10 Downing Street during Johnson’s birthday.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are seen in the cabinet room in 10 Downing Street during Johnson’s birthday. Photograph: Sue Gray Report/GOV.UK/Reuters
Boris Johnson, right, and Simon Case.
Boris Johnson, right, and Simon Case. Photograph: Sue Gray Report/GOV.UK/Reuters
Boris Johnson seen raising a glass during a Downing Street leaving do with adviser Lee Cain.
Boris Johnson seen raising a glass during a Downing Street leaving do with adviser Lee Cain. Photograph: Sue Gray Report/GOV.UK/Reuters

Here’s our gallery of pictures from the report:

Updated

And here is a summary of the most damning elements in the Sue Gray report from the Times’ Steven Swinford.

Back to the Sue Gray report, and the Observer’s Sonia Sodha says it implies that some Number 10 staff did not initially tell her about some of the events she investigated.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, says replacing the Northern Ireland protocol will take some time. In the meantime, can the PM assure him that any measures to help people will apply in Northern Ireland too?

Johnson says the government has measures that will help people across the UK.

And it would help in Northern Ireland if Stormont were restored, he says.

(It is the DUP that is blocking the reintroducing of power sharing.)

Ian Blackford, the SNP leader at Westminster, says the reports into the PM’s lawbreaking at No 10 have been damning. The PM was at the centre of this, orchestrating it and getting a glass himself to toast partygoers. Now we have all seen the damning photographic evidence. The PM was engaged in “drinking and debauchery”, he says. Will he resign?

Johnson says, much as he appreciates Blackford’s advice, Blackford will have the chance to address this in the statement after PMQs.

Blackford says Johnson has lost the trust of the public. He has apologised, not because he feels geniuinely sorry, but just because he got caught. Those how lost loved ones have had to see pictures of Johnson toasting a colleague during lockdown. Tory MPs must act.

Prime minister, time is up. Resign before this house is forced to remove him.

Johnson says Blackford should read the report.

Graham Stuart (Con) says when the PM gets passionate, things get done. Will he ensure the immunocompromised can get access to the Evusheld drug.

Johnson says it is still be evaluated, but the government is looking at this.

Starmer says Johnson is “just delusional”.

He says he is glad government officials got in touch with the dialysis patient whose case Starmer raised at PMQs last week.

He asks if the PM can reassure the 500,000 waiting for a passport from the Passport Office. Will they be able to go on holiday?

Johnson says the performance of the Passport Office is improving. He claims everyone is getting a passport within four to six weeks.

He got Brexit done, he says. But Starmer voted 48 times to block the will of the people, he says. He says eight Labour frontbenchers voted to get rid of the nuclear deterrent. And Starmer campaigned to put “Vladimir Corbyn” – Johnson corrects himself and says Jeremy Corbyn – in No 10.

Updated

Starmer says Johnson talks about running this country down. But he is running this country down.

Sunak said people should keep more rewards for their efforts. But then he put taxes up. So how will the 15 tax rises since the PM took office help people keep more of their rewards.

Johnson says the government is helping people. He says Starmer will be proved wrong about the UK’s growth performance.

Starmer asks why the UK has the highest inflation and the lowest growth?

Johnson says Starmer loves running this county down. He used to say the UK had the highest Covid death rate. He was wrong. But did he ever apologise? Labour does not care about getting people into jobs.

Starmer says at the time of the budget Rishi Sunak said he was ready to act. Why hasn’t it?

But it has, says Johnson. It put in the living wage, a Conservative instituion, he claims. (Labour introduced the national minimum wage, long opposed by the Tories, but the Tories rebadged it as a national living wage.)

Johnson says the government is acting.

Starmer says Johnson has raised taxes 15 times. Yet he claims to be leading a low tax government.

Referring to the windfall tax, he says “I’m told that hindsight is a wonderful thing.”

That is a reference to Johnson’s “Captain Hindsight” nickname for Starmer.

Even Johnson seems to find this funny.

Starmer asks what attracted the PM to the idea of announcing the windfall tax U-turn in the week of the Sue Gray report.

Johnson says unemployment is at its lowest level since 1974.

Johnson does not deny Starmer's claim government poised to announce U-turn on windfall tax

Keir Starmer says he will discuss the Sue Gray report when he responds to the PM’s statement later. He is going to ask about the cost of living now.

He says hundreds of millions have landed in the bank accounts of energy companies. But it sounds as if the government will peform a U-turn and back a windfall tax. When?

Johnson says the government is helping people now. The government is putting money in people’s pockets already, he says. It can afford that because it has a strong economy because it came out of Covid fast.

He does not deny there will be a U-turn.

Updated

PA Media has some more highlights from the Sue Gray report. Here is one.

Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister Martin Reynolds boasted “we seem to have got away with” the BYOB garden party in a WhatsApp message to a special adviser.

A No 10 special adviser thanked Mr Reynolds for “providing the wine”, saying it was “a very kind thing to do and I know everyone really appreciated it.”

In another WhatsApp on an unknown date to a special adviser, Mr Reynolds wrote: “Best of luck - a complete non story but better than them focusing on our drinks (which we seem to have got away with).”

And here is another.

A No 10 special adviser warned the Prime Minister’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, that it would be “helpful” if people avoided “walking around with bottles of wine” ahead of the Bring Your Own Booze party on May 20 2020 as it was taking place after a press conference, the Sue Gray report has said.

The report states: “[A] No 10 special adviser sent a message to Martin Reynolds by WhatsApp at 14.08 stating ‘Drinks this eve is a lovely idea so I’ve shared with the E & V team who are in the office. Just to flag that the press conference will probably be finishing around that time, so helpful if people can be mindful of that as speakers and cameras are leaving, not walking around waving bottles of wine etc.’

“Martin Reynolds replied: ‘Will do my best!”’

Updated

PMQs

Boris Johnson starts by saying our thoughts are with those affected by the shootings at a primary school in Texas.

Updated

This is from Labour’s Chris Bryant on the news that Boris Johnson is going to tell MP that he has been “humbled” by the Partygate report.

PMQs is starting shortly. And after that Boris Johnson will make his statement on the Sue Gray report.

This, from the Observer’s Michael Savage, probably sums up the initial media reaction to the Sue Gray report. It does not seem as fatal to Johnson as some people were expecting, and certainly not fatal.

And this is what the report says about a leaving do on 18 June 2020 for Hannah Young, a No 10 official.

The link door log shows that a number of officials from the No 10 Private Office went through the link door between 19.51 and 20.16 including Martin Reynolds and Stuart Glassborow. They joined the other members of the Private Office, including No 10 official (1), already in the waiting room. Some brought pizza and prosecco and they were followed by others, over the next couple of hours. Helen MacNamara, Deputy Cabinet Secretary, attended for part of the evening and provided a karaoke machine which was set up in an adjoining office to the waiting room.

The Cabinet Secretary, Sir Mark Sedwill, returned from a meeting and noted that there were individuals in his waiting room. He stayed for a short time and before leaving for another meeting he gave permission for the use of his office for a short time.

The event lasted for a number of hours. There was excessive alcohol consumption by some individuals. One individual was sick. There was a minor altercation between two other individuals.

The event broke up in stages with a few members of staff leaving from around 21.00 and the last member of staff, who stayed to tidy up, leaving at 03.13.

Here is an extract from what the report says about the concerns raised ahead of the drinks party in the No 10 garden on 20 May 2020. This is the one where Boris Johnson subsequently told MPs he “believed implicitly that this was a work event”. Dominic Cummings, his chief adviser at the time, has claimed he raised concerns about the decision to hold the drinks party, but Sue Gray says she can find no documentary evidence of this. She says:

A No 10 Director declined the invitation and told the investigation that they had raised with either Martin Reynolds [the PM’s principal private secretary] or his office that it was not a good idea.

Lee Cain, the then No 10 Director of Communications (a special adviser), also received the invitation. In response, he emailed Martin Reynolds, No 10 official (1), and Dominic Cummings at 14.35 on 20 May 2020 stating: ‘I’m sure it will be fine - and I applaud the gesture - but a 200 odd person invitation for drinks in the garden of no 10 is somewhat of a comms risk in the current environment.’ Lee Cain says he subsequently spoke to Martin Reynolds and advised him that the event should be cancelled. Martin Reynolds does not recall any such conversation. In addition, Dominic Cummings has also said that he too raised concerns, in writing. We have not found any documentary evidence of this.

Updated

Sue Gray never fully investigated alleged party in Downing Street flat, report reveals

On 13 November 2020, the day Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain quit No 10, it was claimed Carrie Johnson, the PM’s wife, hosted a party for her special adviser friends in the Downing Street flat. Carrie Johnson was very pleased to see Cummings and Cain go, and there were reports that Abba music was playing so loudly it could be heard some distance away. Boris Johnson attended at some point and there was surprise that neither he, nor his wife, were fined by the police over the event.

According to the Sunday Times, Carrie Johnson claimed that she and her advisers were holding a “strategy meeting”. The PM reportedly said he was interviewing an adviser about a possible job.

The report reveals that Sue Gray never properly investigated this. It says:

Following the announcement of the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, a meeting was held in the No 10 flat from some time after 18.00 to discuss the handling of their departure. Five special advisers attended. The prime minister joined them at about 20.00. Food and alcohol were available. The discussion carried on later into the evening with attendees leaving at various points.

The information collected on this gathering is limited as the process of obtaining evidence had only just been commenced when the Metropolitan police announced their own investigations, which included events on the 13 November 2020. At this point I stopped my investigation, given the need to avoid any prejudice to the police investigation. Following the Metropolitan Police announcement on 19 May 2022 I considered whether or not to conduct any further investigation into this event but concluded it was not appropriate or proportionate to do so.

Updated

Here is a picture from the report of the cabinet room on the occasion of the surprise birthday party for Boris Johnson. That is the only occasion for which he was fined.

Boris Johnson and Simon Case in cabinet room on PM’s birthday
Boris Johnson and Simon Case in cabinet room on PM’s birthday. Photograph: Sue Gray report

Updated

Report found 'multiple examples of lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff'

Here are Sue Gray’s conclusions. They are similar in tone to the conclusions of her interim “update” published in January but there is new detail about how security and cleaning staff were treated by officials in No 10. “I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff,” Gray says.

The general findings set out in my update of 31st January 2022 still stand.

Whatever the initial intent, what took place at many of these gatherings and the way in which they developed was not in line with Covid guidance at the time. Even allowing for the extraordinary pressures officials and advisers were under, the factual findings of this report illustrate some attitudes and behaviours inconsistent with that guidance. It is also clear, from the outcome of the police investigation, that a large number of individuals (83) who attended these events breached Covid regulations and therefore Covid guidance.

I have already commented in my update on what I found to be failures of leadership and judgment in No 10 and the Cabinet Office. The events that I investigated were attended by leaders in government. Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen. It is also the case that some of the more junior civil servants believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders. The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture.

In my update I made a number of general limited findings, I am pleased progress is being made in addressing the issues I raised. I commented on the fragmentary and complicated leadership structures in No 10. Since my update there have been changes to the organisation and management of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office with the aim of creating clearer lines of leadership and accountability and now these need the chance and time to bed in.

I found that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly. I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable. I am reassured to see that steps have since been taken to introduce more easily accessible means by which to raise concerns electronically, in person or online, including directly with the Permanent Secretary in No 10. I hope that this will truly embed a culture that welcomes and creates opportunities for challenge and speaking up at all levels.

I also made a recommendation that steps should be taken to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace. Since then guidance has been issued to all Government Departments.

The matter of what disciplinary action should now take place is outside of the scope of this report and is for others to consider. Nothing set out in this report can be taken as constituting a disciplinary investigation or findings of fact appropriate for such a purpose. However, I do offer a reflection: while there is no excuse for some of the behaviour set out here it is important to acknowledge that those in the most junior positions attended gatherings at which their seniors were present, or indeed organised. I have no doubt that they will have taken the learning from this experience and, while this is not a matter for me, I hope this will be taken into account in considering any disciplinary action.

Many will be dismayed that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of Government. The public have a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour in such places and clearly what happened fell well short of this. It is my firm belief, however, that these events did not reflect the prevailing culture in Government and the Civil Service at the time. Many thousands of people up and down the country worked tirelessly to deliver in unprecedented times. I remain immensely proud to be a civil servant and of the work of the service and the wider public sector during the pandemic.

Updated

Sue Gray report published

The Sue Gray report has been published. It’s here.

Updated

Johnson to tell MPs he has been 'humbled' by Partygate findings and 'we have learned lesson'

Boris Johnson will tell MPs that he has been “humbled” by the findings of the Partygate inquiry and that “we have learned our lesson”, the BBC’s Chris Mason reports.

The obvious test for Johnson will be whether MPs, and the public, believe that the apology he issues today is sincere. In the past he has failed to convince people on this point.

The quote released to Mason provides a hint that he may have the same problem again. Johnson has been accused of failing to take responsibility for what happened, and “we have learned our lesson” is not the same as “I have learned my lesson”.

This is from Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former chief adviser, on the suggestion that Johnson will strengthen the role of Lord Geidt as a response to Partygate. (See 11.11am.)

Cummings explained why he had so little faith in Geidt in a post on his Substack account on Monday. He wrote:

This is the same principle as shown in the Geidt inquiry into the PM’s illegal donations. Geidt simply did not speak to the key people involved or ask them for any evidence they had. E.g He knows, as does everyone in No 10, there are WhatsApp groups that provide evidence of the PM seeking illegal donations and seeking to hide his actions and then the coverup. But if the inquiry never looks for the evidence… Simple! PM cleared!

Boris Johnson will hold a press conference this afternoon at 3.30pm, Politics Home reports.

Boris Johnson may anounce he is beefing up the powers of Lord Geidt, the independent adviser on ministerial standards, the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar suggests.

If so, this will come two months late. In December, after Geidt published the findings of his second investigation into the funding of the Downing Street flat refurbishment, Johnson promised Geidt that he would beef up his powers. The new system should be in place “by the end of March at the latest”, Johnson said.

Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, is pictured in at least one of the photographs in the Sue Gray report showing the surprise birthday event for Boris Johnson in the cabinet room, the Sun’s Harry Cole says.

The publication of the Sue Gray report will revive claims that Boris Johnson lied to MPs when he told them that the Covid rules were followed at all times in Downing Street, and that parties did not take place. Last night on Newsnight Lewis Goodall looked back on what he actually said and considers what evidence might show that he did lie.

From ITV’s Anushka Asthana

Nine photographs are being published in or alongside the Sue Gray report, according to Tom Harwood from GB News.

Boris Johnson receives Sue Gray's report into Partygate

The Cabinet Office has confirmed that Boris Johnson has got the Sue Gray report. A spokesperson said:

We can confirm that Sue Gray has provided her final report to the prime minister.

No 10 is expected to say when the report will be published.

Updated

Mark Spencer, the leader of the Commons, has confirmed that Boris Johnson will make a statement to MPs about the Sue Gray report. This should be at 12.30pm, straight after PMQs.

This is from Nikki da Costa, a former director of legislative affairs at No 10, speaking up on civil servants whose reputations, she fears, will be tainted by the Sue Gray report.

Tom Harwood from GB News is now also saying the report has arrived in Downing Street. It is 37 pages long, he says.

There have been conflicting reports as to whether the Sue Gray report has (see 9.16am) or has not arrived at No 10. It is possible that this could be because of the difference between copies arriving in the building, and staff being allowed to read them.

Boris Johnson spoke to Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, this morning and has confirmed that Case will not be sacked, the BBC’s Chris Mason reports.

Junior officials at No 10 feel as if they have been “hung out to dry” over Partygate, Lord Kerslake, a former head of the civil service, said this morning. Kerslake, who has also advised the Labour party, told Times Radio:

There is no doubt that senior civil servants, if they are aware of these parties and allowed them to happen, or even participated in them, are responsible and should be held to account.

The clear and most significant responsibility lies with the prime minister. It is his house, it’s his office.

What I pick up is a huge amount of anger amongst the junior staff, who feel they are being hung out to dry.

They co-operated with the Sue Gray inquiry; that evidence then went to the police. They have been given fines and they do not feel like they are being properly supported.

From the Mirror’s Pippa Crerar

George Eustice, the environment secretary, was giving interviews on behalf of the government this morning, and he told Times Radio that the dividing line between work and social activity in Downing Street during the pandemic clearly became blurred. He said:

Clearly what happened in No 10 is a culture developed where they were working there, it was their place of work, and there were times when they would have a drink at the end of the day.

That boundary between what was acceptable and what wasn’t got blurred and that was a mistake and Sue Gray highlighted that in her first interim report and I think she is almost certainly going to say more about that when her final report comes out.

Eustice also hinted that the cost of living rescue package may be announced tomorrow, saying: “My understanding is that [Rishi Sunak, the chancellor] is looking at things and we may hear more this week.”

According to a report by Anna Isaac for the Independent, Downing Street has been make contingency plans for the possible resignation of Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, following the publication of the Sue Gray report. Isaac says:

The drafted letter notes Mr Case’s contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. It also notes he took on the role from Sir Mark Sedwill in September 2020, when the country was in the midst of facing Covid, its greatest challenge since World War Two.

But Robert Peston, ITV’s political editor, says Case will not be resigning.

No 10 receives copies of Sue Gray's report into Partygate

Copies of the Sue Gray report have now arrived at No 10, the Mirror’s Pippa Crear reports.

Updated

Sue Gray report expected to be published within hours amid fresh details of No 10 drinking culture

Good morning. 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 announced a multi-billion 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 Crerar says:

Downing Street is facing yet more questions over 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 laiden with drinks for the event, on its front page.

Within the last hour Chris Mason, the BBC’s political editor, said Gray has still not submitted her report to Downing Street.

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.

5pm: Johnson is scheduled to address Conservative MPs at a private meeting.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter. I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

Alternatively, you can email me at andrew.sparrow@theguardian.com.

Updated

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