Boris Johnson isn't out of the woods yet as he faces the fallout from Sue Gray's eagerly anticipated Partygate report.
The Prime Minister is under huge pressure to vacate his current post after controversy over parties that occurred at No 10 Downing Street during the height of lockdown.
Before Sue Gray's findings were released on Monday January 31, he had already admitted attending one party after previously assuring the House of Commons that he was furious at such behaviour.
Prior to the report's publication, several Tory MPs had called for the PM to resign, including former Brexit minister David Davis.
The report by Sue Gray into several alleged parties at No 10 during the coronavirus lockdown - which saw people locked away in their homes and unable to visit loved ones as they died in hospital - was finally published today.
So what will this mean for the PM?
1922 Committee
If 15% of Tory MPs submit a letter of no-confidence in the Prime Minister, this will trigger a vote on his future. By the current number of Tory MPs that means 54 letters must be sent in.
A majority of Tory MPs then have to vote on if they want him to stay on in the UK's highest office. If he wins that vote, he cannot be challenged for another year but will be removed as leader of the Conservatives if he loses.
It's yet to be seen whether the Sue Gray report will result in a flurry of letters sent to committee chairman Sir Graham Brady this week, which could trigger the vote.
The police and possible resignation
It is entirely possible that, should the findings of the report cause enough uproar, Boris Johnson will be forced to resign.
This would most likely occur if Tory MPs deem there to be no other option other than to try and remove the former London mayor from office.
Meanwhile, Paymaster General Michael Ellis previously said: "If evidence emerges of what was potentially a criminal offence, the matter would be referred to the Metropolitan Police."
Several members of the general public were fined for breaking lockdown rules during the height of the pandemic.
"Wait until the findings of the Sue Gray report"
When allegations swirled of his attendance at multiple Downing Street parties, the PM's defence against any potential wrongdoing was to urge the public and angry MPs to wait until the findings of the Sue Gray report were published.
Some were unsure if this was a plot to buy himself more time in the role, or if the PM was confident that the report would vindicate him.
It may be one reason that, as the Conservatives face a huge slump in the polls, Tory MPs had decided not to get rid of Johnson just yet.
However, if the report's findings are indeed damning for the PM, it is unlikely MPs will continue to back him.
But as the nine-page report doesn't go into detail about the parties the Met Police are looking into, Johnson may hang on in there for a few more months.
The PM was a key factor behind the large majority won in the 2019 general election, in which the Tories took a host of traditional 'red wall' seats away from the Labour Party.
MPs in those seats may not be keen to see the PM resign, as it is possible they see Johnson as important to their chances of re-election.
If the findings do not implicate the PM, it could regain him the support of MPs teetering on the edge of writing a letter of no-confidence.
One red wall MP, Christian Wakeford of Bury South, already defected to Labour this month. He has alleged that he was threatened with having funding for a new school in his constituency pulled if he didn't toe the line on a government vote.
What does Sue Gray's report say?
Her "update" said "at least some" of the gatherings were "a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government, but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time."
It also revealed Scotland Yard are probing 12 out of the 16 parties she investigated - including Boris Johnson's birthday party.
But the report was stripped of key details after the Met Police asked Ms Gray to make only "minimal reference" to 12 of the gatherings in her report.
Ms Gray conceded: "I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events. It is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather."
Downing Street police officers have been quizzed about the partygate allegations. According to previous reports, their statements have been described as 'extremely damning'.
One source said: "Met officers have spoken to Sue Gray now, as you would expect, and have been able to provide a lot of information."
Some MPs have criticised that the report is being conducted by Gray, supposedly known for her hard-line stance on ethics in the government.
However, Gray is essentially in the position where she is reporting on her own bosses. She also has no power to recommend any punishment by way of resignations.
MP Chris Bryant said on Twitter: "To be clear, Sue Gray is not 'independent'. She may be independently minded. But she’s a civil servant reporting on her boss(es)."
