Boris Johnson has insisted he will not seek to block names appearing in the Sue Gray inquiry report into partygate and said he is “looking forward” to seeing its contents “pretty soon”. The Prime Minister said he was “very grateful” for the Metropolitan Police’s investigation, which concluded with 126 fines for lockdown breaches in Downing Street and Whitehall.
There were demands for answers over how Mr Johnson escaped with just one fixed penalty notice (FPN) despite being believed to have been present at multiple rule-breaking events. Potentially damaging further details, including the names of some of those who attended gatherings, will be published in the report from senior civil servant Ms Gray.
Sources close to the investigation expect it will be published early next week, with individuals whose involvement will be mentioned to be contacted over the weekend. Mr Johnson declined to apologise again for the rule-breaking in No 10 during a visit to Hilltop Honey’s factory in Newtown in Powys, Wales, on Friday.
Instead, he said: “I’m very grateful to the Met for their work, I’m thankful for everything they’ve done. We just need to wait for Sue Gray to report, fingers’ crossed that will be very soon, and I’ll be saying some more next week.”
Asked if No 10 would be blocking any names from appearing, he said: “That will be entirely up to Sue Gray and I’ll be looking forward very much to seeing what she has to say, and fingers crossed that will be pretty soon next week.”
