Politics LIVE: Sue Gray report to be stripped of details of Downing Street parties
Boris Johnson faced Sir Keir Starmer and other members of the Opposition in PMQs while the Gray inquiry nears.
Scotland Yard has confirmed it asked “for minimal reference” to be made in the Sue Gray report to alleged incidents on Downing Street the force is currently investigating.
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Hide AdIn a statement, it said: “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.
“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.”
Police launched their own probe into multiple events in No 10 after being passed information from the Gray inquiry.
We’ll have live updates in our blog.
Politics LIVE: Downing Street braced for Sue Gray report as Boris Johnson faces further questions
Douglas Ross asks “What does the First Minister say to mums to be and families in fear about how far away help and support will be?”
Nicola Sturgeon says that the the safety of pregnant women, mothers and babies is the absolute paramount imperative of the Government.
Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries became the second Cabinet minister to warn that ousting the Prime Minister could trigger a general election.
This could leave many Tory MPs, particularly those in the Red Wall of former Labour heartlands won in Mr Johnson’s 2019 landslide, nervous about keeping their seats.
There is no requirement for a new leader to hold a general election, but Ms Dorries said previous handovers, such as Tony Blair to Gordon Brown, had taken place in “different times”.
Writing on Twitter she said: “Blair as example of why we won’t need GE is wrong.
“It was yonks ago Blair to Brown smooth pre announced handover, no leadership election.
“Brown was still pressured to go, bottled it and then lost. V different times pre rolling 24hr news / social media.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tweeted: “The success of our booster rollout, the tireless work of the NHS and the amazing public response means Plan B measures have ended in England today.
“The pandemic is not over – everyone should remain cautious, and I urge anyone who hasn’t yet got their vaccine to come forward.”
It is not clear what the report has discovered but an indication of how damaging it could be for the Government came when Scotland Yard chief Dame Cressida Dick announced a police inquiry was being carried out, based in part on evidence obtained by the Gray investigation.
There was speculation that after the report was not delivered on Wednesday, MPs and the public may have to wait until after the weekend for its publication, as Mr Johnson had promised to address the Commons shortly after it was released.
There were suggestions that due to Thursday being Holocaust Memorial Day and many MPs being back in their constituencies from Thursday afternoon, No 10 may hold off on publishing the report once it was received.
A report by senior official Sue Gray was expected to be handed to Downing Street on Wednesday but reports suggested the final document was still being pored over overnight.
Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said Boris Johnson would not need to resign if he was interviewed by the police as people are innocent until proven guilty.
Speaking on Channel 4 News, Mr Rees-Mogg said in his experience, “very few people do lie in public life” and he added that “lying in public life is not a sensible thing to do, because it gets found out”.
Asked if Mr Johnson would need to resign if he was interviewed under caution by police, he said: “No, of course that wouldn’t be a resigning matter, because people are innocent in this country until proved guilty.
“And it is worth bearing in mind that the police themselves have said that the fact that they are investigating something doesn’t mean that any crime has necessarily been committed, that they are investigating because that is what the police do.”