Inside Politics: Met called in to probe partygate as Gray report ‘published today’

Scotland Yard is passed information from Cabinet Office probe, which reports say has been completed but not yet handed to PM, writes Matt Mathers

(PA)

First it wouldn’t be published on Wednesday. Then it would…until it might not be, but then it definitely would be…Now we’re not sure again. Following the Met Police announcement that it is to launch a criminal investigation into Downing Street and Whitehall drinks gatherings during lockdown, Westminster was sent into convulsions about when the delayed and hotly anticipated Sue Gray report might finally see the light of day. According to reports this morning, it has been completed but not yet handed over to Boris Johnson and his No 10 aides, although it may be published this afternoon. The prime minister will surely be absolutely furious if he hasn’t received it in time for PMQs, where he is likely to face another partygate grilling by Keir Starmer. The problem for No 10 is that there will be another PMQs next week — not to mention any urgent questions on the matter — and Johnson finds himself in between a rock and a hard place about whether or not to publish the report in its entirety, along with all the accompanying evidence. Doing so could be extremely damaging for Johnson personally and further imperil his faltering premiership. Not doing so is likely to result in inevitable accusations of a cover up. Michael Ellis, the paymaster general and minister for UQs on partygate, chose not to answer a series of laser-focused questions on such details from Angela Rayner in the Commons yesterday. Away from partygate, the drumbeat of war grows ever louder on the Russia-Ukraine border and the government is under increasing pressure to scrap the planned tax hike.

Inside the bubble

Today is all about PMQs and the potential release of Gray’s report. But there is other business taking place in parliament. Commons proceedings get underway with Northern Ireland questions at 11.30am, followed by PMQs. After that are any UQs or statements. The main business will be the second reading of the Product Security and Telecommunications Infrastructure Bill.

Coming up:

– Foreign secretary Liz Truss on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

–Former foreign secretary Jack Straw on Sky News Breakfast at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

D-DAY: Tuesday contained more twists and turns than Alton Towers’s Oblivion rollercoaster, but it does look increasingly likely that Gray’s report will be out at some point later today. So get the popcorn in, cancel your afternoon plans and follow our liveblog, where we’ll bring you all the action and reaction if it does indeed drop. Before all that though, there is a not to be missed PMQs, where Johnson is likely to use the Met investigation (more on that below) as a shield to stonewall Starmer’s questions on the scandal.

LEADERSHIP CONTEST?: The arrival of Gray’s report, and its contents, is likely to trigger fresh speculation about Johnson’s future, with many Tory MPs having previously said they would reserve judgement on the partygate scandal until the Cabinet Office inquiry has concluded. Once it is out, wavering MPs and Johnson critics may well decide that enough is enough and add to the letters of no confidence already sent into the 1922 Committee, potentially triggering a leadership contest, although it is likely to take a few days for this to be organised. The next 48 hours are extremely high stakes for the PM and his administration.

YARD CALLED IN: Interest in partygate was sent into overdrive after the Met Police’s bombshell announcement that it is launching a criminal investigation into alleged Covid law breaking in Downing Street and Whitehall. Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told the London assembly that the decision was founded on the belief that those involved “knew, or ought to have known” that what they were doing was an offence and that there was “little ambiguity around the absence of any reasonable defence”. She said the investigation was launched after the Cabinet Office inquiry team, led by Gray, passed information to the force. Retrospective investigations of lockdown infringements were conducted only for “the most serious and flagrant type of breach”, she said. Downing Street said the PM and No 10 officials will “fully cooperate” with the police inquiry, making themselves available for interview and handing over any documents, diaries or phones that are requested. A spokesperson said Johnson does not believe he broke the law. He risks a fine and becoming the first serving PM to be interviewed as a suspect by officers. It is understood that Gray is in possession of photographic and Whatsapp message evidence.

RUSSIA-UKRAINE LATEST: As Moscow continues to ramp up its military presence on the border with Ukraine, the PM has vowed to protest the UK’s allies in eastern Europe should Putin launch an invasion. Reports yesterday said that Russia already has spies and elite forces inside the country readying for war. In a statement to MPs in the Commons, Johnson attacked the Kremlin for threatening the use of “brute force to terrify reasonable people into giving way to completely unacceptable demands”. “If Russia invades Ukraine, we would look to contribute to any new Nato deployments to protect our allies in Europe,” he said.“There is nothing new about large and powerful nations using the threat of brute force to terrify reasonable people into giving way to completely unacceptable demands.”

TAX HIKE CABINET SPLIT: Partygate has been grabbing all the attention and headlines lately, but the UK’s cost of living crisis is still very much a live issue and the government is coming under increasing pressure to scrap a planned increase to national insurance contributions to help families struggling with their energy bills, as temperatures hover around 0 degrees in vast swathes of the country. Reports say that there is a fresh cabinet split over the tax hike, which the Treasury expects will bring in £12bn a year to fund health and social care. Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, is reportedly the latest of chancellor Rishi Sunak’s cabinet colleagues to oppose the increase. The Telegraph cites allies of the business secretary as saying that he privately voiced concerns with Sunak over the move. Kwarteng was said to be concerned that it would hit living standards by squeezing incomes. He also thinks it would deter employers from hiring as the cost of each staff member would be higher. Labour is renewing its call on the government to cut VAT on energy bills as an analysis by the party claims disabled people “trapped in hardship” and poverty has increased by over a million in the last decade.

On the record

“So I ask the Paymaster General these questions. Given this morning’s announcement, when will the Sue Gray report finally be published? Can the Paymaster General assure the House that the Sue Gray report will be published in full, not just as a summary, and will the accompanying evidence be provided? Can he clarify for the House what Sue Gray and her team will be doing while the police conduct their investigation? Can he tell the House whether the decision to delay the publication of the Sue Gray report was made by the Metropolitan police or the Government?”

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner asks the paymaster general a series of searching questions about the partygate investigation.

From the Twitterati

“Some Tories are now asking: Could Rishi and Liz do a deal to save the Tory party?”

Sky news deputy politics editor Sam Coates looks ahead to a potential leadership contest.

Essential reading

• Marie Le Conte, The Independent: MPs don’t seem to know how to talk to journalists anymore
• Vince Cable, The Independent: The future of the government hinges on one thing – and it isn’t Partygate
• Harry Lambert, The New Statesman: Johnson is entering his moment of greatest peril
• Tom Nichols, The Independent: Only Putin knows what happens next

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