Inside Politics: Johnson survives Gray partygate update

PM appears to have won backing of most Tory MPs as senior civil servant slams ‘failure of leadership’ in damning assessment, writes Matt Mathers

Tuesday 01 February 2022 09:14 GMT

(PA)

Sue Gray’s “update” into Downing Street and Whitehall drinks gatherings may have been heavily censored due to the intervention of the Met Police, but it was damning nonetheless: “There were failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” it said. “Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place.” Not only did the senior civil servant offer this scathing assessment of the culture within Downing Street, but she also confirmed Scotland Yard detectives are investigating no fewer than 12 separate events, one of which is alleged to have taken place in the flat Boris and Carrie Johnson share with their children in Downing Street – one that No 10 has denied ever happened. Following what reports say was a relatively successful appearance at a meeting of Conservative MPs after his statement to the Commons, it appears that the prime minister, once branded a “greased piglet” by David Cameron, is safe from an immediate trip to the abattoir. But with No 10 last night committing to releasing Gray’s findings in full following pressure from MPs – and the Met’s bombshell announcement that it is in possession of 500 pages of evidence and 300 photographs – the backbench butchers may be of the view that this little piggy is still a long way from home.

Inside the bubble

Our chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for:

Boris Johnson is off to Ukraine to stand up to Vladimir and show himself on the world stage. In the Commons it is Treasury questions at 11.30 if Rishi Sunak wants to say anything, followed by a debate on a subject chosen by Labour.

Coming up:

– Labour leader Keir Starmer on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

– Deputy PM Dominic Raab on ITV GMB at 8.25am

Daily Briefing

GRAY’S UPDATE: Monday was another day of explosive action in the Commons as Johnson made a statement to the Commons on partygate. But before all that came Gray’s report itself, which took nearly two months to arrive after the PM first instructed her to investigate alleged Covid rule breaking on 8 December last year. So for those of you who missed the news yesterday, or have been living under a rock for the past 24 hours, here is a breakdown of the key points within the document, which the Cabinet Office has marked as an “update”.

‘SORRY’: Addressing MPs, Johnson said sorry “for the things we simply did not get right and sorry for the way this matter has been handled” as he apologised for his handling of the partygate affair. Seemingly rattled by Keir Stamer’s response to the statement, in which he questioned the PM’s patriotism and made a direct plea to frontbenchers to remove him from office, Johnson falsely accused the Labour leader of being behind a failure to prosecute Jimmy Saville, marking the start of a raucous and at time bad-tempered debate, which saw the SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford ejected for refusing to withdraw a remark in which he accused the PM of misleading the Commons.

BACKBENCH GRENADES: While Blackford undoubtedly gave the most theatrical performance during proceedings it was – as is often the case in the Commons – the measured and simple attacks that caused the most damage. Ex-PM Theresa May said Gray’s report showed No 10 “was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public”. She added: “so either my right honourable friend had not read the rules or didn’t understand what they meant and others around him, or they didn’t think the rules applied to Number 10. Which was it?” Johnson replied: “With the greatest respect to my right honourable friend, no, that is not what the Gray report says. But I suggest that she waits to see the conclusion of the inquiry.”

CALL THE COPS: Police investigating Downing Street parties have been given more than 300 photos and 500 pages of information, Scotland Yard has said. Commander Catherine Roper gave an update on the investigation after Gray’s report revealed that police are probing 12 events, including a birthday celebration for the prime minister and alleged party inside his private flat. She said police were reviewing a huge amount of written evidence in order to confirm which politicians and civil servants will need to be contacted. A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said it would be “necessary for us to contact those who attended these events to get their account”. Following an intervention by former chief whip Mark Harper, No 10 appeared to confirm that it will publish a full version of Gray’s report once the Met probe has concluded.

NOT OUT: Despite a bruising session in the Commons in which Andrew Mitchell, a former Johnson loyalist renounced his support for the Big Dog, another MP asking him if he “thinks I’m a fool” and the resignation of a junior member of government, the PM resisted calls for him to go and this morning appears to have won the backing of most of his party. There was no immediate sign of the flood of confidence letters to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee, which would trigger a vote on Johnson’s future as Tory leader if they pass the threshold of 54, although the mood among officials at the Cabinet Office and No 10 was grim, with one saying they were preparing for a week of “shuffle and slaughter”. Three sources told The Independent that the report’s trimmed state had made it easier for the prime minister to blame staff and officials.

OFF TO UKRAINE: The PM is to hold discussions with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a visit to the country on Tuesday. The prime minister was due to be accompanied by foreign secretary Liz Truss but she has tested positive for Covid. Johnson will promise to “uphold Ukraine’s sovereignty” amid mounting tensions with Russia. But he may turn up without having spoken to Vladimir Putin after the domestic scandal over illegal parties forced him to reschedule a planned phone call with the Russian leader.

On the record

“Given the police have said they are investigating a number of events, it would not be appropriate to comment further while the Met’s investigation is ongoing. But, at the end of the process, the Prime Minister will ask Sue Gray to update her work in light of what is found. He will publish that update. However the Prime Minister is clear we must not judge an ongoing investigation and his focus now is on addressing the general findings.”

No 10 says it will publish an updated and full report following pressure from MPs.

From the Twitterati

“Many Tory MPs seem satisfied with PM’s apology & plans for changes in No 10 for now. Key moments ahead are Met Police’s investigation and whether PM himself broke the law. Then May elections, where their election winner will be in peril if he becomes an election loser.”