Confusion over Gray partygate report after police statement

PM Boris Johnson walking past No. 10 Downing Street. Reuters via BBC News

There is confusion over when Sue Gray's report into No 10 lockdown parties will be published after a statement from the police on their investigation.

The Met said on Friday it had asked for "minimal reference" in the report to events they are investigating to avoid prejudicing its inquiries.

Many in the Cabinet Office, where Ms Gray is based, were taken by surprise by the Met's statement, sources say.

The report was due to be sent to Downing Street this week.

Boris Johnson's premiership is potentially at stake, as Conservative MPs wait to see the outcome of Ms Gray's inquiry before deciding to call for a vote of no confidence in him.

In a statement on Friday morning, the Met 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."

It is unclear what the police investigation means for the timing of the report, how much detail will be included or whether it will now be published at all.

The BBC's Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg said the situation with the Met was "extremely messy", but, she added: "I'm told by several sources it's not the only factor holding all of this up, there is a lot of wrangling inside government and Cabinet Office over how and what is published".

Met Commissioner Cressida Dick announced on Tuesday the force had launched its own inquiry, after being handed information by Ms Gray.

It has not specified how many of the gatherings covered in Ms Gray's inquiry it has decided to investigate.

There have been media reports of 17 gatherings in government buildings while Covid restrictions were in place.

It has been confirmed that the events she is looking into include a "bring your own booze" drinks event in the No 10 garden in May 2020 attended by Boris Johnson, and a staff gathering to celebrate the PM's birthday in June 2020.

Mr Johnson's spokesman has said the PM did not believe he had broken Covid laws.

Mr Johnson has insisted Ms Gray's report would be published "in full" - although he did not say when it was expected to be published.

On Friday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that "any issues of prejudice have got to be worked through".

But, speaking to broadcasters, he added: "What I want to see is Sue Gray's report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible".

He said the "whole of government" had become "paralysed because the police are looking at what the prime minister was getting up to in Downing Street".

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the situation was getting "murkier by the minute", and the rapid conclusion and full publication of inquiries was "now essential for public trust".

"Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions, but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion - however unfairly - that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability," she added.

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, a campaign group, said that Ms Gray's inquiry "has turned into a circus".

Fran Hall, a spokesperson for the group, added that the Met's initial decision not to investigate, followed by its latest statement, had "broken the trust of the public". – BBC News