Partygate: Timing of publication of Sue Gray report in doubt after Metropolitan Police asks for ‘minimal reference’ to events they are investigating | UK News
The Cabinet Office is considering when to publish its report on the party following the Metropolitan Police’s request to make ‘minimal reference’ to the events they are investigating, according to Sky News.
Sources have confirmed that Sue Graythe senior official leading the investigation into a series of events in Downing Street and through Whitehall that would have broken COVID-19[female[feminine containment rules, will comply with the request of the Met.
She is now assessing whether she is able to complete the process or if there will now be a delay.
Reaction as police statement raises new questions about party report – Politics Live
It is understood that Ms Gray’s team have not ruled out finalizing a version that suits the Met. Anything released will reflect the latest statement from the force.
Sky’s political editor Beth Rigby notes that this amounts to an odious position for Ms Gray, who must decide whether to publish a partial version of her report now or wait until the police investigation is complete.
His report, which is likely to have a significant impact on Boris Johnsonthe future of Prime Minister, has not yet been delivered to number 10.
The Met announced earlier this week that it was investigating a “number of” gatherings in 2020 and 2021 for potential breaches of COVID regulations.
Police say they did not ask for the report to be delayed
In its latest statement released on Friday, the force said: “For the events which the Met are investigating, we have requested that a minimum reference be made in the Cabinet Office report.
“The Met has not asked 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.
Westminster braced for the publication of the Gray report this week, but this latest police statement calls the timing into question.
The Met’s latest statement is significant – but it’s unclear whether it’s good or bad news for the Prime Minister
This statement from the Met partly explains why the Gray report was delayed.
But it also calls into question the publication of this crucial survey.
The fact that officers have asked for ‘minimal reference’ to be made to the events they are investigating raises the possibility that the details of the most serious allegations will be reduced, if the report is to be released before the police investigation is complete. .
Labor has previously warned that the Gray report could be watered down if details about certain events are suppressed.
Then there’s the question of what Sue Gray will do next.
Faced with accusations of publishing an incomplete report, the famously thorough official may decide that it is in fact best to suspend publication until the Met has completed its investigations.
It could, however, mean weeks of waiting.
All of this, at its core, is good for Boris Johnson.
But it also muddies the political calculations of those trying to impeach him.
Are they now waiting for the publication of the full Gray report? At this point, the political dynamic may have changed, especially if the Prime Minister is exonerated by the Met. Or are they acting now?
There are also legal questions over exactly why the Met believes the Cabinet Office report poses a risk of harm, given that there is no apparent prospect of a jury trial arising from the investigation.
Today’s intervention from the Met confirms what we all believed: that the decision to open a criminal investigation has thrown a major brake on the Cabinet Office investigation.
But it also dramatically changes the prime minister’s political outlook.
Whether this is for better or for worse is still unclear.
Some legal figures have questioned the justification for the Met’s request.
Nazir Afzal OBE, former chief Crown prosecutor for the North West of England and former head of the Association of Policing and Crime Commissioners, said the decision was “absolute nonsense” and that a ‘purely factual report by Sue Gray cannot harm a police investigation’.
The Gray report ‘turned into a circus’
Reacting to the statement, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said the report “must be released in full and without further delay.
“People are understandably concerned that this is looking more and more like a cover-up.”
That criticism was echoed by the Liberal Democrats, with the party’s home affairs spokesman Alistair Carmichael saying: ‘Any semblance of a deal between the Met commissioner and the government is deeply damaging.
Read more:
How is the Met Police’s investigation into COVID No 10 breaches different from Sue Grey’s?
What could the Gray inquiry mean for Boris Johnson?
Met commissioner won’t appreciate ‘career threatening’ investigation
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer said he wanted to ‘see Sue Gray’s report in full and get the inquiry completed as soon as possible’, saying the government was ‘paralyzed’ by the ongoing police investigation .
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Will PM weather the partygate storm?
Asked whether, given that he was previously Director of Public Prosecutions, he had seen any issues with bias, Sir Keir said: ‘All issues with bias need to be addressed, but all this mess, all this paralysis of politics, is caused by the prime minister and his misdeeds.”
Fran Hall, spokesperson for the COVID-19 campaign group Bereaved Families for Justice who lost her police officer husband to COVID, said the Gray report had “turned into a circus”.
“Tragically, it appears here that the Metropolitan Police have shattered public trust by first refusing to investigate flagrant breaches of the law, and now demanding that any further investigation cover up the most serious illegalities that occur at Downing Street,” she said.
“It’s incredibly painful and they let families like mine down. My husband was completely committed to justice, and he would have been appalled by this.”
Minister says “I don’t know much more than you”
Asked on Sky News on Friday if Number 10 had received the document, Technology Minister Chris Philp said: ‘I spoke to someone in Downing Street about half an hour ago, and they haven’t certainly not indicated that it had been received.
“So I don’t know much more than you do but I certainly don’t have any information yet that it has been received.”
Earlier this week it was thought the delay was partly due to Ms Gray wanting to put the document through lawyers, HR and the Metropolitan Police to ensure the document could be released in full.
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It was believed that on Wednesday a delicate vetting process was underway to ensure a duty of care was given to Downing Street staff who may be implicated in the report.
But in addition to questions about timing, there has also been speculation about how much of Ms Gray’s work will be made public.
Speaking on Thursday, Mr Johnson said he was ‘absolutely not’ delaying the release of the report and promised it would be released in full.
