By Tony O’Riley-
Dominic Cummings is to add to the damning police evidence given to Sue Gray about the series of parties that took place in Downing Street at the height if the lockdown in 2020, and is ready to swear on oath that Mr Johnson was warned that a ‘BYOB’ bash in May 2020 would break the rules.
The senior civil servant investigating allegations of at least nine lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street has been given access to a detailed log of staff movements in and out of the building from security data including swipecards.
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Officers from the Scotland Yard’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command who were guardian No10 have agreed to provide accounts to the investigation.
Whitehall figures say the inquiry by Sue Gray, who will be publishing an estimated 25 page report this week, has been “forensic”, looking in “granular detail” at who was in the building for social gatherings, some of which went on into the early hours, and the precise timings of their arrivals and departures.
She has been assisted by six civil servants with HR experience. Her highly anticipated report has the prime minister and his staff and civil servants who attended some or many of the parties waiting anxiously for its publication.
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Gray will be factual and detailed in her report, stating who attended, what took place, whether there was any hugging or snogging, which rules were breached and so forth. She is not likely to say who should be fired, but leave that to the forces that be to determine.
Boris Johnson meanwhile is sticking to the story that he did not break any lockdown rules at the Downing Street party and is said to be calling MPs in an attempt to drum up more support before the findings of the report are revealed.
Many Tory MPs have held off from deciding whether to call for the prime minister to resign until they see its conclusions, and hear the reactions of their constituents.
Meanwhile, Mr Cummings has already revealed he is ready to swear on oath that Mr Johnson was warned that a ‘BYOB’ bash in May 2020 would break the rules.
However, the premier has signaled defiance, and has assembled a team of allies, dubbed the avengers who helped secure him the leadership to shore up support among MPs.
He is expected to push Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to let him respond to Ms Gray’s findings within hours of them being released, so he can take charge of the ‘narrative’.
Judge and Jury: Sue Gray Image:Simon Graham
Many Conservatives are holding off sending a letter of no confidence in the premier until the results are unveiled.
Mr Johnson has also been left fighting on multiple fronts after former minister Nusrat Ghani claimed she was told her ‘Muslimness’ was partly responsible for her sacking in a reshuffle in 2020.
Rumours have also been circulating in government in recent days that Gray may have details of yet another gathering in Downing Street, possibly in the PM’s flat and involving close friends of his wife, that has not yet been revealed. Such a revelation would be very damning, and make a prime minister’s survival pretty magical.
Whitehall sources also say the information from data logs that record movements for security reasons could be decisive, as they will have given Gray conclusive proof of who was where and when, and how many people remained after normal working hours – details that she would otherwise have lacked.
“This information is conclusive,” said a source who knows Gray. “This is not someone saying ‘I saw him or her at a party’. This is the proof of who was where, how many people were inside the building at any one time.
“She will have been looking at all that information, which is far more valuable than people’s say so. It is the evidence.”
The source added that the security logs would also have allowed Gray to draw conclusions about the culture at No 10, which appears to have allowed parties to have become regular events. “If you get the data and you find a large group all swiped out at 1am in the morning, then it looks very much like it was a party and if that was going on regularly you can judge from that.”
Gray, according to her friends, will be fair but also “ruthless” in pursuit of the truth. One former colleague and friend said she was in no mood to allow civil servants alone to take the flak. “She has shown before in previous inquiries that she will hold civil servants to account because she is very strong on civil service behaviour, but if she thinks politicians or others should take responsibility she will make that very clear,” the source said.
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