It is a document that has kept the press and the British political class in suspense for several days. But the publication of the administrative report written by senior civil servant Sue Gray on the leaving drinks, garden parties and Christmas or birthday parties organized in the main residence of Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2020 and 2021 is slow in coming, according to the press , due to questions regarding what may be in it.
The British police in turn seized the scandal, upsetting the schedule and causing outrage this Friday. This long-awaited report on the Downing Street holiday scandal promises to be potentially largely watered down, deprived of its conclusions on the events retained by the police as most likely to have breached the confinements. Unless its publication is suspended until the conclusions of the police, which can take several months.
After being criticized for their slowness to react to the revelations which had followed one another for several weeks, the police had finally announced on Tuesday that they were investigating several parties which would have contravened the strict anti-Covid rules, potentially the most damaging for the Prime Minister.
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Scotland Yard initially denied withholding Sue Gray’s report, recalls The Guardian, but, in a brief statement the Metropolitan Police of London conceded that “for the events under investigation by the Met (London Police), we have asked to make only a minimal reference in the Cabinet Office report”, interdepartmental agency on which Sue Gray’s work depends. “The Met has not asked for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be pushed back, but contacts are ongoing with the Cabinet office, including on the content of the report, to avoid prejudice to our investigation. “, she added.
The government has denied any intervention. Asked regarding ITV, the Secretary of State for Technology, Chris Philp, claimed that the executive had “no influence or involvement in the way Sue Gray and the police conduct their report and investigation”, insisting on their ” total independence.
Boris Johnson buys time
The opposition parties immediately demanded the publication, in its entirety and without censorship, of the internal investigation, as Boris Johnson promised on several occasions. On Twitter, the leader of the SNP independence party in Parliament, Ian Blackford, lamented “what looks more and more like a concealment of the truth”.
Former Prime Minister Theresa May broke her silence on ‘Party gate’ to say she was angry at alleged Covid-19 rule-breaking and warned that if there was evidence of wrongdoing deliberate, “full responsibility” should follow, observes The Guardian. In a letter to his local newspaper, the Maidenhead Advertiser, Theresa May said ‘no one is above the law’ and stressed: ‘It is vital that those who make the rules follow the rules…It is important to ensure the necessary degree of trust between the public and the government.”
The families of the victims of the coronavirus are also offended. For Fran Hall, spokesperson for the association “Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice”, the police have “broken public trust, first by refusing to investigate these flagrant violations of the law, and now by asking that another investigation cover up the most serious illegalities that have taken place in Downing Street”.
These parties have plunged Boris Johnson into a serious crisis which threatens his retention in his post, the calls for the resignation having multiplied even in the conservative majority. Many members of his camp are waiting for the publication of the internal report to decide whether or not to try to oust him by means of a vote of no confidence.
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In the eyes of some political commentators, this announcement comes at the right time for Boris Johnson, who is thus gaining time as he tries, to save his place, to appease the most rebellious deputies. According to the newspaper The Times, the head of government is thus considering several measures that might rally them, such as suspending, to the great displeasure of the Treasury, the announced increase in social security contributions, in the midst of inflation which is eating into the purchasing power of the British.
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