BIRTHDAY BASH
Boris Johnson’s birthday bash & Carrie’s flat party among 12 Downing Street parties being investigated by Met Police
BORIS Johnson's birthday bash is amongst the No 10 parties being investigated by the police, Sue Gray's bombshell report reveals today.
Met officers are probing the circumstances around the June 2020 gathering in the Cabinet room, her findings suggest.
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And they are also looking into an alleged party in the No 10 flat in November that year hosted by his wife Carrie.
There was reportedly drinking at the event, which took place on the day Dominic Cummings quit, and ABBA's "Winner Takes It All" was blared out.
When details first emerged last year a spokeswoman for Mrs Johnson described suggestions there had been a bash as "total nonsense".
The PM is also said to have attended the birthday party on June 19, 2020 with Carrie and the couple's interior designer.
At least 30 staff members reportedly sang Happy Birthday and presented the PM with a cake to mark his 56th.
It came as Scotland Yard revealed it's received 300 photos and 500 pieces of paper as evidence in its ongoing inquiry into No 10 parties.
Sue Gray's report lists 16 gatherings in Downing St and Whitehall, and says 12 of those are being investigated by police.
In major developments today...
- Ms Gray said she interviewed more than 70 people and demanded emails, texts, WhatsApps, and exit logs
- Boris Johnson is set to rally Tory MPs at a meeting this evening
- He will then avoid the fallout by jetting off to Ukraine tomorrow
- Tory MPs were deciding whether to submit letters of no confidence
She writes: "No conclusions should be drawn, or inferences made from this other than it is now for the police to consider the relevant material in relation to those incidents.
"The police have also said this does not in itself mean that they will decide to take further action or that there has necessarily been a breach of the regulations."
Boris today issued a grovelling apology for Partygate as he appeared before MPs in the Commons.
He told them: "Firstly, I want to say sorry. Sorry for the things we simply did not get right and sorry for the way that this matter has been handled.
"It is no use saying that this or that was within the rules. It is no use saying that people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone.
"We asked people across this country to make the most extraordinary sacrifices, not to meet loved ones, not to visit relatives before they died, and I understand the anger that people feel."
He also vowed to overhaul how No 10 is run after its management was heavily criticised by Sue Gray.
A heavily watered-down version of her report tore into "failures of leadership and judgment" inside No10 across a 20-month period.
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The civil servant, whose findings were censored by the Met, scolded the booze culture in Downing Street.
But the anti-climactic conclusion of the 12-page report simply stated that "a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.
"There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government.
"This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded."
Mr Johnson spent the morning poring over the findings - that could seal his political career - before it was published this afternoon.
He is due to come to the Commons at around 3.30pm for a statement on the Partygate developments.
Crucial findings have been redacted from the report after Scotland Yard demanded Ms Gray leaves out anything that encroaches on their own inquiry.
Dame Cressida Dick took a wrecking ball to the civil service probe by launching her own police investigation into eight parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Downing Street has not committed to publish the full findings of the Gray report even once the cops finish, meaning they may never see the light of day.
Veteran Whitehall enforcer Ms Gray has been investigating around 20 parties in Downing Street and Government buildings during lockdown.
They include the "bring your own booze bash" in the Downing St garden, and two No10 parties on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral.
Mr Johnson and senior Downing St staff have been interviewed as part of the process.
The PM has for weeks been urging rebellious Tory MPs to wait for the Gray report before submitting letters of no confidence in his leadership.
He has insisted the findings would exonerate him from any lockdown-rule breaking and "draw a line" under the saga.
But it remains to be seen if the watered-down report is enough to bring would-be mutineers back from the ledge - or whether they'll hold judgement until the Met probe concludes.
Seven Tory MPs have so far publicly called for Mr Johnson to resign, along with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Publication of the Gray report had been expected to trigger a further cascade of letters, but temperatures now appear to have cooled.
Mr Johnson's loyalists has been shoring up support with wavering MPs, while the PM has been meeting some personally in his office.
He's vowed to shake-up his top team in Downing Street and pursue more Conservative policies.
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Today he launched a Brexit Freedoms Bill and is planning to publish the long-awaited Levelling Up white paper this week.
KEY ALLEGED RULE-BREAKING PARTY
SOME of the alleged rule-breaking parties in Downing Street during lockdown:
May 15 2020 - Boris, Carrie and key staff pictured drinking in the No10 garden
Rules: Meet one other person outside the household in public socially distanced. Gatherings in private gardens banned.
May 20 2020 - No10 top aide invites 100 staff to a “BYOB” bash in the Downing Street garden
Rules: Meet one other person outside the household in public socially distanced. Gatherings in private gardens banned.
June 19 2020 - Boris presented with a birthday cake in the Cabinet Room
Rules: Rule of 6 outside. No gatherings indoors unless for work
November 13 2020 - Boris gives a leaving speech for departing aide Lee Cain
Rules: Full lockdown
November 27 2020 - Boris gives a speech at the leaving party for departing aide Cleo Watson
Rules: Full lockdown
December 15 2020 - No10 Christmas quiz, where PM appears virtually
Rules: Tier 2 London. No meeting inside. Rule of six outside
April 12 2021 - Two No10 parties on eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
Rules: No indoor mixing between households
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Boris Johnson insists he's 'sticking to his guns' when grilled on concerns the Sue Gray report will prove to be a whitewash
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