Boris Johnson has insisted No 10 will not block any names being published in the long-awaited report into the Partygate scandal by Whitehall mandarin Sue Gray.
In his first public remarks since the Metropolitan Police closed its investigation on Thursday — issuing a total of 126 fines — the prime minister said the contents were “entirely” down to Ms Gray.
Mr Johnson also said he was “grateful” to the force’s investigation after he escaped further sanctions, leaving him with one fixed penalty notice (FPN) for breaches of Covid regulations.
Ms Gray, who was tasked with investigating the rule-busting parties in government buildings earlier this year, had delayed the publication of her report until the Met concluded its own work.
The senior civil servant is now expected to make her findings public as soon as next week, with individuals whose involvement will be mentioned expected to be contacted over the weekend.
Speaking on a visit to Powys, Wales, on Friday, Mr Johnson declined to apologise again for the rule-braking, saying: “I’m very grateful to the Met for their work, I’m thankful for everything they’ve done.
“We just need to wait for Sue Gray to report, fingers’ crossed that will be very soon, and I’ll be saying some more next week.”
Pressed on whether No 10 would be blocking any names from appearing in the report, he replied: “That will be entirely up to Sue Gray and I’ll be looking forward very much to seeing what she has to say, and fingers’ crossed that will be pretty soon next week.”
His comments also came amid claims in The Times that Scotland Yard is declining to give Ms Gray details about individuals who have been issued with a FPN.
Earlier, however, No 10 said it was not aware of any communication between the prime minister and Ms Gray since the police investigation into lockdown gatherings was wrapped up on Thursday.
Asked whether Mr Johnson had spoken to or had written communication with the senior official since, a spokesman for the prime minister said: “Not that I’m aware of.”
The Downing Street spokesman said he would “not get into specifics” when put to him that Ms Gray‘s team had been in contact with the Prime Minister about the forthcoming report.
He said Mr Johnson was committed to publishing the report in the format it is submitted “as soon as possible”, with Ms Gray to determine when it is finalised.
