Potentially damning photos of Downing Street parties may never be published, it emerged today.
More than 300 photos were handed over to the Metropolitan Police by senior civil servant Sue Gray, who gathered them as part of her investigation into allegations of lockdown-breaching parties.
She is expected to include some or all of them in her full report, which was today reported to include “excoriating” criticisms of Boris Johnson and is due for publication after the conclusion of police inquiries.
But No 10 today said it could not guarantee the photos would be included in the published version of the Gray report, saying that they will have to be vetted before release to ensure the protection of the data and privacy of those pictured.
It is thought that some of the photos show members of Mr Johnson’s inner circle – and possibly the prime minister himself – drinking alcohol during parties held in No 10 and Whitehall in breach of laws imposed to slow the spread of Covid-19 during 2020 and 2021.
Tory chiefs are thought to be concerned that the release of images could have a significant impact on public perceptions of the Partygate scandal, by graphically illustrating the gulf between the social distancing and isolation experienced by the public and the socialising enjoyed by No 10 staff.
The images include both snaps taken at parties and stills from security cameras showing when people entered and exited buildings.
An unnamed senior official quoted anonymously in The Times said that the Gray report will be “damning” for the PM and could force him to resign.
“Sue’s report is excoriating,” said the official. “It will make things incredibly difficult for the prime minister.
“There’s an immense amount of pressure on her – her report could be enough to end him. No official has ever been in a position like this before.”
Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson today said that he “did not recognise” the comments, adding that no-one in No 10 has yet seen the full report, limited extracts of which were released in January.
The only people who should be aware of the report’s contents in full at this stage would be members of Ms Gray’s team, he said.
The spokesperson confirmed that Downing Street’s aim is to publish the report soon after receiving it from the former Whitehall propriety and ethics chief, now deputy permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office.
But he did not commit to publishing any photos included in the document, telling reporters: “I can’t comment on photographs, not least because I don’t know what format the report will take.
“The caveat, as ever and as we had for the interim report, is that we just need to make sure that it complies with data protection and anonymity and issues like that.
“We didn’t have any of those issues with the interim report.”
There were no pictures included in January’s interim report, which was a severely truncated 12-page document providing a brief account of the events under investigation, after police asked Ms Gray to hold back any information which might inform their criminal inquiry.
Mr Johnson has already paid a £50 fine for attending a law-breaking birthday party in Downing Street, and is thought to have been present at as many as five more events under investigation.
His spokesperson today confirmed that he has not yet received a fixed penalty notice in relation to a “bring your own booze” party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020. Messages informing No 10 staff of fines for this event began appearing on Friday, but it is not known how many have so far been issued or whether there are more to come.
