Markus Andrews

The Sue Gray report into the so-called “Partygate” scandal over lockdown rule-breaking during the pandemic, which rocked Westminster in late 2021 and early 2022, was finally released in heavily-redacted form on 31 January.Ms Gray was prevented from releasing a fuller version at the time by the Metropolitan Police announcing is own probe into the affair.That has now ended, with the Met issuing 126 fixed-penalty notices to 83 individuals, including prime minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak.The veteran civil servant is now free to submit her final report for publication, which is due to take place in the coming days.Ahead of its release, Mr Johnson finds himself under pressure to explain a “secret” meeting he held with Ms Gray, seemingly to discuss the dossier’s progress, while initial reports suggest it could include previously unseen photographs and contain “stinging criticism” of Cabinet secretary Simon Case, despite his not being fined by the Met.Below, you can read Ms Gray’s complete January findings in full. 1. On 8 December 2021 the prime minister asked the cabinet secretary to carry out an investigation into allegations reported in the media relating to gatherings in No 10 Downing Street and the department for education during November and December 2020.2. On 17 December 2021 the cabinet secretary recused himself from the investigation as a result of allegations concerning an online quiz held by his private office in the cabinet office on 17 December 2020 in 70 Whitehall. It was at this point that I was asked to lead this work.3. The terms of reference for the investigation were published on 9 December 2021. The primary purpose of the investigation was to establish a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings including: attendance, the setting and the purpose, with reference to adherence to the guidance in place at the time.4. Where there were credible allegations relating to other gatherings these could also be investigated.5. In line with those terms of reference the following events were in scope:15 May 2020; a photograph showing a number of groups in the garden of No 10 Downing Street;20 May 2020: a gathering in the garden of No 10 Downing Street for No 10 staff;18 June 2020: a gathering in the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a No 10 private secretary;19 June 2020: a gathering in the Cabinet room in No 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister’s birthday;13 November 2020:a gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser;27 November 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser;10 December 2020: a gathering in the Department for Education ahead of the Christmas break;15 December 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street for an online Christmas quiz;17 December 2020: a gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office; a gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a senior Cabinet Office official; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a No 10 official; 18 December 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street ahead of the Christmas break; 14 January 2021; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries16 April 2021; A gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a senior No 10 official; A gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of another No 10 official.Methodology6. There has been widespread public interest in, and concern about, a number of gatherings taking place in No 10 Downing Street and Whitehall during periods of national Covid restrictions, where their necessity for work purposes has been open to question. My task has been to establish, as far as possible, the facts surrounding these gatherings.7. In carrying out my investigation I have been supported by a small team of senior civil servants in the Cabinet Office, who have no connection with the events under examination and who are bound by the requirements of the Civil Service Code. We carried out interviews of over 70 individuals, some more than once, and examined relevant documentary and digital information, such as emails; Whatsapp messages; text messages; photographs and building entry and exit logs. This has also included searches of official records. As such, extensive substantive factual information is now available and has been compiled by me and my team to fulfil my obligation to establish the facts. The investigative work is now essentially complete.8. The Treasury Solicitor and Daniel Stilitz QC have provided independent advice as to the process.9. It is not for me to make a judgment on whether the criminal law has been broken; that is properly a matter for law enforcement. In line with my terms of reference I have been in regular contact with the Metropolitan Police as my work has progressed in order for them to take decisions on the gatherings under examination, including whether to launch their own investigation.10. The Metropolitan Police has now confirmed that as a result of information provided by the Cabinet Office investigation team, as well as assessments made by Metropolitan Police officers, they are investigating the events on the dates set out above with the exception of the gatherings on:15 May 202027 November 202010 December 202015 December 202011. The police have confirmed that on the basis of the information available the gatherings on these four dates are not considered to have reached the threshold for criminal investigation.12. 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.13. At the request of the police I have provided the material compiled in the course of my investigation relevant to the gatherings that they are now investigating. I have also been asked to retain all the other information collected in the course of this work, which I have confirmed that I will do. I will therefore ensure the secure storage and safekeeping of all the information gathered until such time as it may be required further. I will not be circulating the information internally within government, it has been provided in confidence to the Cabinet Office investigation team and it is important that this confidence is maintained to protect the integrity of the process.14. As a result of the Metropolitan Police’s investigations, and so as not to prejudice the police investigative process, they have told me that it would only be appropriate to make minimal reference to the gatherings on the dates they are investigating. Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather. More

The Sue Gray report into the so-called “Partygate” scandal over lockdown rule-breaking during the pandemic, which rocked Westminster in late 2021 and early 2022, was finally released in heavily-redacted form on 31 January.Ms Gray was prevented from releasing a fuller version at the time by the Metropolitan Police announcing is own probe into the affair.That has now ended, with the Met issuing 126 fixed-penalty notices to 83 individuals, including prime minister Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak.The veteran civil servant is now free to submit her final report for publication, which is due to take place in the coming days.Ahead of its release, Mr Johnson finds himself under pressure to explain a “secret” meeting he held with Ms Gray, seemingly to discuss the dossier’s progress, while initial reports suggest it could include previously unseen photographs and contain “stinging criticism” of Cabinet secretary Simon Case, despite his not being fined by the Met.Below, you can read Ms Gray’s complete January findings in full. 1. On 8 December 2021 the prime minister asked the cabinet secretary to carry out an investigation into allegations reported in the media relating to gatherings in No 10 Downing Street and the department for education during November and December 2020.2. On 17 December 2021 the cabinet secretary recused himself from the investigation as a result of allegations concerning an online quiz held by his private office in the cabinet office on 17 December 2020 in 70 Whitehall. It was at this point that I was asked to lead this work.3. The terms of reference for the investigation were published on 9 December 2021. The primary purpose of the investigation was to establish a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings including: attendance, the setting and the purpose, with reference to adherence to the guidance in place at the time.4. Where there were credible allegations relating to other gatherings these could also be investigated.5. In line with those terms of reference the following events were in scope:15 May 2020; a photograph showing a number of groups in the garden of No 10 Downing Street;20 May 2020: a gathering in the garden of No 10 Downing Street for No 10 staff;18 June 2020: a gathering in the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a No 10 private secretary;19 June 2020: a gathering in the Cabinet room in No 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister’s birthday;13 November 2020:a gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser;27 November 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a special adviser;10 December 2020: a gathering in the Department for Education ahead of the Christmas break;15 December 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street for an online Christmas quiz;17 December 2020: a gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office; a gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a senior Cabinet Office official; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a No 10 official; 18 December 2020: a gathering in No 10 Downing Street ahead of the Christmas break; 14 January 2021; a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries16 April 2021; A gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a senior No 10 official; A gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of another No 10 official.Methodology6. There has been widespread public interest in, and concern about, a number of gatherings taking place in No 10 Downing Street and Whitehall during periods of national Covid restrictions, where their necessity for work purposes has been open to question. My task has been to establish, as far as possible, the facts surrounding these gatherings.7. In carrying out my investigation I have been supported by a small team of senior civil servants in the Cabinet Office, who have no connection with the events under examination and who are bound by the requirements of the Civil Service Code. We carried out interviews of over 70 individuals, some more than once, and examined relevant documentary and digital information, such as emails; Whatsapp messages; text messages; photographs and building entry and exit logs. This has also included searches of official records. As such, extensive substantive factual information is now available and has been compiled by me and my team to fulfil my obligation to establish the facts. The investigative work is now essentially complete.8. The Treasury Solicitor and Daniel Stilitz QC have provided independent advice as to the process.9. It is not for me to make a judgment on whether the criminal law has been broken; that is properly a matter for law enforcement. In line with my terms of reference I have been in regular contact with the Metropolitan Police as my work has progressed in order for them to take decisions on the gatherings under examination, including whether to launch their own investigation.10. The Metropolitan Police has now confirmed that as a result of information provided by the Cabinet Office investigation team, as well as assessments made by Metropolitan Police officers, they are investigating the events on the dates set out above with the exception of the gatherings on:15 May 202027 November 202010 December 202015 December 202011. The police have confirmed that on the basis of the information available the gatherings on these four dates are not considered to have reached the threshold for criminal investigation.12. 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.13. At the request of the police I have provided the material compiled in the course of my investigation relevant to the gatherings that they are now investigating. I have also been asked to retain all the other information collected in the course of this work, which I have confirmed that I will do. I will therefore ensure the secure storage and safekeeping of all the information gathered until such time as it may be required further. I will not be circulating the information internally within government, it has been provided in confidence to the Cabinet Office investigation team and it is important that this confidence is maintained to protect the integrity of the process.14. As a result of the Metropolitan Police’s investigations, and so as not to prejudice the police investigative process, they have told me that it would only be appropriate to make minimal reference to the gatherings on the dates they are investigating. Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather. More

A minister has condemned briefings which claim the senior civil servant Sue Gray is “playing politics” in the handling of the publication of her long-awaited reporting into rule-busting parties in No 10.It comes as Boris Johnson and his top team braces for the publication of the Whitehall mandarin’s internal report, which will reportedly contain photographs of some of the events held during Covid regulations.But amid a row over whether Ms Gray or No 10 instigated what has been described as a “secret meeting” to discuss the report, the prime minister’s “allies” have accused the civil servant of playing politics.“Sue Gray is supposed to be neutral but she’s been busy playing politics and enjoying the limelight a little too much,” one said, according to the Daily Mail.Appearing on Sky News, the chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, said he condemned the briefing, claiming: “By repute she’s one of the most fiercely independent and professional civil servants in the whole of government. I don’t think there’s any politics”.“Do I think in anyway the integrity of this report should be questioned? No because as I say Sue Gray has a reputation that dates back decades in terms of her ability to make judgements without fear of favour.”Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, added: “Desperate efforts to discredit Sue Gray are entirely predictable behaviour from this disgraceful excuse for a prime minister.“He doesn’t have a single scrap of integrity — and we all know it. He attempts to drag decent people down with him will backfire”.Pressed on a row over who called the meeting between Ms Gray and Mr Johnson — around one month ago — Mr Clarke said it was his understanding it was “instigated” by the senior civil servant.He continued: “There are lots of practical questions here that need to be bottomed out in terms of, for example, who can be named in this report and the extent to which photographic evidence can be included. It is important that those practical dimensions are resolved.”Mr Johnson is among around 30 people who have been told by Ms Gray that her report is likely to name them – with a deadline of 5pm on Sunday to lodge any objections having now passed.Publication is expected on Tuesday or Wednesday after the police investigation concluded with a total of 126 fines issued to 83 people, followed by a statement to the Commons by the prime minister.On Sunday, however, the education secretary Nadhim Zahawi, said he did not know who called the meeting after an embarrassing clash between Downing Street and Ms Gray’s team over the weekend. More

The UK is unprepared for huge food price hikes and shortages of essential goods that will be triggered by the Ukraine war, the head of a government advisory body fears.Ian Wright has told The Independent of growing concerns that there is no proper plan for a “scary” future of disrupted food supplies, warning: “This is a bigger crisis than energy.”Russia’s blockade of Black Sea ports has left 25 million tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine – threatening famine in the poorest countries, but with stark implications also for the UK, which relies on food imports.Cooking oil, which is used in crisps, ready meals, biscuits and mayonnaise, has already been rationed, while rising fertiliser and animal feed prices are hitting domestic production.Supplies of donated food by charities and community groups – co-ordinated by an organisation with no government funding – will run out as millions more flock to lunch clubs and homeless shelters, it is feared.The looming crisis will come to a head at a crunch meeting of the Food and Drink Sector Council (FDSC) on Tuesday, when industry figures will demand to see what preparations are in place.Mr Wright said: “I don’t think the government has fully grasped the implications of all this. Things could get quite scary, with significant price rises and in terms of food poverty.“A lot of people involved with the food industry think this issue now requires greater urgency and focus from the government to ensure the country gets the food that it needs.“This is a bigger crisis than energy. If the government has plans, it needs to share what those plans are more widely.”The fears were echoed by the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) and the food redistribution organisation FairShare, which accused ministers of allowing 2 million tonnes of edible food to go to waste every year.Minette Batters, the NFU’s president, said successive governments had neglected food production, warning: “That was short-sighted. It’s now looking immoral.“We can and should be producing more, for at home and abroad. We just need a proper food strategy adopted by government.”The criticism comes after consumer champion Martin Lewis warned soaring household fuel and food bills could spark riots, saying: “I worry about civil unrest.”Boris Johnson has been urged to copy Joe Biden by organising a “hunger summit” to focus attention on the crisis – but No 10 has yet to reply, The Independent can reveal.Ministers have also ignored pleas, by two Commons committees, to appoint a “food poverty minister” to drive through cross-departmental action to ensure supplies.On Tuesday, food and farming minister Victoria Prentis, and her officials, will be urged to show evidence that the government knows which supply chains are most likely to break down because of the Ukraine blockade.The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is also under pressure to boost “homegrown food”, by protecting farmgate prices for farmers hit by rising fertiliser and feed bills.Although the UK supplies 60 per cent of its food, that is a yearly average – and the proportion drops closer to 40 per cent as winter approaches.A third strand of the strategy should dramatically boost donated food, it is argued, in anticipation of hundreds of thousands more people needing it in the months to come.Lindsay Boswell, FareShare’s chief executive, told The Independent: “More than 2 million tonnes of edible food is wasted on farms and in factories every year – food that could be stopping people from going hungry.“But the UK government isn’t funding food redistribution. So, it’s cheaper for farmers to waste good-to-eat food than get it to on to people’s plates.”A study has shown wider benefits of £14 for every £1 spent on reallocating food, but – unlike in France, where there are tax incentives – FairShare relies on charitable and corporate funding.Last week, the Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey warned of an “apocalyptic” impact from the Ukraine conflict, telling MPs there is “no way of shipping the food out and it’s getting worse”.Mr Wright, the former head of the Food and Drink Federation, said Brexit – estimated to have pushed up food prices by 6 per cent – and Covid were just a foretaste of what is to come.“We are now likely to see the impact on food supplies of Putin’s plans to make things as difficult as he can for the west,” he warned.But Defra argued the UK has “a highly resilient food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges”.“We are largely self-sufficient in wheat production, self-sufficient in beef, fully self-sufficient in liquid milk, we produce more lamb than we consume and we are also close to 100 per cent self-sufficient in poultry,” a spokesperson said. More

The UK’s isolation over its plans to tear up the Northern Ireland protocol has been underlined by a new US-EU alliance ruling out a renegotiation.A delegation of US politicians, led by a close ally of Joe Biden, agreed a joint statement with members of the European parliament following a meeting in Paris.It calls on Boris Johnson to abandon planned legislation to override the international agreement, arguing that the protocol “protects the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts”.In a press release following the interparliamentary meeting, congressman Brendan Boyle announced that a statement had been agreed upon, part of which reads: “We agree that renegotiating the protocol is not an option.”This latest development comes just hours after Liz Truss, the foreign secretary, resisted pressure to back down after hosting the US delegation at her country retreat of Chevening on Saturday.In stark contrast, she is understood to have insisted that the UK is “defending the Good Friday Agreement” – not endangering it – and warned that she would not let the “situation drag on”.The crisis threatens to provoke a hugely damaging trade war if the EU carries out its threat to retaliate for what it considers to be a breach of the deal the prime minister signed and hailed as “fantastic” in 2019.Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, has also warned that rewriting the protocol unilaterally will kill any lingering hopes the UK has of a free trade deal with the United States.The UK argues that the legislation is needed to remove trade border checks in the Irish Sea, and to persuade the Democratic Unionist Party to end its efforts to block the formation of a new power-sharing executive at Stormont.However, it goes much further than customs controls, as it includes measures that target the role of the European Court of Justice in overseeing disputes, as well as aiming to restore the UK’s prerogative to decide VAT rates.The EU insists it has put forward proposals to ease the burden of checks, and points to the UK’s refusal to sign up to common veterinary rules, which would reduce the need for much of the bureaucracy.Last week, the prime minister admitted he had signed up to the trade barriers created by the Northern Ireland protocol while hoping that the EU would not “apply” them.The proposed legislation has not yet been published, but is expected to be released within weeks – and could be voted through the Commons as early as next month.The US delegation is led by Richard Neal, a senior member of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, who called the talks with Ms Truss “frank”.He tweeted: “I urge good faith negotiations with the EU to find durable solutions for post-Brexit trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.”Ms Truss posted: “We discussed our cast-iron commitment to the Belfast [Good Friday] Agreement, the importance of free trade and our condemnation of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.” More

A crisis relief charity offering emergency help after earthquakes, hurricanes and floods is being drafted in to ease the suffering of lorry drivers stuck in post-Brexit queues.RE:ACT Disaster Response also works in war-torn Afghanistan and Ukraine – but has now signed a deal with Kent County Council as it struggles with gridlock at the Port of Dover.Drivers spend many hours in their cabs because of the mountain of red tape created by Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal, which brought frictionless trade with the EU to the end.The truckers have been left without access to toilets, food or drink on the M20 and M2 – previously sparking protests about some relieving themselves by the roadsideCouncil chiefs fear the problems are about to get worse, as tourists unable to travel because of the Covid pandemic are free to head off on summer holidays again.Up to 50 days of gridlock are now expected every year – prompting the signing of the £158,000 six-month contract with RE:ACT, which was set up by a former Army commander.A statement announcing the deal reads: “Kent County Council has long accepted that it has a duty to provide humanitarian assistance to those in need.”It adds: “A direct award was used due to reasons of extreme urgency,” explaining why normal contract rules have been bypassed.RE:ACT has come to the aid of flood victims in South Africa, people affected by hurricanes in Mozambique and the Bahamas and refugees from Ukraine.A spokesperson for the charity said it would provide help to drivers “in the rare times traffic is held so long the occupants need additional food and water”.But the Road Haulage Association has raised fears it will be “dangerous’ to approach truckers while traffic moves very slowly, as it does most of the time.A Kent County Council spokesperson said: “As a responsible local authority, we have long had plans in place for delivering aid to drivers caught in significant disruption, where it is safe and practical to do so.“To do this, we routinely work with organisations experienced at working in emergency situations and on live motorways.” More

The education secretary has acknowledged that he sends his children to private schools – but suggested his wife was behind the decision.Nadhim Zahawi, who is responsible for state schools across England, was asked why he – like Boris Johnson – chose to pay to send his three children to independent schools instead.The question came as Mr Zahawi hailed private schools as a tool to help “level up” the country and criticised universities that admit state pupils with lower A-level grades.After saying the country has “brilliant state schools and they’re getting better every day”, he was asked: “You still sent your children to private school though?”“That was a parental decision; I had to make that with my wife. I don’t make that on my own,” 54-year-old Mr Zahawi told Sky News.It was put to him that a major study of 132,000 students had found that those from state schools with slightly lower grades than their private school peers are more likely to achieve a top degree.But Mr Zahawi attacked the idea of “tilting the system”, arguing: “You don’t level up by dragging people down.” He pointed to state academies being run by the likes of Eton College as an example of “bringing everybody together”, adding: “You don’t succeed by delivering a great outcome for every child by actually attacking a part of the system. I don’t want to attack independent schools – they do a great job.”Mr Zahawi is one of the cabinet’s richest members, boasting a £10m property portfolio having made his fortune as co-founder of the polling organisation YouGov.When the Conservatives came to power in 2010, spending in state and private schools was about the same – but a huge gap has emerged since, as spending in state schools was squeezed.Mr Zahawi, who was educated in both the state and the private sector, also recalled being racially abused and dunked head-down in a pond by bullies during his own school days.He spoke as he described the case of 11-year-old Raheem Bailey – who had to have a finger amputated after he was injured while fleeing from school bullies – as “sickening”.“I suffered bullying when I first arrived on these shores,” Mr Zahawi recounted, adding: “I couldn’t speak English and it was hard.“I remember my first experience, being chased around the park as a sort of entertainment for bigger boys, and them throwing me in the pond, or dunking my head down in the pond – pretty horrific for a child who has just arrived on these shores.”Asked if there was a racist element to the bullying, the education secretary replied: “I don’t know, it was a long time ago, but I’ve certainly been on the receiving end of other racist slurs.” More

A staggering 40 per cent of households will be living in fuel poverty if the government sits on its hands while bills soar, an energy firm chief is warning.“Some people are at the edge, and that will get worse,” Michael Lewis, the chief executive of E.ON, said – also revealing that one-third of its customers are slashing spending on food.Mr Lewis called for immediate government intervention, but declined to say whether that should be a windfall tax on the profits of the energy producers, amid a cabinet row over the controversy.He called for the “broadest shoulders” to bear the burden, telling the BBC: “The most important thing is that the government intervenes – it is up to the government to decide how they fund that.”Mr Lewis suggested the annual energy price cap could reach as high as £3,000 in the autumn, compared with the £1,277 that families were paying before April.Rishi Sunak has rejected calls to reverse his £20-a-week cut to Universal Credit payments, forced through last year despite warnings that inflation was about to soar.Asked if increasing the benefit was a solution, Mr Lewis replied: “Absolutely, it will help the people at the bottom of the income range who are most affected by this.”Analysts have warned that the UK is heading for the worst plunge in living standards since the 1950s, and an explosion in poverty that will push 500,000 more children below the breadline.Boris Johnson and Mr Sunak have been locked in talks about how to tackle the crisis, examining a second council tax rebate and higher warm home discount payments for the most vulnerable people.No 10 has suggested it opposes a windfall tax as “ideologically unconservative”, but the chancellor appears keen to press ahead with what has been dubbed “windfall tax lite”.It would impose a lower rate on energy firms prepared to invest billions of pounds in the economy, possibly in new nuclear power stations and offshore wind farms.The many weeks of confusion and cabinet backbiting over how to deal with soaring household bills have hurt the government, leaving Tory MPs frustrated by the impasse.Fuel poverty is a term used to describe households who have to spend more than 10 per cent of their disposable income on home energy.“That’s risen to around 20 per cent and, in October, our model suggests that could rise to 40 per cent if the government doesn’t intervene in some way,” Mr Lewis warned.Nadhim Zahawi, the education secretary, said Mr Sunak would “look at all the options” ahead of an expected support package before the new price cap is unveiled in August.“The chancellor will see how he can target help to those who need it most,” Mr Zahawi said.“He is on people’s side and he will deliver that help,” he insisted, adding: “He will go even further.” More