Markus Andrews

The Czech Republic’s new government won a mandatory confidence vote in the lower house of Parliament on Thursday with the coronavirus pandemic and soaring inflation presenting its immediate policy challenges.Lawmakers voted 106-87 in favor of the conservative-led government, in the ballot that every new administration must win to govern. The government was cobbled together by two coalitions which together won a majority of seats in an Oct. 8-9 parliamentary election, ending the reign of populist billionaire Andrej Babis “We’re not populists,” conservative Prime Minister Petr Fiala told lawmakers during a debate that ended with the vote Thursday evening. “We’re not promising anything that we’re not sure we can fulfil.” The coalition government holds 108 of the lower house’s 200 seats, relegating Babis and his centrist ANO (YES) movement to the opposition. A three-party, liberal-conservative coalition known as Together, composed of the Civic Democratic Party, the Christian Democrats and the TOP 09 party, came in first in the election with 27.8% of the vote.It has formed a government with a center-left liberal coalition made up of the Pirate Party and STAN — a group of mayors and independent candidates — which placed third.ANO narrowly lost the election with 27.1% of the vote.Despite their differences on many issues, including climate change, same-sex marriage and the adoption of the euro, the coalition parties all support the Czech Republic’s membership of the European Union and NATO.The government, which was sworn in on Dec 17, has focused on adopting measures to address an anticipated surge of the coronavirus’ highly contagious omicron variant that has become dominant in the country.Among them, it cut isolation restrictions for those testing positive from 14 to five days, and also similarly shortened quarantine time for close contacts of infected people.The Cabinet has made it mandatory for all employees to get tested for the coronavirus twice a week and is considering allowing people in some professions who are infected with COVID-19 but display no symptoms to work.New infections had been declining since a record high in late November, but started growing again last week.The country has registered over 2.5 million infections and 36,765 deaths.The new government also pledged to work to phase out coal in energy production by 2033 while increasing the country’s reliance on nuclear and renewable sources.It has approved a plan to help residents affected by high energy prices, one of the factors behind high inflation that reached 6.6% in November. More

The Metropolitan Police has confirmed that it is still not conducting a criminal investigation into the “bring your own booze” gathering at Downing Street following the prime minister’s apology.The force said it was in contact with the Cabinet Office over Sue Gray’s inquiry and would review its position if it receives evidence of potential criminal offences.It has not commented on questions over whether officers guarding the prime minister’s statements had witnessed or reported any of the alleged parties at the time.“The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street and Department for Education on various dates and has received correspondence in relation to this reporting,” a spokesperson said.“The Met has ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office in relation to its inquiry. If the inquiry identifies evidence of behaviour that is potentially a criminal offence it will be passed to the Met for further consideration.” Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urged Scotland Yard not to let the prime minister “off the hook”.“The police don’t need the government’s permission to investigate a crime,” he added.“It is ludicrous to pretend that we can leave it to a civil servant appointed by Boris Johnson to get to the bottom of this.The force insisted that it had taken the same approach to breaches of coronavirus laws throughout the pandemic, where enforcement was a “last resort”.“Where live ongoing breaches of the restrictions were identified, officers engaged with those present, explained the current restrictions, encouraged people to adhere to them, and only as a last resort moved to enforcement,” a spokesperson added.”In line with the Met’s policy, officers do not normally investigate breaches of coronavirus regulations when they are reported long after they are said to have taken place. However, if significant evidence suggesting a breach of the regulations becomes available, officers may review and consider it.”National policy for police forces in England and Wales was drawn up at the start of the pandemic to focus on breaches that pose the highest public health risk.Fines were given out by police officers who were present at events where the laws were broken, and witnessed them at the time.Following the scandal over Dominic Cummings’ trips to Durham and Barnard Castle during the first lockdown, when he was the prime minister’s chief adviser, the policy was clarified.At the time, Durham Constabulary concluded that Mr Cummings may have committed “a minor breach of the regulations” and said there was “no intention to take retrospective action since this would amount to treating Mr Cummings differently from other members of the public”. More

Boris Johnson told MPs that “everybody understands” the Covid rules, nine days before he apparently breached them at the No 10 garden party.The British people knew they needed to “obey those rules and apply common sense”, the prime minister said in a Commons statement on 11 May 2020, during the first lockdown.Yet, just four days later, Mr Johnson attended what has been dubbed the “cheese and wine party”, in the No 10 garden, being photographed relaxing with his future wife Carrie and close aides, with no social distancing.Five days after that, he joined around 30 people at a “bring your own booze” party – the gathering that has plunged his premiership into its greatest crisis.At the time, despite a slight loosening of restrictions, the rules allowed only two people from different households to meet outside, and only at a distance of two metres.In his Commons statement in May 2020, Mr Johnson announced bigger fines “for the small minority who break the rules” – starting at £100 and rising to £3,600 for multiple infringements.And he told MPs: “Let us be clear – everybody understands what we are trying to do together.“We are working together as a country to obey the social distancing rules, which everybody understands.“The British people understand that this is the moment for the whole country to come together, obey those rules, and apply common sense in their application of them.”The prime minister continued: “I have huge admiration for the way that the police have enforced the rules so far.“I know that the British public will continue to help the police, and everybody, to enforce the rules, get the reproduction rate down, and get this disease even further under control, by continuing to apply good, solid, British common sense.”Some 20 months after the comments, Mr Johnson is fighting for his public life, after confessing to attending the 20 May party – while claiming he did not realise it was a party.He admitted he joined the social event for 25 minutes, saying: “I believed this was a work event…with hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside.”Tory MPs say his fate is now in the hands of Sue Gray, the Cabinet Office civil servant investigating all the No 10 parties, although it is not within her remit to judge whether rules were broken.Some senior Conservatives – Scottish leader Douglas Ross, rising star William Wragg and ex-minister Caroline Nokes – have called for the prime minister to quit immediately.Amid the crisis, Tory poll ratings continue to plunge to 28 per cent in one survey – while the chancellor Rishi Sunak has refused to back the prime minister before the inquiry has concluded. More

Downing Street has insisted that Boris Johnson has the “full support” of his cabinet, despite the long delay on Wednesday before Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss publicly voiced their backing following his dramatic apology over Downing Street parties.Mr Sunak’s absence from the House of Commons for prime minister’s questions sparked speculation in Westminster that he was distancing himself from Mr Johnson, fuelled by the far from full-throated wording of his eventual tweet.Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson today insisted that the prime minister took responsibility for mistakes made by Downing Street over the holding of a “socially distanced drinks” event in the No 10 rose garden during lockdown in May 2020.The assurance came after BBC reports that the PM told Tory MPs in the Commons tea room that – despite his public apology – the scandal was “not his fault and he’s bravely taking the blame for others”.Responding to the reports, Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Failing to take responsibility is in this prime minister’s DNA. He’ll always try to shift the blame, it’s always someone else’s fault. He’s not sorry, he’s sorry he got caught out.”The PM’s spokesperson said he was unable to comment on the tea-room conversations, but told reporters: “These are unsourced claims. What is clear is what the prime minister said repeatedly in the House, which is his view.“The prime minister made clear repeatedly that there were things we didn’t get right and he must take responsibility.”Questions were raised over the level of cabinet support for Mr Johnson when only a handful of senior ministers made public expressions of loyalty in the immediate aftermath of his noon statement.Culture secretary Nadine Dorries and levelling up secretary Michael Gove were quick to issue supportive tweets, but it was not until more than eight hours later that the chancellor and foreign secretary commented.Mr Sunak’s decision to spend the day in Devon discussing a government jobs initiative had already raised eyebrows at Westminster.And his eventual tweet at 8.11pm appeared to suggest that he was withholding a final decision on his attitude towards the PM until after the report by civil servant Sue Gray into the parties.“I’ve been on a visit all day today continuing work on our #PlanforJobs as well as meeting MPs to discuss the energy situation,” rote the chancellor. “The PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry.”Ms Truss’s tweet did not come until 9.14pm, but was more unequivocal in its backing for Johnson: “The Prime Minister is delivering for Britain – from Brexit to the booster programme to economic growth. I stand behind the Prime Minister 100% as he takes our country forward.”Asked if Mr Johnson enjoyed the full support of his cabinet, the PM’s official spokesperson told a regular Westminster media briefing: “Yes, and you can see they continue to deliver on the public’s priorities.”The spokesperson declined to say whether Mr Johnson was concerned at the prospect of no-confidence letters going in from MPs to the 1922 Committee, saying only that the PM was “focused on the public’s priorities”.Asked whether Mr Johnson believed he was a good prime minister, the spokesperson replied: “I don’t think self-reflection is his priority, I think his focus is on delivering for the public.”He rejected Tory MP Sir Roger Gale’s assessment of the Prime Minister as a “dead man walking” but added: “We very much appreciate, as the prime minister made clear yesterday, there are strong views on this issue.“That’s why the prime minister came to the House to apologise, to make clear we did not get things right and he takes responsibility for that.”Mr Sunak’s deputy, chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke, denied that the chancellor’s support for the PM was lukewarm.Mr Clarke told the BBC that his boss was “absolutely” behind Mr Johnson.He said: “The chancellor was clear in his statement yesterday that he thinks it was right – as I do – that the prime minister should apologise and take responsibility for what happened in Downing Street, but also that this inquiry needs to be completed before we move forward. I think our positions are absolutely as one on that.“This is a prime minister who has been leading this country through the teeth of the pandemic providing us with a world-leading vaccination programme, making brave decisions, not once but twice, to keep our economy and society as open as possible despite the challenges that we face.“He is also the man who has honoured Brexit and made sure we have got a clear programme of levelling up across this country. Both the chancellor and I are fully in support of that important work.” More

Boris Johnson has cancelled a visit to a vaccination centre in Lancashire due to a family member testing positive for Covid.No 10 said the prime minister, who is under fire after admitting he attended a No 10 drinks party during lockdown restrictions, will be following the “guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others”.Mr Johnson was scheduled to speak to reporters, but Downing Street said: “The prime minister will no longer be visiting Lancashire today”.Although the legal requirement to self-isolate does not apply to vaccinated contacts, they are advised to take daily tests and “limit close contact with other people outside your household”.It comes as the prime minister faces calls to resign from Conservative MPs after he apologised in the Commons for attending the No 10 drinks gathering on 20 May, 2020 — but provoked ridicule as he insisted he believed it was a “work event”.A leaked email earlier this week showed over 100 Downing Street staff were invited to the event and “bring your own booze” despite lockdown restrictions banning people from meeting more than one other person from another household in an outdoor setting.Just last night former Tory minister Caroline Nokes added to the pressure on Mr Johnson to stand down as prime minister, telling ITV’s Peston he had “put himself in an impossible position” and suggested: “Now, regretfully, he looks like a liability.”“I think he either goes now, or he goes in three years’ time at a general election, and it’s up to the party to decide which way around that’s going to be. I know my thoughts are that he’s damaging us now,” the Conservative MP added.Her call was echoed earlier on Wednesday — hours after the prime minister’s admission to the Commons — by the Scottish Tory leader, Douglas Ross, who revealed he had submitted a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson to the 1922 committee of backbench Tories.One former minister also told The Independent that MPs “in double figures” had submitted letters of no confidence in the prime minister to the chair of the 1922 Committee, Sir Graham Brady – with some letters going in after the PM’s dramatic apology.But in an attempt to defend the prime minister on BBC Newsnight, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Commons leader, branded Mr Ross a “lightweight figure” in politics.In a separate interview, Mr Rees-Mogg also sought to downplay calls for Mr Johnson to resign, saying: “They [Tory MPs] are people who have never really supported the prime minister, two of the ones you mentioned have always been quite strongly opposed to him, and therefore you would expect them to be relatively grumpy, so that’s not surprising”.“I think they are fundamentally mistaken and they are misjudging where we are and what the prime minister has succeeded in doing,” he claimed.The family member who tested positive lives in Downing Street, but Mr Johnson’s spokesperson would not say whether it was the prime minister’s wife, Carrie, or either of the couple’s children.The spokesperson said Mr Johnson took a test on Wednesday and another on Thursday.And he added: “The PM is following the guidance to do daily tests and limit contact with others. As I said, (the) positive test was Wednesday so the PM will continue following this guidance up to and including Tuesday of next week.“For reference, the guidance is to take an LFD (lateral flow device) test every day for seven days, or until 10 days after the household member who has Covid-19 started their self-isolation period if this is earlier, and in this instance it’s not, so it’s seven days.”The spokesperson added that “in line with the guidance, he’s reducing contacts, he’ll be working from No 10, doing the daily tests, and limiting contact with others both outside No 10 and indeed inside No 10 as well”.He said the prime minister will continue to hold meetings but “for the large part that will be done virtually”. More

Cabinet Minister brushes off calls for PM to resign if he broke rules at No 10 partyBoris Johnson is defying calls to resign following a bruising PMQs performance yesterday where he apologised for attending drinks in the gardens of Downing Street during lockdown. The defiant prime minister decided to fight for his position on Wednesday afternoon and mobilised the cabinet to his defence, with ministers posting messages of support on social media. One such cabinet minister is Jacob Rees-Mogg who responded to questions on party-gate in the Commons on Thursday. He told MPs that the Covid public inquiry must consider whether lockdown rules, including restrictions on funerals were “too hard”. The attempted fight-back comes as Labour leads in the polls by a yawning ten-point gap – the biggest Labour lead over the Tory party in almost a decade. Mr Johnson has also been forced to cancel a visit to a vaccination centre in Lancashire due to a family member testing positive for Covid. No 10 said the prime minister will be following the “guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others”. Show latest update

1642085732Who is Sue Gray?Sue Gray, the senior civil servant tasked with leading an inquiry into alleged No 10 rule-breaking during coronavirus lockdowns, is no stranger to an investigation.Having led two previous reviews into the behaviour of Cabinet ministers, the Cabinet Office official has been handed responsibility for finding the facts amid a litany of claims that ministers and Government staff partied in contravention to Covid-19 restrictions.Her remit includes looking into the allegation that Downing Street staff, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie, attended a “bring your own booze” party on May 20 2020, at a time when more than two people were banned from socialising outdoors together.Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 14:551642085075Sue Gray may not be allowed in front of select committees to present No 10 parties reportEmily Atkinson13 January 2022 14:441642084673Jacob Rees-Mogg unable to name Welsh Conservative leader when asked in CommonsJacob Rees-Mogg was left floundering when asked to name the Welsh Conservative leader by Kevin Brennan at Business Questions on Thursday.It comes after the Commons leader called Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross a “lightweight figure” in the party on Wednesday eveningMr Brennan asked: “Following his disparaging remarks about the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, can we have a statement from him about exactly what he meant by that?“For example, does he think the leader of the Welsh Conservatives is a lightweight figure? And can he name him?”After briefly laughing and then remaining silent for a moment, Mr Rees-Mogg replied: “The Secretary of State for Wales is called Simon Hart.”Andrew RT Davies was first elected leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the Senedd in 2011 before resigning in 2018. He was reappointed last January.Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 14:371642083157US rejects UK plea for talks on steel tariffs in humiliation for Boris JohnsonThe US has rejected a UK plea for face-to-face talks to remove punishing tariffs on UK steel, in an embarrassment for Boris Johnson.But Gina Raimondo, the US commerce secretary, has now told the Department for International Trade (DIT), that she is too busy to travel to the UK at present.“While Secretary Raimondo appreciates the kind invitation, she’s not in a position to travel to London in-person at this time,” a spokesperson told the Politico website.Our deputy political editor Rob Merrick reports:Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 14:121642082178PM pulls out of public appearance after family member tests positive for Covid despite not being required to self-isolateBoris Johnson has bowed out of a planned visit to a jab clinic after an unidentified family member tested positive for Covid-19.The public appearance in Lancashire would have been an opportunity for the media to ask the PM questions about his attendance at a Downing Street “BYOB” party on 20 May 2020.Despite official guidance no longer requiring vaccinated contacts of coronavirus cases to self-isolate, Mr Johnson has pulled out of the visitA Downing Street spokesman said: “The Prime Minister will no longer be visiting Lancashire today due to a family member testing positive for coronavirus.“He will follow the guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others.”Although the legal requirement to self-isolate does not apply to vaccinated contacts, they are advised to take daily tests and “limit close contact with other people outside your household”.The Prime Minister’s official spokesman added that Mr Johnson took a test on Wednesday and another on Thursday.He said: “The PM is following the guidance to do daily tests and limit contact with others. As I said, (the) positive test was Wednesday so the PM will continue following this guidance up to and including Tuesday of next week.“For reference, the guidance is to take an LFD (lateral flow device) test every day for seven days, or until 10 days after the household member who has Covid-19 started their self-isolation period if this is earlier, and in this instance it’s not, so it’s seven days.”The spokesman added that “in line with the guidance, he’s reducing contacts, he’ll be working from No 10, doing the daily tests, and limiting contact with others both outside No 10 and indeed inside No 10 as well”.He said the Prime Minister will continue to hold meetings but “for the large part that will be done virtually”.Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:561642081832PPE contract ‘VIP-lane’ ‘dodgy’ and ‘illegal’, says RaynerThe alleged VIP lane for personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts was not just “dodgy” but “illegal”, Labour’s deputy leader has said.Angela Rayner said: “The Government’s VIP lane for PPE procurement wasn’t just dodgy, it was actually illegal. That was not my opinion, but the judgment of a High Court yesterday.”The Labour deputy leader said Cabinet Office ministers stood at the despatch box “time and time again” to say “detailed diligence and full financial checks were done”, but on Wednesday the court “found that the Cabinet Office simply did not have the resources necessary to undertake due diligence”.She added: “Officials simply searched online to confirm one company existed and another received a red warning but it wasn’t passed on. Can he tell us how much from those two contracts alone was spent on equipment that wasn’t even used by the NHS?”Cabinet Office minister Steve Barclay rejected her allegations, insisting that the government had strained “every sinew” to ensure PPE made available.He said: “The court acknowledged, quote, that it’s highly unlikely that the outcome would have been substantially different if a different assessment process had been followed.“I think what the House quite rightly would have challenged the Government on is, firstly, if anything different would have occurred if a different approach had happened, and secondly, on the fundamental point, which is at a time of national crisis, whether the Government was straining every sinew to ensure that those at the sharp end in our NHS – clinicians – had the PPE that they needed. The Government did do that.”Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:501642081028Christine Lee: Security warning to MPs over Chinese spying threatEmily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:371642080932‘Cascading revelations of corruption’: How Europe’s media reported on Boris Johnson’s No.10 partyBoris Johnson’s political meltdown over lockdown parties in Downing Street has caught the attention of European newspapers – most of which have cast a sceptical eye on the prime minister’s response.French-speaking Belgian daily newspaper Le Soir carries a analysis piece branding Mr Johnson’s defence of the party “tenuous”, stating that had “played the naivety card” to MPs on Wednesday. Meanwhile in Flanders De Standard says the prime minister’s argument “convinced few” and says he is gradually becoming a “dead man walking”.Our policy correspondent Jon Stone reports:Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:351642080332Watch: Labour MP says Johnson ‘not fit to lick the boots of NHS workers’Labour MP says Johnson ‘not fit to lick the boots of NHS workers’Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:251642079914Angela Rayner has written letters to all Cabinet ministers to ‘come clean about parties they have attended’Emily Atkinson13 January 2022 13:18 More

MPs have been issued with a warning over spying threat from a woman believed to be attempting to influence UK politicians on behalf of China.Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle, in a letter sent to MPs, warned that Christine Lee had been “engaged in political interference” for the Chinese Communist Party and sought to lobby parliamentarians including through a former all-party parliamentary group (APPG).The letter stated: “I should highlight the fact that Lee has facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China.”The Speaker added: “This facilitation was done covertly to mask the origins of the payments. This is clearly unacceptable behaviour and steps are being taken to ensure it ceases.”Labour MP Barry Gardiner has confirmed he had received donations from Lee and said he has been liaising with intelligence “for a number of years” about her.“They have always known, and been made fully aware by me, of her engagement with my office and the donations she made to fund researchers in my office in the past,” said Mr Gardiner.The MP also revealed that Ms Lee’s son had been acting as his diary manager – but had resigned on Thursday morning. Mr Gardiner said MI5 “have no intelligence that shows he was aware of, or complicit in, his mother’s illegal activity”.The former Labour frontbencher said Ms Lee stopped funding any workers in his office in June 2020 and he had not “personally benefited from those donations in any way”.The MI5 security warning – details of which were first published in The Sun on Thursday – named Ms Lee as a solicitor suspected to have been “knowingly engaged in political interference activities” in the UK.Senior Conservative MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith raised the issue in the Commons on Thursday and called for an overhaul of the accreditation process “because it’s clearly too lenient”.Sir Iain said the warned circulated by the Lord Speaker is “warning members of parliament that there has been an agent of the Chinese government active here in parliament, working with a member of parliament, obviously to subvert the processes here.”The former Tory party leader told MPs: “This is a matter of grave concern.”He added: “I am one of those who has done a lot to help fleeing Hong Kong Chinese. Here in the UK we have names and numbers of people. And that leaves me worrying some of these have been accessed by such an individual. These would be their lives and families at risk.”Human rights campaigner Luke de Pulford told The Independent: “It’s not a surprise to us. There’s been suspicions of a very close relationship between the Chinese Embassy and figures in parliament for a long time. It just goes to show that democracy can be subverted by this kind of thing.”Mr de Pulford lent his support to Sir Iain’s call for a root and branch check of all everyone working in MPs’ offices. “I think we need to make it clear what interests people working for MPs have,” Mr de Pulford said.The Independent has contact Christine Lee’s office for comment. More

Boris Johnson’s fate now lies in the hands not of his MPs or the nation’s voters, but a little-known civil servant conducting an inquiry behind closed doors into Downing Street parties.As he made his apology on Wednesday for attending a drinks event in the No 10 rose garden during lockdown, the prime minister pleaded with MPs to suspend judgment on his actions until the release of Sue Gray’s report.The tactic bought the PM time, but may prove a double-edged sword in raising expectations that he will comply with any recommendations the Whitehall mandarin makes. Asked whether he would resign if Gray found against him, Johnson himself told the Commons he would “respond as appropriate” to her findings.The terms of reference of Ms Gray’s inquiry, as set out by the Cabinet Office, state that its primary purpose is “to establish swiftly 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”.She is not required to make recommendations for action, but her remit makes clear that she may pass judgement on whether “individual disciplinary action is warranted”.However, there is widespread doubt at Westminster that Ms Gray will see it as her role, as a politically neutral and unelected civil servant, to reach a finding so unequivocal that it would require the removal of a prime minister.Previous reports by government officials, no matter how damning, have tended to be couched in diplomatic terms which allow elected politicians to make the final judgement on whether one of their colleagues has unforgivably overstepped the mark.Sir David Normington, a former Whitehall permanent secretary, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “She will be very aware that she has the reputation and possibly the careers of senior civil servants and possibly of the Prime Minister in her hands, and that is a very difficult position to be in, however fair and fearless and rigorous you are.”No date has yet been set for the completion of Ms Gray’s investigation, with Downing Street saying only that she will continue until her inquiries are concluded.“Sue Gray is acting independently, she is leading this piece of work. Under the terms of reference she is able to speak to who she wishes and investigate as she sees fit to ascertain the facts,” Mr Johnson’s official spokesperson told reporters.Expectations are high that the report will go next week to Mr Johnson, who has pledged to publish it. However, its expected publication date has already been delayed several times as new allegations about parties come to light and require additional investigation.Mr Johnson has said he will make a statement to the House of Commons when he receives the report, at what will be a moment of maximum peril for the prime minister.While he is thought highly unlikely to resign, no matter how critical her findings may be, Tory MPs have made clear they are ready to submit letters of no confidence to the chair of the backbench 1922 Committee if they feel his position is no longer tenable. Committee chair Sir Graham Brady must call a vote of no confidence in Mr Johnson as Tory leader if he receives letters from 15 per cent of MPs – some 54 Conservatives.Downing Street will also be on resignation watch at the time of the report’s publication, as any cabinet minister contemplating a leadership bid could use the report as an opportunity to distance him- or herself from Johnson and to signal disapproval of his behaviour in office.The decision on what action should be taken in response to the report, in terms of disciplinary measures or changes to Downing Street procedures, will be for Mr Johnson to take. His independent adviser on ethics, Lord Geidt, could only get involved at the prime minister’s request.But if Mr Johnson chooses to overrule or ignore elements of the report, he risks provoking Ms Gray into resigning, as his former ethics adviser Sir Alex Allan did when the PM reversed the findings of his report into bullying by Priti Patel.Ms Gray was called in to helm the partygate inquiry on 18 December, after cabinet secretary Simon Case was forced to step down after it emerged that he had hosted a lockdown drinks event in his private office the previous year.Mr Case had initially been asked to look into reports of a single Christmas party in 2020 and was expected to conclude his inquiry before parliament rose for its winter break, but the probe was swiftly expanded as new allegations emerged about a series of Covid breaches.The second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office is leading a small team with powers to interview officials, ministers and political appointees at Downing Street and other government departments.No 10 has refused to reveal whether the prime minister has spoken to her inquiry or whether he has handed over his mobile phone or computer for records of messages to be checked.Downing Street says it “does not recognise” claims from No 10 insiders – revealed by The Independent – that they were told last month to “clean” their phones of anything which appeared to point to a party taking place.Ms Gray is a former director general of propriety and ethics at the Cabinet Office, and has been described as “the most powerful person you’ve never heard of”.In 2017, she led an inquiry which forced the resignation of de facto deputy prime minister Damian Green over claims that pornography was found on his computer.She also spearheaded the so-called “plebgate” inquiry into claims that then-chief whip Andrew Mitchell had insulted police officers on Downing Street.Some critics have suggested Ms Gray has been influential in blocking freedom of information requests, with former BBC Newsnight journalist Chris Cook reporting in 2015 that she was “notorious for her determination not to leave a document trail” and had assisted departments to “fight disclosures”.Mr Johnson’s own future may depend on whether she is able herself to find a document trail pointing to his toleration or encouragement of Covid rule-breaking by staff at No 10.Gray has worked in the civil service since the late 1970s, apart from a career break in the late 1980s when she ran a pub in Newry with her husband Bill Conlon, a country singer from County Down. 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