Is Sue Gray’s Covid parties review so damning it could finish Boris Johnson as PM?
Boris Johnson and Cressida Dick: her decision to investigate the so-called Partygate scandal bought him a three-month reprieve from the “excoriating” contents of Sue Gray’s report – but now seems likely to add fuel to incendiary criticisms it contains.
This casts the Metropolitan Police’s decision to investigate the alleged lockdown-busting Downing Street parties – after initially refusing – in a very poor light indeed.
The Met, under then-Commissioner Cressida Dick, decided to launch an investigation after all, shortly before Cabinet Office civil servant Sue Gray was due to publish her review into the events underlying the so-called Partygate scandal.
Ms Gray had been expected to publish her report around January 24 this year, but it didn’t appear on that day – and on the very next day, Dick announced that the Met was launching an investigation of its own.
This Writer said at the time that the announcement seemed an obvious delaying tactic and today’s (April 25) revelation suggests that I was right.
Ms Gray was forced to amend her report because the plods said they didn’t want it to contain any information that could prejudice their inquiries.
And now we hear claims that the full report is so “excoriating” of Johnson that it could end his term as prime minister:
The Times, citing an official it described as being familiar with the contents of the complete report, said Ms Gray’s full findings were even more personally critical of the Prime Minister and could end his premiership.
According to the paper, the official said: “Sue’s report is excoriating. 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 10 declined to comment.
Ironically, it seems the Met’s delaying tactic is likely to have made matters worse for Johnson in the long term.
Already he has received one fixed-term penalty – a fine – for attending a party held to celebrate his own birthday in 2020. It seems likely he will receive another for a “bring your own booze” event in the garden of 10 Downing Street on May 20 that year.
And there are four other events that he allegedly attended being investigated by the police as well.
Ms Gray can’t release her full report until after the police investigation has ended but, by then, any criticism of Johnson may be superceded by the consequences of the fines.
According to the i newspaper, Tory rebels are organising to oust him if their party fares poorly in next month’s local elections – or if he receives further fines.
The three-month reprieve Johnson has enjoyed as a result of the police investigation has merely allowed them to organise themselves, it seems.
The paper says Johnson’s critics are currently “holding back” to await the local election results or further fines – but have prepared ‘no confidence’ letters to be submitted en masse to the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs should the party take a battering at the polls on May 5.
It seems Johnson’s chickens are coming home to roost and any plan to fend off his critics with an early general election is likely to fail. How will he try to save his bacon now?
Source: Sue Gray’s Covid parties review could spell ‘end’ of Boris Johnson premiership, says report
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I’m so sick of hearing about things that could be the end of this useless Prime Minister. What does it take? We know he lies constantly, we know he has misled Parliament and the Queen, we know he attended parties while people died and we know he is a diplomatic disaster. What more does it take?
From what I am hearing both the Tories and Labour could take a battering at the local elections as people vote for other parties
They have ‘held back’ for Sue Gray’s report, ‘held back’ for the outcome of the police investigation (still ongoing) and now they are holding back for the outcome of the local elections. After the local elections, if they don’t immediately oust him, they will. no doubt, tell us they have to wait for Gray’s ‘full’ report and then the outcome of the parliamentary inquiry. This COULD be kicked down the road for many more months. Gray may decide she doesn’t want to prejudice the parliamentary inquiry either. In any other government he’d have been gone already and at any other point in history he’d never made it to the office of PM with his already despicable record..