London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Feb 01, 2026

Deadline passes for officials set to be named by Sue Gray. Boris Johnson probably cleared as a secret deal with Sue

Deadline passes for officials set to be named by Sue Gray. Boris Johnson probably cleared as a secret deal with Sue

Officials expected to be identified in the report on No 10 parties had until Sunday afternoon to object. Boris Johnson and his close friends are expected to be protected following a secret and dubious meeting that took place between Boris Johnson and Sue Gray.

The deadline for Downing Street officials to object to being named in Sue Gray's report on lockdown parties has passed.

The senior civil servant, who has led the investigation, is expected to publish her findings within days.

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told the BBC Ms Gray had "complete control" over the details revealed.

But Labour insisted the report should be published "in full and with all accompanying evidence".

The officials set to be named as having attended or organised gatherings had until 17:00 BST on Sunday to register their objections.

Whitehall sources had told the BBC that challenges could potentially delay publication of the report.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said that, with no one yet known to have taken out a legal challenge, it was likely that the report would be published in the next few days.

A separate investigation by the Metropolitan Police concluded this week with a total of 126 fines being issued to 83 people, including one to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Ms Gray has gathered evidence including 510 images during her own investigation.

The BBC understands it is unlikely all the images will be released, although it is possible some will be published to illustrate the nature of the gatherings.

Asked on BBC One's Sunday Morning programme whether all the evidence gathered by Ms Gray would be included in her report, Mr Zahawi replied: "I would absolutely welcome it. It's the right thing to do."

He said the prime minister had his "full confidence", telling host Jo Coburn: "Sue Gray makes that decision [over what to include in her report]. Sue Gray has complete control over this."

On Friday it emerged that the prime minister and Ms Gray had met several weeks earlier over the report, although there are conflicting accounts of what was discussed.

Mr Johnson is facing calls to explain the meeting from opposition parties, who say it threatens to undermine public confidence in the investigation.

But Mr Zahawi said: "The prime minister would never interfere in the outcome of the investigation."

"The prime minister, throughout the process, has allowed Sue Gray to conduct herself independently," he added.

Downing Street said Mr Johnson had been "clear throughout" that the report should be "completely independent", and its findings had not been discussed.


There hasn't been a renewed clamour among Conservative MPs for the prime minister to go, now that police have confirmed the scale of the fines imposed on officials and politicians in Downing Street.

But Boris Johnson's long-standing critics will pore over the Sue Gray report to assess whether his initial assertion that Covid guidance and rules were followed was credible.

The devil for Mr Johnson will be in the as-yet-unseen detail of the Downing Street gatherings. If, for example, she were to provide descriptions - or even possibly, in some cases, images - of events that weren't socially distanced, that could potentially inflict more damage on the prime minister.

But if Mr Johnson, in the statement he will make to MPs when the report becomes public, can convince colleagues he was the victim of bad advice from his officials, then his next challenge will come in June.

That's when voters will get a chance to have their say in two crucial by-elections in Conservative held seats.

For Labour, shadow Treasury minister Pat McFadden told Sky News: "I've got every faith in Sue Gray's integrity and she is a civil servant of the highest integrity.

"We don't know the details of that meeting, it's not clear who called it, there's different accounts of that, so it's hard for me to say what was said there."

An interim version of Ms Gray's report, published in January, did not name individuals but criticised "failures of leadership and judgement" and said some events should not have "been allowed to take place".

The publication of her full findings was delayed when the Met Police launched its own investigation.

The prime minister faces a further inquiry by the Commons' Privileges Committee about whether he knowingly lied to Parliament when he previously told MPs that no laws had been broken in Downing Street.

Under government guidelines, ministers who knowingly mislead the House of Commons are expected to resign.


Watch: Zahawi in heated exchange over who set up Sue Gray meeting


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
New Epstein Files Include Images of Former Prince Andrew Kneeling Over Unidentified Woman
Starmer Urges Former Prince Andrew to Testify Before US Congress About Epstein Ties
Starmer Extends Invitation to Japan’s Prime Minister After Strategic Tokyo Talks
Skupski and Harrison Clinch Australian Open Men’s Doubles Title in Melbourne
DOJ Unveils Millions of Epstein Files, Fueling Global Scrutiny of Elite Networks
France Begins Phasing Out Zoom and Microsoft Teams to Advance Digital Sovereignty
China Lifts Sanctions on British MPs and Peers After Starmer Xi Talks in Beijing
Trump Nominates Kevin Warsh as Fed Chair to Reorient U.S. Monetary Policy Toward Pro-Growth Interest Rates
AstraZeneca Announces £11bn China Investment After Scaling Back UK Expansion Plans
Starmer and Xi Forge Warming UK-China Ties in Beijing Amid Strategic Reset
Tech Market Shifts and AI Investment Surge Drive Global Innovation and Layoffs
Markets Jolt as AI Spending, US Policy Shifts, and Global Security Moves Drive New Volatility
U.S. Signals Potential Decertification of Canadian Aircraft as Bilateral Tensions Escalate
Former South Korean First Lady Kim Keon Hee Sentenced to 20 Months for Bribery
Tesla Ends Model S and X Production and Sends $2 Billion to xAI as 2025 Revenue Declines
China Executes 11 Members of the Ming Clan in Cross-Border Scam Case Linked to Myanmar’s Lawkai
Trump Administration Officials Held Talks With Group Advocating Alberta’s Independence
Starmer Signals UK Push for a More ‘Sophisticated’ Relationship With China in Talks With Xi
Shopping Chatbots Move From Advice to Checkout as Walmart Pushes Faster Than Amazon
Starmer Seeks Economic Gains From China Visit While Navigating US Diplomatic Sensitivities
Starmer Says China Visit Will Deliver Economic Benefits as He Prepares to Meet Xi Jinping
UK Prime Minister Starmer Arrives in China to Bolster Trade and Warn Firms of Strategic Opportunities
The AI Hiring Doom Loop — Algorithmic Recruiting Filters Out Top Talent and Rewards Average or Fake Candidates
Amazon to Cut 16,000 Corporate Jobs After Earlier 14,000 Reduction, Citing Streamlining and AI Investment
Federal Reserve Holds Interest Rate at 3.75% as Powell Faces DOJ Criminal Investigation During 2026 Decision
Putin’s Four-Year Ukraine Invasion Cost: Russia’s Mass Casualty Attrition and the Donbas Security-Guarantee Tradeoff
Wall Street Bets on Strong US Growth and Currency Moves as Dollar Slips After Trump Comments
UK Prime Minister Traveled to China Using Temporary Phones and Laptops to Limit Espionage Risks
Google’s $68 Million Voice Assistant Settlement Exposes Incentives That Reward Over-Collection
Kim Kardashian Admits Faking Paparazzi Visit to Britney Spears for Fame in Early 2000s
UPS to Cut 30,000 More Jobs by 2026 Amid Shift to High-Margin Deliveries
France Plans to Replace Teams and Zoom Across Government With Homegrown Visio by 2027
Trump Removes Minneapolis Deportation Operation Commander After Fatal Shooting of Protester
Iran’s Elite Wealth Abroad and Sanctions Leakage: How Offshore Luxury Sustains Regime Resilience
U.S. Central Command Announces Regional Air Exercise as Iran Unveils Drone Carrier Footage
Four Arrested in Andhra Pradesh Over Alleged HIV-Contaminated Injection Attack on Doctor
Hot Drinks, Hidden Particles: How Disposable Cups Quietly Increase Microplastic Exposure
UK Banks Pledge £11 Billion Lending Package to Help Firms Expand Overseas
Suella Braverman Defects to Reform UK, Accusing Conservatives of Betrayal on Core Policies
Melania Trump Documentary Sees Limited Box Office Traction in UK Cinemas
Meta and EssilorLuxottica Ray-Ban Smart Glasses and the Non-Consensual Public Recording Economy
WhatsApp Develops New Meta AI Features to Enhance User Control
Germany Considers Gold Reserves Amidst Rising Tensions with the U.S.
Michael Schumacher Shows Significant Improvement in Health Status
Greenland’s NATO Stress Test: Coercion, Credibility, and the New Arctic Bargaining Game
Diego Garcia and the Chagos Dispute: When Decolonization Collides With Alliance Power
Trump Claims “Total” U.S. Access to Greenland as NATO Weighs Arctic Basing Rights and Deterrence
Air France and KLM Suspend Multiple Middle East Routes as Regional Tensions Disrupt Aviation
U.S. winter storm triggers 13,000-plus flight cancellations and 160,000 power outages
Poland delays euro adoption as Domański cites $1tn economy and zloty advantage
×