London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jan 18, 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
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
Meghan Markle Could Return to the UK for the First Time in Nearly Four Years If Security Is Secured
Meghan Markle Likely to Return to UK Only if Harry Secures Official Security Cover
UAE Restricts Funding for Emiratis to Study in UK Amid Fears Over Muslim Brotherhood Influence
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks to Safeguard Long-Term Agreement Stability
Starmer’s Push to Rally Support for Action Against Elon Musk’s X Faces Setback as Canada Shuns Ban
UK Free School Meals Expansion Faces Political and Budgetary Delays
EU Seeks ‘Farage Clause’ in Brexit Reset Talks With Britain
Germany Hit by Major Airport Strikes Disrupting European Travel
Prince Harry Seeks King Charles’ Support to Open Invictus Games on UK Return
Washington Holds Back as Britain and France Signal Willingness to Deploy Troops in Postwar Ukraine
Elon Musk Accuses UK Government of Suppressing Free Speech as X Faces Potential Ban Over AI-Generated Content
Russia Deploys Hypersonic Missile in Strike on Ukraine
OpenAI and SoftBank Commit One Billion Dollars to Energy and Data Centre Supplier
UK Prime Minister Starmer Reaffirms Support for Danish Sovereignty Over Greenland Amid U.S. Pressure
UK Support Bolsters U.S. Seizure of Russian-Flagged Tanker Marinera in Atlantic Strike on Sanctions Evasion
The Claim That Maduro’s Capture and Trial Violate International Law Is Either Legally Illiterate—or Deliberately Deceptive
UK Data Watchdog Probes Elon Musk’s X Over AI-Generated Grok Images Amid Surge in Non-Consensual Outputs
Prince Harry to Return to UK for Court Hearing Without Plans to Meet King Charles III
UK Confirms Support for US Seizure of Russian-Flagged Oil Tanker in North Atlantic
Béla Tarr, Visionary Hungarian Filmmaker, Dies at Seventy After Long Illness
UK and France Pledge Military Hubs Across Ukraine in Post-Ceasefire Security Plan
Prince Harry Poised to Regain UK Security Cover, Clearing Way for Family Visits
UK Junk Food Advertising Ban Faces Major Loophole Allowing Brand-Only Promotions
Maduro’s Arrest Without The Hague Tests International Law—and Trump’s Willingness to Break It
German Intelligence Secretly Intercepted Obama’s Air Force One Communications
The U.S. State Department’s account in Persian: “President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know it until now, now you do—do not play games with President Trump.”
Fake Mainstream Media Double Standard: Elon Musk Versus Mamdani
HSBC Leads 2026 Mortgage Rate Cuts as UK Lending Costs Ease
US Joint Chiefs Chairman Outlines How Operation Absolute Resolve Was Carried Out in Venezuela
Starmer Welcomes End of Maduro Era While Stressing International Law and UK Non-Involvement
Korean Beauty Turns Viral Skincare Into a Global Export Engine
×