London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Dominic Raab refuses to confirm full publication of Sue Gray partygate report

Dominic Raab refuses to confirm full publication of Sue Gray partygate report

Deputy PM promises ‘full transparency’ but says it is for Boris Johnson to decide how much detail is released to the public
Dominic Raab has refused to confirm that the Sue Gray report on alleged Downing Street parties will be published in full, saying the amount of detail released publicly will be a matter for Boris Johnson.

The prime minister is braced for a critical week, with many Tory backbenchers reserving judgment on his future until they see Gray’s findings and how Johnson responds.

One former frontbencher said: “If he has been found out to have misled or covered up or anything like that, he’ll face a vote of no confidence.”

Another senior MP said: “I think most colleagues have largely made their minds up – both ways around. There may be some who want to see the content first to judge if they think they want to defend any of it, but there’s enough out there to have reached a conclusion. But it is right to see the whole picture before taking action.”

Several MPs have already called publicly for Johnson to resign, but it would take 54 letters from MPs to Sir Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, to trigger a vote of no confidence.

In what appeared to be a scaling back of the government’s commitment to openness on the report, Raab, who is the justice secretary and deputy prime minister, promised there would be “full transparency” but declined to give any specifics.

Gray, the senior civil servant tasked with investigating claims of lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street and elsewhere in government, is expected to publish the report in the coming week.

Asked whether the public would be able to see it in full, Raab told BBC One’s Sunday Morning programme: “Quite the way, the process for it, will be for the prime minister to decide. But … there will be full transparency. He has said he will come back to the Commons and make a statement, so there will be full scrutiny.”

Pressed on whether this meant it would be fully published, Raab said: “I’m not quite sure the shape and the form it will come, but the prime minister has been clear there will be full transparency around this, so that people can see. We would welcome that transparency and we need to learn the lessons.”

It has been reported that Gray’s investigation has been expanded to consider claims that Johnson and his wife, Carrie, held parties in their flat above 11 Downing Street. According to the Sunday Times, Gray is looking into whether visits to the flat during lockdown by government aides who are close friends with Carrie Johnson were necessary for work.

Raab declined to say whether Gray was looking into this, but did agree that Johnson would be expected to resign if he had misled parliament.

“The whole point of Sue Gray conducting this investigation is that she can look without fear or favour at whatever she wants to look at, and we avoid trial by media or the soap opera of things coming out without being substantiated,” Raab said when asked about the new claims.

“What I would say in relation to any of this is, if it’s significant, it’s important, Sue Gray should look at it.”

Pressed on whether Johnson would have to go if he lied to the Commons, he said: “The code of conduct for ministers is very clear, that if you mislead parliament it’s a resigning matter.” Several other cabinet ministers, including the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, have made the same point in recent days.

Speaking earlier, the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown said it seemed unlikely that Johnson’s career would “end in anything other than scandal”.

“My fear is that scandal is going to follow Boris Johnson as long as he is prime minister,” Brown told Sky’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday.

“We don’t just have the scandal – and all the details will probably come out later this week about partying – we have the conflicts of interest, we have the dubious appointments, we have foreign money and question marks over that: who is paying the bills for what? And I don’t think we are going to see this administration end in anything other than scandal.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×