London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 28, 2025

No 10 staff facing police over Partygate can see notes on their evidence

No 10 staff facing police over Partygate can see notes on their evidence

Staff allowed ‘limited access’ before Sue Gray inquiry evidence passed to police

Downing Street staff being questioned by police about alleged lockdown breaches will be allowed to view notes on the evidence they gave to the Sue Gray inquiry.

Those spoken to as part of the Cabinet Office probe were told they could see the notes with a member of Gray’s team present but would not be allowed to bring a phone into the room, to be accompanied by a lawyer, or to request any changes.

Gray admitted that it was not “standard practice in internal investigations such as this” to share notes with interviewees, but said in a letter seen by the Guardian that she had decided “as an exceptional measure” that they would get “limited access”.

This will let interviewees view the evidence they gave to her before it is passed to police, who have opened a separate criminal investigation nicknamed Operation Hillman.

Dave Penman, head of the FDA trade union that represents many civil servants, said he had made the request on the interviewees’ behalf. He clarified: “They will only be able to access notes of their own internal interview – their own words – to assist them in completing the Met Q&A.”

It is understood the Met had no objection.

The deadline for Boris Johnson to submit the questionnaire sent out to all those believed to have attended gatherings passed on Friday night. No 10 confirmed the prime minister had returned his questionnaire.

He was sent the document by the Metropolitan police last Friday, and given seven days to complete. He is expected to argue he broke no rules because he used No 10 as part of his working day, given that it is both his home and an office shared with hundreds of others.

More than 50 questionnaires have so far been issued to Downing Street staff, and the outgoing Met commissioner, Cressida Dick, said last week that “some but probably not all may very well end up with a fixed penalty notice”.

Alec Shelbrooke, the MP for Elmet and Rothwell, became the latest backbench Conservative to express his anger with the prime minister. In an email to a constituent seen by the Guardian, he said: “I’ve always sought to be straight-talking with my constituents, so you will not hear me attempting to defend the indefensible. I am angry at events of recent weeks in Westminster, as I know others are.”

Shelbrooke said he had followed Covid rules “to the letter”, adding that he had not seen his parents for 15 months, “even when I technically could when rules relaxed”, because he believed the public holds MPs to a higher standard.

He would not reveal whether he had submitted a letter of no confidence in the prime minister.

Another senior backbencher told the Guardian they did not believe the respite for the prime minister would continue indefinitely. “Even if we have up to a month of calm, all the underlying issues remain,” said the former minister, who suggested the pressure on Johnson was “coming in waves”.

Commenting on claims by the prime minister’s allies that he believed the events he attended were work functions, they said: “That won’t wash; ignorance is no defence.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
China and Russia Deploy Seductive Espionage Networks to Infiltrate U.S. Tech Sector
Apple’s ‘iPhone Air’ Collapses After One Month — Another Major Misstep for the Tech Giant
Graham Potter Begins New Chapter as Sweden Head Coach on Short-Term Deal
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa Alleges Poison Plot via Chocolate and Jam
Lakestar to Halt External Fundraising as Investor in Revolut and Spotify
U.S. Innovation Ranking Under Scrutiny as China Leads Output Outputs but Ranks 10th
Three Men Arrested in London on Suspicion of Spying for Russia
Porsche Reverses EV Strategy as New CEO Bets on Petrol and Hybrids
Singapore’s Prime Minister Warns of ‘Messy’ Transition to Post-American Global Order
Andreessen Horowitz Sets Sights on Ten-Billion-Dollar Fund for Tech Surge
US Administration Under President Donald Trump Reportedly Lifts Ban on Ukraine’s Use of Storm Shadow Missiles Against Russia
‘Frightening’ First Night in Prison for Sarkozy: Inmates Riot and Shout ‘Little Nicolas’
×