London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 23, 2025

Sue Gray halted inquiry into party at Boris Johnson's flat

Sue Gray halted inquiry into party at Boris Johnson's flat

The senior official investigating lockdown parties in Downing Street said she was only able to collect "limited" evidence about an event in the prime minister's flat.

Sue Gray's report said she stopped her inquiry into the gathering on 13 November 2020, after the Metropolitan Police started its investigations.

At a news conference, Boris Johnson said the event was "a work meeting".

Earlier he was asked if he was at the event to conduct a "job interview".

He told MPs the matter had been "extensively investigated" and had nothing to add beyond what was in Ms Gray's report.

The gathering in November 2020 was one of 16 looked at by Ms Gray as part of her inquiry into lockdown parties in Downing Street and other government buildings during the pandemic.

In newspaper reports, the gathering has been described as a party at Mr Johnson's No 11 flat to mark the departure of his former advisers Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain.

The pair left Downing Street in acrimonious circumstances after internal battles over Mr Cummings's role as Mr Johnson's chief adviser.

The Mail on Sunday reported that the party was organised by the prime minister's wife, Carrie Johnson, and involved dancing, drinking and music by Swedish pop group Abba.

But Downing Street denied Mrs Johnson had held a party and last month, the Times reported that Mr Johnson was interviewing, Henry Newman, a close friend of his wife, about a job at No 10.

The prime minister was pictured holding a drink aloft at a leaving do for his former communications chief on 13 November, 2020


Earlier on 13 November, the prime minister was pictured drinking with staff at a leaving do for Mr Cain in the press office area of No 10.

The Met Police said Covid-19 regulations were breached on 13 November 2020, but did not specify at which event, or how many people were fined.

In her long-awaited report, released on Wednesday, Ms Gray said "a meeting was held in the No 10 flat from some time after 18:00" on 13 November, 2020.

Five special advisers attended to discuss the handling of Mr Cain's departure and that of Mr Cummings, the report says.

"The prime minister joined them at about 20.00," the report adds.

"Food and alcohol were available. The discussion carried on later into the evening with attendees leaving at various points."

Ms Gray says the "information collected on this gathering is limited" because she had only just started obtaining evidence when the Met Police launched its investigation.

"At this point I stopped my investigation, given the need to avoid any prejudice to the police investigation," Ms Gray says.

Once the Met Police finished its investigation last week, Ms Gray "concluded it was not appropriate or proportionate" to carry out further inquiries about the gathering.

As part of its investigation, the Met Police sent out questionnaires to suspected Covid rule-breakers but there were no interviews under caution.

In Parliament on Wednesday, after Mr Johnson made a statement on Ms Gray's report, Labour MP Catherine West asked about the "Abba party he attended briefly".

She said: "Can he confirm he was only in his flat and he met Henry Newman to discuss a job, and can he confirm what the other special advisers were doing - were they part of the job interview as well?"

Mr Johnson replied: "That evening was extensively investigated to the best of my knowledge and I don't believe I can improve on what Sue Gray has had to say."


Prime Minister Boris Johnson: I am humbled and I have learned a lesson


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×