London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Sue Gray report: five unanswered questions about No 10 parties

Sue Gray report: five unanswered questions about No 10 parties

Outstanding issues include event in Downing Street flat and Boris Johnson’s seeming lack of awareness

After almost six months of media reports, a police investigation and a two-part civil service inquiry, Downing Street hopes Sue Gray’s report has closed the book on the saga of lockdown-breaking parties in No 10. But Gray’s 60 pages of findings leave several questions unanswered:

Why did Gray not investigate the Downing Street flat event?


This is, more specifically, two questions. The first is what happened on the evening of 13 November 2020, after the departure of key aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, when Boris Johnson, his wife, Carrie, and others decamped to the Downing Street flat, where food and alcohol was consumed. No 10 says this was a work meeting, others argue it was clearly a party. The full truth is not known.

That leads to the second issue: why Gray chose not to look into the flat gathering. In her report, she said this was because, first, the Metropolitan police examined it, and then, it was “not appropriate or proportionate” for her to investigate further. This does not seem to make sense given Gray did look into other events investigated by the Met, prompting concerns Downing Street may have leant on her.

How did Johnson not know what was happening?


This is less of a question for Gray than one that necessarily follows from her report. As well as the extent of lockdown socialising – 15 events on eight dates – there is also the issue of the scale and premeditation. For the “bring your own booze” garden party on 20 May 2020, organised by Johnson’s then principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, invitations were sent to about 200 staff. Johnson turned up to that and was present at seven other events detailed in the report. The prime minister’s defence that he either did not see what was happening, or else attended but did not think it was a social event, feels implausible.

How did Johnson get away with one fine?


This was a question already raised at the end of the Met police inquiry last week, when Johnson received a fixed-penalty notice for the gathering on his birthday in June 2020, but not for other events he attended, for which others were penalised. But Gray’s report, with its pages of detail about drunken staff, spilled wine, karaoke machines and inebriated scuffles, sets out a wider context of apparent mass illegality. The Met agreed, issuing 126 penalty notices. How Johnson escaped with one remains a mystery.

How much leeway did Gray have in compiling her report?


While the inquiry was repeatedly billed by ministers as independent, Gray is a Cabinet Office civil servant ultimately managed by Simon Case, the cabinet secretary, among those named in the report, and then Johnson. As well as the implicit pressure on her to pull punches, questions remain about a meeting No 10 arranged between Johnson and Gray earlier this month, and whether pressure from Downing Street led to any scrutiny of the flat party being dropped.

How is Martin Reynolds still in a job?


The man now known to the nation as “Party Marty” is no longer principal private secretary. He works at the Foreign Office and is reported to be in line to become ambassador to Saudi Arabia – a place where organising “bring your own booze” parties would bring extra challenges. This is, however, a man mentioned 24 times in Gray’s report, who exchanged repeated messages about organising social gatherings despite warnings from other staff, remarking after one that we “seem to have got away” with it. It is fair to say that in most other settings, disciplinary proceedings would be well under way.

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
×