Sue Gray was aware of text messages suggesting that the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, could have hosted another gathering at her Downing Street apartment during the blockade, a Johnson spokesman said.
Whitehall’s official report in Partygate does not mention the event that took place on Boris Johnson’s birthday, June 19, 2020. The event is separate from the cabinet celebration, in which both Johnson were fined by police.
Labor said the revelation “looks like another cover-up” that “further casts doubt on the integrity of the investigation”.
The Sunday Times reported that Assistant Number 10 wrote to Cabinet Secretary Simon Case after Gray’s report was published to suggest sharing messages that he said showed evidence of further violations of Downing Street law.
The aide allegedly did not want to forward the messages exchanged with Carrie Johnson to Gray’s team, but offered to enter the office in January to show in person to investigators again after the capital’s police completed their own investigation.
Indoor communication was prohibited during the gathering. An exception was made to the meeting when the gathering was “reasonably necessary … for work purposes”.
Gray is aware of the texts “as part of her comprehensive investigation into alleged violations,” spokeswoman Carrie Johnson said Sunday.
They added: “Officers were given ample opportunity to present evidence, including these reports, and all relevant information was passed on to the Sofia police for investigation.
“The noon cabinet meeting on 19 June 2020 was subsequently found to be in breach and Ms Johnson was issued a notice of fixed sanction, among others, for which she apologized unreservedly and paid the fine in a timely manner.
Gray referred to the cabinet meeting in his report, saying it lasted 20 minutes and those present ate food and drank alcohol. Photos of Johnson, Cabinet Secretary Simon Case and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have been released.
Her long-awaited findings, released on Wednesday, do not refer to another gathering that took place that day.
However, the allegations threaten to rekindle anger over the Partygate scandal, under which the prime minister tried to draw a line.
A government source acknowledged that Gray’s report did not provoke the “political implosion” some have expected, but added that the consequences are likely to lead to a “gradual leak” of other dangerous details.
A Tory MP believed to have filed a no-confidence motion against the prime minister has expressed similar concerns. “That’s bad,” they said. “It will never go away, there will be a constant flow of new revelations. It will just go on! ”
Angela Raynor, the Labor’s deputy leader, said the text messages had been suppressed and that the public “deserves the truth about why holding a blockade party in the prime minister’s apartment on his birthday” has not been made public so far.
She added that the revelation “raises new questions about potential misconduct in public office, which should now be subject to appropriate and truly independent scrutiny” and that “this seems like another cover-up”.
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A cabinet spokesman said: “The report has been prepared impartially and its content represents the findings and conclusions of the investigation team only.
“As with all such investigative reports, the process of obtaining official representations from those considered critical was conducted before they were published. This is an appropriate and common process in such matters. “
Gray’s report contains only one mention of Johnson’s wife, in which she is not mentioned by name.
This was in connection with a garden gathering on May 15, a photo of which was obtained from the Guardian, where nearly two dozen Downing Street employees – including the Johnson family – gathered in groups in Garden 10.
Gray said the event lasted up to an hour and that the prime minister had brought cheese and wine from his apartment.
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