Sue Gray report: 'Minimal reference' to lockdown parties in inquiry, Met Police request

The Met Police have asked that the internal inquiry into alleged lockdown parties make ‘minimal reference’ to any events it is investigating.

Scotland Yard has confirmed it asked “for minimal reference” to be made in the Sue Gray report to alleged incidents on Downing Street the force is currently investigating.

The Met’s request comes after it launched its own investigation when it was passed information by the Cabinet Office inquiry led by civil servant Sue Gray.

Boris Johnson continues to anxiously await Ms Gray’s report, which has the potential to trigger a vote of no confidence in his leadership by Tory MPs angered over alleged breaches.

The Met Police has asked that the Sue Gray report make 'minimal reference' to the lockdown parties (Photo by CARL RECINE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images).

The Metropolitan Police insisted officers had not asked for Sue Gray’s report to be delayed or placed any further restrictions on other events.

But the force said it remained in contact with the Cabinet Office team to “avoid any prejudice to our investigation”.

In a statement, it said: “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.

“The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.”

The statement indicates Ms Gray will either have to make significant changes to her report before publication or delay it until after the police inquiry concludes.

Sources close to the inquiry have previously indicated that she was concerned about the prospect of releasing a report that was short of some of its key findings.

Officers have not confirmed how many events they are investigating, but reports have suggested it could be as high as eight.

Asked why the Gray report hand-in had been delayed, technology minister Chris Philp told LBC: “You will have to ask Sue Gray that, because the timing of the report is up to her.

“You will have seen, as I have seen, press speculation is it is because she’s discussing with lawyers and police exactly what can and can’t go in it.

“But the bottom line is, I don’t know because it is a report she’s compiling independently and I have no visibility of what may or may not be in it, or what her thought process is.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.