Sue Gray Report RECAP: Boris Johnson faces Parliament as Downing Street parties investigation findings made public

Boris Johnson defended himself against calls to resign in the House of Commons, after the long-awaited report on Downing Street parties during lockdown was published this afternoon.
Live coverage of the release of the Sue Gray report.Live coverage of the release of the Sue Gray report.
Live coverage of the release of the Sue Gray report.

Mr Johnson faced stern criticism from both opposition and backbench MPs for nearly two hours this afternoon, after Sue Gray's findings were published online.

Gray’s document was described as an ‘update’, as it lacked details due to the ongoing investigation into the parties by the Metropolitan Police.

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He was told he was a "man without shame" by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, while SNP Westminister leader Ian Blackford accused him of having "wilfully misled" the House over the alleged parties.

Here is The Scotsman’s RECAP on the events of the day.

Sue Gray Report RECAP: Downing Street parties investigation findings made public

Alister Jack, Secretary of State for Scotland, has released a statement, reiterating his support for Boris Johnson.

It reads: “The Prime Minister has my full support. He accepted the findings of the report and he made a sincere apology. He has taken responsibility & undertaken to fix things. I have no doubt that he will do that.”

“Our focus must now be on the issues that matter most to people - recovering from the pandemic, boosting our economy and rebuilding our public services.”

Jacob Rees-Mogg said there was “obviously going to be more to come” in the partygate saga.

“But what the Prime Minister is saying is that there’s a big job to be done as Prime Minister of this country,” he added.

He said all information gathered by Sue Gray should eventually be released, including photographs.

He added: “The more people see, the more understanding there will be of precisely what went on.”

Asked what he would say to colleagues putting themselves forward as a possible successor to the Prime Minister, he said: “The thing about throwing your hat in the ring is you often find it is thrown straight back out to you.”

He added there was not a job available to take.