Sue Gray And War Of Words Over Boris Meeting

Standard told that no 10 ‘made first move’ as minister points finger at top civil servant | PM 'not putting others in line of fire'

- Nicholas Cecil and Rachael Burford

THE row over a meeting between Boris Johnson and partygate investigator Sue Gray escalated today as a minister said she instigated it.

With her report due to be published within days, Treasury minister Simon Clarke pointed the finger firmly at top civil servant Ms Gray for suggesting the meeting.

However, this appeared to be at odds with earlier briefings that government officials initially proposed the meeting.

Mr Clarke also said the question of which senior Whitehall officials will be named in the report, which is expected to be damning about the partygate culture in No 10, needed to be "bottomed out". Amid claims that Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was being lined up to take the blame for the scandal, the minister stressed that Mr Johnson was not "putting others in the firing line".

The Standard has been told that No 10 officials initially suggested the meeting between the PM and Ms Gray and that she or her team later formally sent out a proposal for it.

As the controversy over the meeting grew, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey launched a Commons move to try to force the Government to publish its minutes.

Mr Clarke said the Prime Minister attended the meeting to "receive an update" on the investigation.