Johnson among ‘dozens’ at No 10 named in Gray report

Boris Johnson is among dozens of Downing Street figures who have been warned they will be named in Sue Gray’s longawaited report into the Partygate scandal.

- ANDREW WOODCOCK, ANNA ISAAC

The individuals have been given a deadline of tomorrow evening to challenge the Whitehall mandarin’s account of their involvement, with sources close to the inquiry team saying that any serious objection could delay publication beyond the planned date early next week.

Staff in No 10 were said to be “devastated” at the prospect of public exposure and possible disciplinary action, which could affect individuals who escaped fines in the Metropolitan Police investigation into lockdown breaches which concluded on Thursday.

Letters are understood to have been sent by Ms Gray’s team yesterday to around 30 people: mostly those who are set to be named in the report but others are also included, and are being asked to confirm that they accept the narrative of incidents in which they were involved.

However, they are not being informed of the conclusions reached by Ms Gray in the crucial section of the document, in which she is expected to cast her verdict on failings of leadership and judgement, as well as the drinking culture inside Downing Street.

The senior civil servant’s team are braced for the possibility of individuals bringing in lawyers to challenge the account presented in her report, which could potentially introduce a delay of weeks.

“The idea that this will come out on Monday or Tuesday is based on everything falling into place at the right moment,” said a source close to the Gray team.