BORIS Johnson has reportedly been questioned by the civil servant leading the “partygate” investigation as he was alleged to have attended yet another bash at No 10.
The Prime Minister is said to have “shared what he knows” with Sue Gray about parties in Downing Street as she prepares to publish her report into claims of lockdown breaches as soon as this week, the Daily Telegraph reported.
It comes as The Mirror said Johnson attended a leaving do before Christmas 2020, during which he gave a speech to mark the departure of his defence adviser Captain Steve Higham.
No 10 did not respond to request for comment and the Ministry of Defence declined.
The leaving do claim is the latest in a long line of allegations about rule breaking in Downing Street, with Gray looking into a litany of possible events, including a “bring your own booze” garden party during the first coronavirus lockdown that Johnson has admitted he attended – although he insists he understood it to be a “work event”.
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That claim has been challenged by Sunday Times columnist Dominic Lawson, who says as least two individuals told the PM the email invite made it obvious the event was a party and that it should be cancelled.
He wrote: “I was told that Johnson’s dismissive response was to say they were ‘overreacting’ and to praise Reynolds as ‘my loyal Labrador’.
“I then asked someone who has known the PM for decades what could have made him take such an approach (other than natural hospitality and affability). His immediate answer was: ‘It’s because deep down he obviously thought the regulations were ridiculous, so why should he observe them?’”
No10 insisted: “It is untrue that the Prime Minister was warned about the event in advance.”
Public outrage was compounded by the revelation that Carrie Johnson was photographed breaking Covid rules in September 2020. The Sunday Telegraph published a photo of the PM’s wife embracing a friend at a social event in London's West End despite social distancing measures being in place.
In a bid to survive the partygate storm, reports have suggested the Prime Minister could cull his top team, with the likes of his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds, who sent an email inviting staff to enjoy the good weather in the No 10 garden in May 2020, being shown the door as part of a move said to have been dubbed “Operation: Save Big Dog”.
The Times reports a bid to save Johnson’s premiership would include an announcement putting the military in charge of preventing small boats from crossing the Channel, as the Prime Minister looks to push “populist” policies.
A change being considered could, according to the newspaper, include processing asylum seekers in Ghana and Rwanda, although the Home Office would not be drawn on such suggestions.
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Other touted policy announcements include attempts to reduce the NHS backlog and freeze the BBC licence fee for two years, with Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries hinting that the current model for funding the public broadcaster could be scrapped altogether.
Social media pictures surfaced on Sunday, apparently showing the office of Robert Largan, the Tory MP for High Peak, graffitied repeatedly with the words “Lies”.
It comes as Tory MPs wrestled publicly with their conscience over the weekend as a sixth backbencher, Tim Loughton, demanded that the Prime Minister resign, citing the “terminal damage” the revelations have done to his reputation.
Others, such as former party leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, said it was for Gray to determine what Johnson knew about possible lockdown breaches in No 10, while newer MPs suggested the affair raised questions about the “moral authority” at the top of Government.
West Dorset MP Chris Loder, who was elected in 2019, told BBC Radio 4’s Westminster Hour: “I’m not going to call for anyone’s resignation until I’ve seen the facts, but then real action is required, and then we shall go from there.”
Andrew Bowie, Conservative MP for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, said he would wait to read the conclusions of the investigation but admitted there was “a lot of ill-feeling out there and discomfort” on the Tory benches.
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The former party vice-chairman said he thought Commons Leader Jacob Rees-Mogg should apologise to Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross after he branded him “lightweight” following his call for the Prime Minister to stand down.
Bowie told the Westminster Hour that Ross was “by no way a lightweight”.
Former justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland – who was sacked from the Cabinet by the Prime Minister in September – told Times Radio that it would be “a bridge too far” for the No 10 incumbent if it emerged in Gray’s report that “people at the top of government” were involved in “organising and planning and absolutely openly disregarding the rules”.
For a Tory leadership contest to be triggered, 54 letters of no confidence in Johnson have to be submitted by MPs to Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the 1922 Committee, asking for a vote on his future.
Brady does not publicly state how many letters he has received, but reports suggest about 20 might have been handed in.
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