DOWNING Street staff – including PM Boris Johnson – will be allowed to read evidence gathered by Sue Gray ahead of answering police questions, reports say.
Number 10 workers were subject to Gray’s investigation for allegedly attending Covid-19 lockdown-breaking gatherings. A total of 12 parties across No 10 and Whitehall are being investigated by officers.
It was revealed last week that the force will disclose the number of fixed penalty notices (FPN) given to staff but it will not name the offenders.
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And now, ITV News says it has seen a leaked letter written to staff by Gray, who led the Cabinet Office investigation into the alleged rule-breaking.
In the letter, Gray grants staff including the Prime Minister limited access to notes taken about them during her inquiry.
It comes after Gray handed over evidence including 300 photographs to officers which sparked a separate investigation.
The highly anticipated report by Gray was released once the investigation had been handed to officers, but at the request of the Met was a hugely scaled-back version of the report and only 12 pages long.
According to the letter, Johnson and No 10 staff will be able to see notes gathered about them
Staff who are under investigation are understood to have been given police questionnaires compiled by officers who may issue fines if rules are found to have been broken.
But, before they complete them, Downing Street staff are to be given sight of notes made by Gray’s team when they were interviewed.
In the letter from February 17, Gray wrote: "I appreciate that this is a worrying time for those affected by this process, which I do not wish to compound."
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She added that "in light of particular circumstances surrounding this set of events I have, as an exceptional measure, decided that individuals may be provided with limited access to the notes".
The notes in question are helping to form the basis of the Met Police investigation. It is understood staff will only be allowed to see information Gray gathered on them, and not anyone else.
According to ITV, this is to allow staff to cross-reference their testimonies and maintain consistent answers.
Gray's highly anticipated report was scaled-back due to the policy inquiry
Downing Street staff have seven days to complete the questionnaires, with Johnson’s due back today, Friday, February 18.
Gray noted that this is not standard practice but that staff should be focussed on completing the questionnaire in the “timeline given”, adding: “Access to notes from previous interviews are not necessary to do this, nor is it standard practice in internal investigations such as this to share or agree such notes with interviewees.”
The letter also revealed that staff can only view the notes with a person from the investigation team present, they will be timed and they cannot take legal representation with them.
Phones, tablets, computers and recording equipment are barred from the room and no changes, amendments or challenging of the contents of the notes will be allowed.
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