Downing Street police who were on duty when the alleged lockdown-breaking gatherings took place have given ‘extremely damning’ evidence to Sue Gray, according to a source.
Police officers from the Metropolitan Police’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command, who were guarding Downing Street when the illegal gatherings allegedly took place, have provided their accounts to Ms Gray.
Ms Gray is the second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and is the senior civil servant tasked with investigating whether several gatherings held at Downing Street were in contravention of Covid lockdown rules.
The testimonies, which come just days before Ms Gray releases the findings of her report, have now been described as ‘extremely damning’, according to a source.
The source went on to claim that while officers could not be compelled to speak to Ms Gray they were ‘only too willing’ to provide cooperate with the probe.
Boris Johnson meanwhile is sticking to the story that he did not break any lockdown rules at the Downing Street party and is said to be calling MPs in an attempt to drum up more support before the findings of the report are revealed.
‘He’s feeling determined,’ one MP loyal to Johnson told The Times. ‘He genuinely believes that he didn’t break any rules and that he was going to the garden [on May 20, 2020] to say thank you.’
The official inquiry into the ‘partygate row’ is expected to be published this week – having reportedly been delayed last week due to the emergency of new claims – and there is growing nervousness in Downing Street over what it will reveal.
It comes as the PM’s former aide Dominic Cummings prepares to be interviewed by Ms Gray on Monday, according to reports.
