London’s Metropolitan Police has asked the Cabinet Office report to make “minimal reference” into the allegations of lockdown-busting parties that it is currently investigating, which could lead Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government to release a redacted, partial version of the highly anticipated document.
The police said in a statement they did not ask for “any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed,” but adds that it is in “ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.”
Westminster is bracing for senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report, which looks into evidence around several gatherings inside Downing Street and Whitehall over the last eighteen months that may have broken coronavirus rules. After days of false alarms, it is now expected to be published on Monday at the earliest.
After weeks of media revelations, the Met announced Tuesday it would open an investigation. Sue Gray has provided information gathered as part of her own investigation to the police.
The Gray report is complete but has not yet been sent to Johnson, as there are legal concerns that publishing some of her findings on the eight alleged events being looked at by the police could prejudice their investigation, POLITICO London Playbook reported Thursday.
If the report is published before the police investigation concludes, some of the more serious allegations could be held back.