By Truth Take a look at crew
BBC News
Image source, UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor
Senior civil servant Sue Grey has published her plump portray into gatherings and parties at Downing Avenue when Covid restrictions had been in pressure.
It has provided more facts about what went on, however there are peaceable a different of unanswered questions.
What took situation in the Downing Avenue flat on 13 November?
One of the critical gatherings investigated by Ms Grey and the Metropolitan police became in the No 10 flat.
The Mail on Sunday said it became a “victory birthday celebration” to stamp Dominic Cummings leaving the government. It reported that Abba songs along with The Winner Takes It All had been heard being performed loudly in the flat that evening, along with sounds of dancing.
However Ms Grey describes it as a “assembly to debate the handling of the departures” of Mr Cummings and the No 10 Director of Communications, Lee Cain. 5 (unnamed) particular advisers attended and there became meals and alcohol. The prime minister joined them at 20: 00 and “the dialogue carried on later into the evening”.
Sue Grey says the “recordsdata mild on this gathering is proscribed” as it became halted when the Met investigation started and adds that, after the Met concluded its investigation, “I regarded as whether or to now not behavior to any extent extra investigation into this tournament however concluded it became now not acceptable or proportionate to enact so.”
She doesn’t uncover why she concluded it became now not acceptable or proportionate to continue to gape into this tournament.
Requested by an MP to present extra small print about what went on in the flat, Mr Johnson refused.
Did the prime minister build a request to for the portray back to now not be published, or to be edited?
There became some confusion earlier in the week about who had requested a gathering between Boris Johnson and Sue Grey.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke had suggested BBC News that it became Sue Grey who asked for it, however the prime minister’s spokesperson later conceded that it had in fact been the root of Downing Avenue officers.
There maintain additionally been questions about what became said at this assembly. The suggestion that he had asked for it to now not be published came from an editorial in the Times by which a source said: “He asked her is there famous level in doing it now that it be all accessible?”
Mr Johnson became first asked by Conservative MP Aaron Bell whether the Times memoir became appropriate. Mr Johnson did now not right away handle the request. Later he became asked by Labour MP Karin Smyth “did he build a request to her to now not post the portray?” Mr Johnson replied “no”.
Mr Johnson became additionally asked about this in the press conference and said: “The terms of reference make it fully certain that Sue has bought to post a portray.”
Requested by Labour MP Wayne David “Were any adjustments made, following requests, to the portion pertaining to to the gathering in the No 10 flat on 13 November 2020?” Mr Johnson said he had already addressed that topic.
Why became Simon Case now not fined for the birthday gathering?
The tournament for which the prime minister became fined became the gathering for his birthday on 19 June 2020.
It took situation in the Cabinet Room with sandwiches, snacks, at ease drinks and beer laid out on the table.
The portray says that Simon Case, who’s now the UK’s prime civil servant, “attended for a handy guide a rough duration having arrived early for a gathering which became attributable to occur in the Cabinet room”.
And it says that: “The chancellor became additionally there quick having additionally arrived early for the identical assembly.”
Image source, Cabinet Administrative center
But Rishi Sunak became fined by police for attending the birthday celebration and Simon Case became now not.
Both of them appear in the photos of the tournament in the portray.
Who organised the birthday gathering?
The portray says that particular adviser Cleo Watson had been “asked to organise the tournament” for the prime minister’s birthday.
However it doesn’t tell who asked her to organise it.
Newspapers maintain reported that it became the prime minister’s then fiancee Carrie Symonds.
Did Boris Johnson know about any of the parties?
The prime minister is now not mentioned in the portray when it talks in regards to the organisation of any of the events.
Image source, Cabinet Administrative center
But one of the most most of us focused on the messages and e-mails about them had been his closest advisers, along with his communications chief Lee Cain, indispensable non-public secretary Martin Reynolds and prime aide Dominic Cummings.
To illustrate, earlier than the “lift your contain booze” garden birthday celebration on 20 May possibly possibly most seemingly most seemingly Mr Cain emailed Mr Reynolds and Mr Cummings announcing: “I’m certain it’ll be beautiful -and I applaud the gesture – however a 200 outlandish person invitation for drinks in the garden of no 10 is a miniature bit of a comms wretchedness in the present environment.”
Is it seemingly that one in all them mentioned this to Mr Johnson?
Who had been the unidentified of us in the garden?
In the story of the gathering in the garden at Downing Avenue on 15 May possibly possibly most seemingly most seemingly, the portray talks about a different of groups acting in a photo in the Guardian.
There became a table on the terrace with Boris Johnson, his wife, Martin Reynolds and Dominic Cummings.
There might be a bunch along with the neatly being secretary and Downing Avenue and Department of Effectively being officers.
And at closing: “There is an additional group of 4 folks sitting at a table on the terrace. It has now not been seemingly to call these folks.”