Probe into No 10 parties may be delayed because the number keeps growing

The official investigation report into the No 10 lockdown parties could be delayed by a week following revelations of a number of other events.

Sue Gray, the senior civil servant investigating the parties, has found the number increasing day by day, and her report – expected at the end of this week – could now be delayed until the following week.

Gray was said to have felt “completely blindsided” by the new revelations, including that dozens of aides and officials were at two boozy parties in No 10 the night before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral last April, when the Queen had to sit alone at the service to comply with Covid restrictions.

She is also said to be concerned that Downing Street staff are deliberately concealing information about parties held at No 10, according to a report in The Times. Gray, the Cabinet Office second permanent secretary, was chosen to step in to lead the investigation after Cabinet Secretary Simon Case – her boss – stepped aside following allegations that his own office held a Christmas event in December 2020.

Gray, a former publican, has investigated two Cabinet ministers in the past over alleged wrongdoing.The subjects of those investigations, former first secretary of state Damian Green and former chief whip Andrew Mitchell, ended up being sacked and quitting respectively.

Gray is now investigating 10 events held in No 10 and elsewhere in Government while coronavirus restrictions were in place during 2020, ranging from summer garden drinks to Christmas bashes.

Her inquiry’s remit will include understanding what happened on May 20 2020 during a “bring your own booze” garden drinks event for staff – held when it was forbidden for more than two people to meet outside during the first coronavirus lockdown, which the prime minister has admitted he attended for about 25 minutes.

Gray’s final document is set to be a largely factual account and may not assign individual blame but might refer disciplinary action to others. The SNP has warned that it must not be a cover-up. Brendan O’Hara MP said: “This report risks being a Whitehall whitewash.”

Levelling-up Secretary Michael Gove admitted on Friday that changes might need to be made in Downing Street after the publication of Gray’s report. He said: “We need to have a full, candid account of everything that went on, lay out all those facts, then, if there is a specific need for disciplinary action or for responsibility to be taken, let’s do that.”