Damning conclusions on the culture in Downing Streetpublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January 2022

14:38 GMT 31 January 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

At first reading, some of these conclusions are pretty damning of the culture in Downing Street around the time of various lockdown restrictions.

There's a lot of talk of events that shouldn't have taken place or shouldn't have been able to develop in the way they did.

There's talk of failures of leadership, significant things that need to be drawn from these events.

I think Boris Johnson will be under a lot of pressure when he comes to the Commons in just over an hour's time to set out what he thinks those lessons are.

There's a wider question about whether those leadership failures were the prime minister's himself.

I suspect we'll hear opposition politicians over the next few hours say exactly that, that the culture was created by the man at the top.

The thing to really watch out for, though, is exactly how Conservative MPs react to this. We know that many of them have been deeply uncomfortable about the stories they've heard of what went on in Downing Street.

We will bring you all of the analysis as we go through the report, but here is Sue Gray's final conclusion in full:

"The gatherings within the scope of this investigation are spread over a 20-month period - a period that has been unique in recent times in terms of the complexity and breadth of the demands on public servants and indeed the general public.

"The whole of the country rose to the challenge. Ministers, special advisers and the Civil Service, of which I am proud to be a part, were a key and dedicated part of that national effort.

"However, as I have noted, a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.

"There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government.

"This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded."

The report is 12 pages long, and makes clear that some of the events in Downing Street over the lockdowns "should not have been allowed to take place", while others "should not have been allowed to develop as they did".

It says the garden of No 10 was "used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight - this was not appropriate".

Here are some more of Sue Gray's findings:

The initial findings of Sue Gray's report into parties at Downing Street has just dropped, saying there were "failures of leadership and judgment" in No 10 and the Cabinet Office.

We are going through it with a fine-tooth comb to bring you all you need to know, but here are some stand-out lines from the document:

Here's a link if you'd like to read it for yourself in full., external

Sue Gray's report says there was a "serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time" at some of the gatherings.

After weeks of anticipation, a report outlining the initial findings of Sue Gray’s inquiry into lockdown parties in Downing Street has been published.

We’ll bring you more details from the report as soon as we can.

Image source, PA Media

The cut-down version of Sue Gray's report will be "bad for democracy" but "inadvertently good" for Boris Johnson, according to one of his former colleagues.

Will Walden, who worked as Johnson's director of communications when he was Mayor of London, tells BBC Radio Four's The World At One the situation was "a mess". But, he says, the decision by the Met to investigate, delaying Gray's full report, had "landed pretty well" for the PM.

Walden says: "He has the benefit of seeing a heavily redacted report and doesn't have long to respond, but he is responding to frankly what will be not a lot and I think that can only help him."

He thinks staff in No 10 will try and "move on as quickly as possible" after Johnson's statement to the Commons and we should expect "lots of promises on policy".

But Walden warns "an axe will still hang above the government, the PM in particular for months to come".

Sue Gray's report on the parties that took place in Downing Street under Covid restrictions is due to be published very soon. We're not sure exactly when and how much detail it will contain. But MPs are expected to be given some time to read it before Boris Johnson's statement in the Commons at 15:30GMT - so it must be minutes rather than hours now.

We'll bring you the latest detail as we get it, as well as analysis from the BBC's political experts.

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

We know this report will just be the initial findings - the first version, not the full fat version of all the information that Sue Gray has gathered.

That's not to say it won't make some quite stringent conclusions for Downing Street.

I think there will be identification of what will be described as a "drinking culture" and a lack of leadership in Downing Street.

But it will not give the full chapter and verse of everything that was going on behind the black door during lockdown.

Nor will it detail the worse incidences of rule-breaking in the building where people were setting rules at the same time.

Right now, No 10 might be hoping that this will at least - as far as Sue Gray is concerned - signal the end of the beginning.

I imagine the prime minister will apologise again, accept her findings in full and make some promises about trying to clean up the culture in Downing Street.

But while Westminster loves nothing more than intrigue about process, the point of this really is many members of the public may have already made up their mind about what happened, about Johnson's own involvement, and how how much this matters to them.

The breathless Westminster process-ology may preoccupy the postcode of SW1, but that overall big picture is what matters, not the dotted i's or crossed t's that may prove to be the least of Downing Street's worries.

Boris Johnson is expected to address a meeting of the whole Conservative parliamentary party this evening.

Jessica Parker
BBC political correspondent

One of the most serious things that could come from the investigation would be if the prime minister was found to have misled the House of Commons.

As well as of course, people will want to know if he personally broke the rules.

Some of his defence has been: I thought I was at a work event, nobody told me - basically pleading ignorance saying he did not know. So how can you prove that? How can you prove what might have been in Boris Johnson's mind?

I think Sue Gray's not likely to be diving into the mind of Boris Johnson but reaching more factual based conclusions.

I think something to watch out for is whether there is any suggestion or evidence that he misled the House of Commons because that is, in parliamentary politics, a pretty serious event.

It may be Sue Gray day for those of you constantly refreshing this page, but football fans are busy focusing on another big event - it's transfer deadline day.

Our colleagues over on BBC Sport are still paying attention though. Here's how they reported the Sue Gray news when it broke:

Well-played.

As we wait for Sue Gray's initial report to be published, opposition MPs have been reacting on Twitter.

Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said, external: "I've spoken to constituents, people on the street, people on trains, primary school children, care home residents and not a single person needs Sue Gray to tell them what to think about Boris Johnson.

"He made the rules, he broke the rules, he is unfit for office."

Meanwhile Lib Dem leader Ed Davey reacted, external to No 10 not committing to publishing a fuller report after police have finished investigating.

"The fact that Number 10 is backpedaling on *ever* releasing the whole Sue Gray report is as disgraceful as it is predictable," he said.

"Boris Johnson must confirm that the full report will be published as soon as possible. Every day it is delayed prolongs the pain for the millions across the country who just want answers and for justice to be done."

The PM's official spokesman has said the findings will be published on the gov.uk website and made available in the House of Commons library this afternoon.

According to Sky News' deputy political editor Sam Coates, currently the report is due to be a webpage but some work is under way to see if it can be turned into a PDF too. High-tech, you'll agree.

All of this means many journalists - including us here - will be refreshing the website constantly for the next couple of hours.

A former Downing Street staffer has added her voice to the criticism of Boris Johnson's goverment over the Partygate controversy.

In a critical article for the Times newspaper, external, Nikki da Costa, Johnson's former director of legislative affairs, said the government had not been "honest and upfront" about events in Downing Street.

Da Costa also told BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour this morning that responsibility needed to be taken for "events that happened" and that the "culture needs to change".

She singled out Chief of Staff Dan Rosenfield, saying he was responsible for the "frat boy environment that surrounds Boris Johnson" because in her experience prime ministers were often "remote from what else was going on in the building".

Tory MPs will be watching PM's reaction closelypublished at 12:52 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January 2022

12:52 GMT 31 January 2022

Nick Eardley
Political correspondent

This is a significant moment. Even though it isn’t going to be the full report, it’s really important because we’ll get a flavour for what Sue Gray thinks has gone on from the investigations she’s been doing.

It will be interesting to see whether she talks about the overall culture in No 10, whether there’s a sense that rule-breaking happened on a regular basis and whether she points the finger at any particular people.

And then the thing to watch out for is what Boris Johnson’s reaction is.

We know he’s not going to resign but his own MPs in the Conservative Party are looking to see whether he’s taking this seriously and whether he addresses their concerns.

By the end of today we may be looking at some personnel changes in No 10 as well.

Today could be a busy one in Westminster. Yes, even by recent standards. Let’s look at some of the key moments ahead.

NOW: Boris Johnson is thought to be looking at the initial findings of Sue Gray’s report into parties held in Downing Street during periods of Covid restrictions.

LATER: The report is expected to be made available for the public to read before Johnson makes a statement in Parliament at 15:30 GMT.

Labour are expected to respond and MPs will ask questions.

Statements from Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Russian sanctions and Sajid Javid on mandatory vaccinations for NHS staff will follow.

BEYOND THAT: Many Tory MPs said they would withhold judgement on the PM’s position until seeing Gray’s report. After they've seen it, more letters expressing no confidence in Johnson could be submitted. A total of 54 are needed to trigger a vote.

Downing Street has said it will publish Sue Gray's report this afternoon in the form it receives it from the inquiry team - but it has not committed to publishing a fuller version in future.

The prime minister's official spokesman says the findings will be published on gov.uk and made available in the House of Commons library this afternoon, with the prime minister making a statement to MPs after people have had an opportunity to read them.

Asked why the report has been described as an "update" on Gray's investigation, the spokesman says: "It's a reflection of the fact there is an ongoing police investigation and the Met have been clear about what their expectations are about what can or cannot be put in the public domain while that's ongoing."

Asked whether Sue Gray will seek to publish more details in the future, he says:

Image source, Getty Images

For weeks now, allegations of parties in Downing Street and government offices during the Covid pandemic have been piling up.

If you've lost track, we've been updating a list here.

Here are a few events from that list that have drawn particular scrutinty:

15 May, 2020: A photo from May 2020 in the Guardian shows the prime minister and his staff with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard in the Downing Street garden. The PM says it was a work meeting.

20 May, 2020: About 100 people were invited by email to “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden”. Johnson has confirmed he attended the event, saying he was there for 25 minutes and “believed implicitly that this was a work event”.

19 June 2020: Downing Street admitted staff gathered inside No 10 during the first Covid lockdown to mark Johnson’s birthday. No 10 said Johnson was there "for less than 10 minutes".

16 April, 2021: Two parties were held by Downing Street staff at No 10 on the night before Prince Philip's funeral. Johnson was not at either party.

Drinking culture and failure of leadership expected to be outlinedpublished at 12:12 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January 2022

12:12 GMT 31 January 2022

Laura Kuenssberg
Political editor

Sue Gray is no stranger to having to investigate political controversies. And this time she has had to untangle what went on under the prime minister's roof, and deal with the Metropolitan Police seeking to limit what she published too.

That's why it’s worth noting the Cabinet Office's very deliberate use of the word “update” today when they confirmed that a document had been passed to Downing Street. What we will see today is clearly, in her view, very much not the full story.

It's expected to include broad conclusions about a drinking culture, and a failure of leadership in Number 10, but the specific details of rule breaking will wait for another day.

The prime minister would no doubt dearly love for today to be it. But the Met investigation and the full version of Ms Gray's findings still hang over Downing Street. It's likely the opposition parties will again seek a promise from him that one day the whole report will emerge.