Boris Johnson has again apologised after a report detailed rule-breaking parties in and around Downing Street during the pandemic
Sue Gray's inquiry found that many of the events "should not have been allowed to happen" and that staff who raised concerns were not treated with respect
The 37-page document includes details of wine spilled down walls, vomiting, and parties lasting until 4am
Senior leadership at Downing St must bear responsibility for this culture, Gray says
Johnson says he felt it was his "duty" to attend leaving-dos of colleagues but that he takes responsibility for what happened in No 10
Labour's Keir Starmer says the Gray report shows how Downing St treated the sacrifices of the public with contempt
The report reveals Martin Reynolds, a former top aide to the PM, suggested in a message that officials had "got away with" a large event in the No 10 garden on 20 May
Chris Mason
Political editor
The prime minister is reading a printout of Sue Gray's report now.
It does contain photographs. It is 37 pages of text, then the photos, I'm told.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson says: "We can confirm that Sue Gray has provided her final report to the prime minister."
According to the inquiry's terms of reference: "If required, the investigations will establish whether individual disciplinary action is warranted."
Any action taken against civil servants would be confidential.
If there were evidence a minister had breached the Ministerial Code, external - such as by potentially misleading parliament - he or she could be investigated by the prime minister's standards adviser, Lord Geidt.
Johnson would need to give permission before any new inquiry was launched and he ultimately decides if any minister - including himself - has broken the code.
Meanwhile, the investigation by MPs on the privileges committee into whether the PM misled Parliament will begin after Gray’s report is published.
Allegra Stratton quits: Watch her tearful apology after No 10 Christmas party video
A few government figures have gone.
Most famously, Allegra Stratton quit as a senior spokesperson in December last year after a video was revealed which showed her laughing with colleagues about how to describe a 2020 Christmas party to the media.
Three other aides caught up in the lockdown parties row resigned in February, after Sue Gray published her interim report, which was critical of Downing Street’s culture but did not name any individuals.
These were director of communications Jack Doyle, principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and chief of staff Dan Rosenfield.
Reynolds had sent an email to as many as 100 staff in May 2020, inviting them to a "bring-your-own-booze" event in the Downing Street garden.
Justice minister Lord Wolfson quit in April after Boris Johnson was fined, criticising the “official response” to “repeated law-breaking” in Downing Street.
Meanwhile, former Cabinet Office official Kate Josephs is currently on paid leave from her job as chief executive of Sheffield City Council after she apologised for attending her own leaving do, which took place in December 2020.
And Helen McNamara, the former deputy cabinet secretary, had already left government to become the Premier League’s director of policy when it emerged in April that she had been fined for attending another leaving do, in June 2020.
Image source, PA MediaRumours had been swirling around Westminster that top civil servant, Simon Case, could be heading out the door after the publication of the Gray report.
But our political editor Chris Mason has been told the cabinet secretary will not be resigning and will not be sacked.
He’s far from being a household name, but Case is the UK’s most senior civil servant.
When Prime Minister Boris Johnson first launched an inquiry into parties in Downing Street, Case was given the job of leading it.
But he stepped down from this after it emerged that a quiz had taken place in his own office in December 2021. This meant that Sue Gray took over the inquiry.
Case has been in the job since September 2020, having previously filled other government roles and, for a while, working as private secretary to the Duke of Cambridge.
Image source, ITV/PA WireITV News obtained a picture of Boris Johnson raising a glass at a leaving party during lockdown
We don’t know what details of goings-on during lockdown Sue Gray will reveal in her report, but a BBC Panorama investigation has at least given us a flavour of what happened.
Three insiders told Laura Kuenssberg that loud events had been held regularly, with discarded bottles left out, bins full to overflowing and some staff deciding to spend the night in Downing Street rather than go home.
Some people sat on colleagues’ laps and a security guard was mocked for wanting to put a stop to a get-together, it was claimed.
The insiders were also critical of Boris Johnson’s attitude.
There is a ton of speculation on social media that Sue Gray's report has already been delivered to No 10, but we are not there yet...
BBC political editor Chris Mason says he has been told by both Team Gray and Downing Street that the report has not been sent.
But, he says, it will go shortly.
Boris Johnson party row: What has the PM said before?
Since the first allegations of law-breaking parties emerged late last year, the PM has faced repeated questions about what went on in Westminster. Here’s what he’s previously had to say:
1 December 2021: Asked if there had been a party in Downing Street on 18 December 2020, Boris Johnson told MPs that "all guidance was followed completely in No 10".
8 December 2021: After a leaked video showed No 10 staff joking about the 18 December event, he told MPs he had been "repeatedly assured… that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken".
12 January: Johnson apologised for attending a Downing Street garden party on 20 May 2020 but said he had "believed implicitly" it was a work event.
19 April: A week after he revealed he had been fined, Boris Johnson was asked in Parliament: "Did you deliberately mislead the House at the despatch box?" His one-word reply: "No."
For a detailed account of what Johnson has said and when, read this.
Image source, EPAFrom March 2020, a mix of guidance and legally enforceable rules restricted people's ability to gather together across the UK.
In England, these rules were set by Boris Johnson’s government.
Johnson's fine stemmed from his birthday celebration in June 2020.
At the time, gatherings of more than two people indoors were banned by law, unless they were "reasonably necessary" for work purposes.
Various rules were in place at the time of the alleged gatherings - take a look below:
For a full breakdown of what rules were in place for each alleged gathering, look here.
Sue Gray delivered an initial report, external at the end of January, but delayed publication of the full report until the Metropolitan Police had finished their work.
She named 16 events between May 2020 and April 2021 that fell within her remit. Twelve were investigated by police. Her January report said:
Chris Mason
Political editor
It was a week before Christmas when top civil servant Sue Gray was asked to begin her investigation into gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid-19 lockdowns.
Ever since, its full publication has been the crutch upon which many a Conservative MP has leant when asked to pass judgement on the prime minister's conduct and that of the government he leads.
Merely invoking her name has provided an excuse to stop short of delivering a definitive verdict on his behaviour, his character.
Sue Gray's initial findings,, external published at the end of January, pointed to "failures of leadership and judgement".
This morning, her completed investigation will be sent to Downing Street.
Read more from Chris here.
Iain Watson and Ione Wells
BBC political correspondents
Image source, PA MediaNow that the Metropolitan Police have wound up their investigation, and issued the final batch of fines, the long wait for Sue Gray's findings is almost over.
Boris Johnson's critics are hoping the Gray report into Partygate will set out the scale of law-breaking on his watch in primary colours. But will it be quite as devastating as they wish?
Insiders believe that, while it will be "damning for the civil service", Gray will not deliver a killer blow to the PM.
A source familiar with the report believed Gray's assessment would be that there were trails of evidence to suggest he was badly advised, and not necessarily aware of what events he was stumbling into.
But if the report reveals what one senior Conservative describes as "industrial" rule-breaking at the heart of government, it will be difficult for Mr Johnson to plead ignorance.
Those who are close to the Sue Gray inquiry team believe that most of her ire will be directed at the civil service, or parts of it.
She will not think highly of those who may have fallen short of the professional standards she would expect.
It sounds like the writing of the report, which we expect to be published later today, is going right down to the wire.
BBC political editor Chris Mason says, external that Sue Gray's team in the Cabinet Office are still working on the document this morning.
They anticipate sending it to Downing Street shortly, he says.
Image source, PAHello and welcome to our live coverage as we await publication of the full report from civil servant Sue Gray into parties in and around Downing Street while Covid-19 restrictions were in place across the UK.
Here’s what you need to know:
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