Sue Gray will interview Dominic Cummings after explosive partygate claims
18 January 2022, 17:55 | Updated: 18 January 2022, 18:44
Sue Gray will interview Dominic Cummings over his damning allegations about Boris Johnson as part of her investigation into the partygate scandal.
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The Prime Minister's former adviser yesterday said Mr Johnson had lied to Parliament over how much he knew about a "BYOB" party that took place when England was in lockdown.
On Tuesday The Mirror revealed that Ms Gray will take Mr Cummings' claims into account as part of her investigation into a series of parties held at No10 during Covid restrictions, and the PM's role in them.
LBC approached the Cabinet Office about the developments, but they refused to comment.
Read more: Cummings: I'll swear under oath that PM lied - as No10 'denies' latest Partygate claims
Read more: Partygate: Cummings makes fresh claim of lockdown-breaching 'drinks' at No10
Mr Cummings made the explosive allegations in a blog post on Monday.
He claimed that the PM's Principle Private Secretary Martin Reynolds, who sent out invitations to the infamous gathering, was told to cancel because it was a breach of restrictions.
Mr Cummings said Mr Reynolds checked with Mr Johnson and the party - which they allegedly both attended - was given the go ahead by the Prime Minister.
Mr Cummings therefore claims it was a lie for Mr Johnson to tell Parliament he did not know about the parties.
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In the blog post, Mr Cummings outlined the fundamental facts of what took place, which he listed as:
- The PM’s Principal Private Secretary (PPS), Martin Reynolds, invited people to a drinks party.
- The PPS was told to cancel the invite by at least two people.
- He checked with the PM whether the party should go ahead.
- The PM agreed it should.
- They both went to the party.
- It was actually a drinks party.
- The PM told MPs repeatedly that he had no idea about any parties.
The former adviser said the events alone "mean the PM lied to Parliament about parties".
He added that it was a claim he - and "other eyewitnesses" - would swear under oath.
Shelagh Fogarty's devastating takedown of PM partygate denial
But a No10 spokesperson has denied the allegations, saying: "It is untrue that the Prime Minister was warned about the event in advance.
"As he said earlier this week, he believed implicitly that this was a work event.
"He has apologised to the House and is committed to making a further statement once the investigation concludes."
Read more: 'No-one told me it was against the rules': PM refuses to rule out resigning over partygate
Read more: No10 staff invited to lockdown-busting boozy party on 20 May 2020, leaked email reveals
Boris Johnson himself said "nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules" to the "best of my recollection".
When questioned about his former aide's claims during a hospital visit in north London on Tuesday, the Prime Minister said: "When I went out into that garden I thought I was attending a work event."
He also refused to rule out eventually resigning over the scandal, saying, when asked: "Let's see what the report says."
