PM to shake up No 10 after Gray shows 12 events under police investigation

Boris Johnson promised a shake-up of No 10 after it emerged police are investigating at least 12 events across Government for Covid breaches including the Prime Minister’s birthday party and a gathering in his Downing Street flat.

The Prime Minister apologised on Monday and insisted “I get it and I will fix it” as he faced fresh calls to resign after Sue Gray’s limited inquiry criticised “failures of leadership and judgment”.

But he repeatedly refused to rule out calls, including from senior Tory MPs, to publish the full unredacted report from the senior civil servant after she conceded she had to pare it back while the Metropolitan Police investigate.

The dozen events being looked at by officers include a “gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat” on November 13 2020, the night Mr Johnson’s former aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left their roles.

Ms Gray criticised “failures of leadership and judgment” in No 10 and the Cabinet Office while England was under coronavirus restrictions in 2020 and 2021.

But the saga was far from over for the embattled Prime Minister, with the senior civil servant saying she was unable to publish meaningful findings because of the Metropolitan Police investigation.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded Mr Johnson publish a full Gray inquiry in the future, as he said the British people believe the Prime Minister should “do the decent thing and resign” but will not because he is “a man without shame”.

Giving a statement to MPs an hour after the update was published, the Prime Minister said: “Firstly, I want to say sorry – and I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way this matter has been handled.

“It’s no use saying this or that was within the rules and it’s no use saying people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone.”

He added: “I get it, and I will fix it. I want to say to the people of this country I know what the issue is.”

Mr Johnson insisted he was “making changes” to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, including by creating an Office of the Prime Minister with a permanent secretary to lead No 10.

The Prime Minister did not directly respond to Sir Keir’s call to publish the Gray inquiry “in full when it is available”.

During a chaotic debate, former Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell told Mr Johnson he “no longer enjoys my support”.

It was the first major signal that the disquiet among the Tory backbenchers was swelling, with the Prime Minister facing the threat of a vote of no confidence.

Former prime minister Theresa May questioned whether Mr Johnson either did not “read the rules”, understand them, or “didn’t think the rules applied to No 10”.