The final arbiter of whether Boris Johnson should be punished or sanctioned for allegedly breaking lockdown rules by attending that bring-your-own-booze Downing Street party is not the second permanent secretary at the Cabinet Office Sue Gray, even though she has been given the delicate task of investigating what happened. Under the British system, the ultimate judge and jury of whether any minister should be punished is the Prime Minister. And that means only the PM can decide his own fate.
Gray will set out what happened, presumably – in the words of one of her colleagues – ‘with her admirable clarity’. Another official said of Gray:
There is only one group of people who can throw him out before the next election: Tory MPs
‘It’s normally pretty clear from her reports what decisions need to be taken’
It comes after ITV News revealed an email showing a party was held in the garden of 10 Downing Street during the first lockdown in 2020.
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