A spokesman for the prime minister said that last week № 10 officials initiated a meeting between the prime minister and Sue Gray.
Earlier today, Treasury Secretary-General Simon Clark suggested that Gray had “instigated” the meeting, and several media outlets were informed of it.
Representative No. 10 said at a briefing in the lobby today that the meeting itself was “not at the request of the Prime Minister”, but that: “it was suggested [by No 10 officials] it may be helpful to hold such a meeting. It is obvious that Sue Gray is independent, it depends on her whether she will continue any meetings in connection with her investigation. ”
Asked who thought the meeting would be useful, they said: “Yes, not 10 officials.”
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Downing Street also said today that it has not yet received Gray’s full report.
A spokesman said the meeting “went on as usual”.
However, they rejected suggestions that the notes be made public, saying: “It was a private meeting, we will not publish the details of the private meeting.”
This morning the Liberal Democrats made a proposal calling for the publication of the minutes of the meeting.
Asked whether the meeting showed that the process of investigating the “party gate” was not independent, number 10 stressed: “I pay attention to the coverage of the interim report, which, of course, does not indicate a lack of independence.
“And I think then the public will judge after the conclusion and publication of the report itself.”
A spokesman said the prime minister and Gray had discussed the “timing and process of publishing” the report.
On why a particular meeting is needed, they added: “There have been reports, public announcements, that Hillman’s investigation may be coming to an end, so it was discussed that it might be helpful to give an overview of what Sue Gray and her team planned in terms of publication and timing. – publications after completion of the report. I think that these discussions have already taken place at the official level. “
“As expected from such reports, it is clear that there will be a need to share information on things like deadlines and the publication process, because obviously there is a process for № 10 and the Prime Minister that stems from Sue Gray’s back concludes his report. So then it helps with our planning goals and things like that, ”they continued.
Earlier today, former Johnson chief adviser Dominique Cummings said there would be photos of the meetings behind closed doors, confirming that the prime minister “clearly lied to the House of Commons.”
Last week, the Minsk police announced the completion of the investigation into the “party gate”.
126 fixed fines were imposed for violating Covid-19 rules in Whitehall and Downing Street.
Back in April, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were fined for meeting on their 2020 birthday in the Cabinet Hall.
Johnson’s spokesman said Sue Gray’s full report would be published “as it becomes available” and that Johnson would not speak on the matter until it was published.
As for the more than 500 CCTV photos and evidence submitted to the senior government official’s investigation, number 10 said: “Sue Gray will decide what information she will include in her report.
