Friday 20 May 2022 10:28 AM Sue Gray 'could publish anonymised photos' of Downing Street partying in ... trends now
Sue Gray may publish some of the more than 500 photographs of Downing Street partying that broke lockdown rules when she finally releases her bombshell Partygate report.
The civil service inquisitor is considering including anonymised images she received of boozy gatherings as part of her much-anticipated analysis.
But she could also include more general, bland images of the rooms in which parties occurred, the Times reported.
The report is expected to be highly critical of Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ms Gray has demanded the Partygate scandal ringleaders are named.
However, the senior civil servant's attempts to finalise the report are being hindered by Scotland Yard's refusal to identify the 83 people who received 126 fines between them.
Ms Gray wants to point the finger at more than a dozen officials for 16 events across Whitehall but has struggled to contend with the Met Police's secrecy.
Sources with knowledge of the discussions told the Telegraph she was in discussions with the Civil Service human resources, legal teams and unions to see how much she can assign blame to individuals.
They added she was worried she would face pressure to keep some names from the public.
Some of the most damaging revelations will include how a party in the Cabinet Office ended with a boozy fight. Sources last night said a number of the findings would make people think 'Oh Lord!' because they had been kept secret until now.
Justice Secretary Dominic Raab today said there should be 'transparency' about any ministers who have been fined.
Sue Gray (pictured) has demanded the Partygate scandal ringleaders are named in her long-awaited report on No 10 lockdown gatherings
Prime minister Boris Johnson is seen walking past a Metropolitan Police Van from the Tory Party Head Quarters back to Downing Street, Central London
Parts of Sue Gray's long-awaited report into the No 10 parties will provoke an 'Oh Lord!' response when it is published next week, sources claimed
Whitehall insiders said Miss Gray was still 'weighing up' whether to publish some of the more than 300 photographs she gathered during her investigation, including some taken by No 10's official photographer
Asked if Downing Street was trying to prevent the senior civil servant from publishing individual names in her report into social events at Downing Street during pandemic lockdown restrictions, Mr Raab told BBC Breakfast that that was a matter for the police and Ms Gray.
'I think that these are matters, who is identified, for Sue Gray and the Met', he said.
'What we have said is that it's right that if there's a minister who has been fined, of course there needs to be transparency around that. I think that's right.'
It is understood that the report, which is most likely to be published on either Tuesday or Wednesday, will be up to 36 pages long.
However, a source said Miss Gray's report would not be as damning as some of Mr Johnson's fiercest critics are hoping.
Whitehall insiders said Miss Gray was still 'weighing up' whether to publish some of the more than 300 photographs she gathered during her investigation, including some taken by No 10's official photographer.
A former director of public prosecutions today said the public 'remain very much in the dark' about the details of Partygate.
Asked about junior workers being fined for incidents which the Prime Minister was not fined for, Lord Macdonald told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'I think without the police providing an explanation for that it's very difficult for us to understand why they came to the conclusions that they did.'
He said it was not known why the Prime Minister was fined for being at one party, but not others, or why Cabinet Secretary Simon Case was not fined.
'We don't know who these people are, and I do feel for the junior civil servants and I quite see why they would be distressed by their names being given, but there's a wider public interest here.
'This was a major scandal at the heart of Government, at the heart of the civil service, and we remain very much in the dark about who was involved, who organised the parties, and who was responsible.
'Of course the Prime Minister and the head of the civil service are ultimately responsible, but there plainly were other people as well who were involved in this and we simply don't know who they are, and I think that's not good enough.'
It is understood that Miss Gray will present a factual account of all the gatherings such as how many people attended and what happened. She looked into 12 events investigated by the police, as well as four others.
The Whitehall mandarin will also expand on comments made in her interim report earlier this year when she found 'failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No10 and the Cabinet Office'.
Miss Gray was prevented from publishing her full findings when Scotland Yard launched its own investigation in January.
She is expected to consult lawyers and human resources managers as she makes final tweaks this weekend.
No 10 has committed to publishing it in full soon after it has been
