A statement to MPs by Boris Johnson on the Sue Gray “partygate” report has been delayed at least until Thursday, as the House of Commons reached the end of today’s sitting without any sign of the hotly-anticipated document.
The report, looking into allegations of lockdown breaches at as many as 15 events in Downing Street and Whitehall departments, had not been passed to No 10 by the time the Commons adjourned.
There is still a possibility that the report could be published this evening ahead of a debate tomorrow.
But expectations in Westminster were that the political world will have to wait at least until Thursday to see the findings of the Whitehall mandarin.
Mr Johnson has promised to publish Ms Gray’s findings and then make a statement to the Commons and respond to questions from MPs.
Recommended Johnson’s wait for Gray’s report on partygate row continues PM challenged on calls to publish Sue Gray report in full Sue Gray inquiry report may be redacted for ‘security’ reasons, says Liz Truss
UK news in pictures Show all 50
1/50UK news in pictures
UK news in pictures 25 January 2022 A member of staff looks at Francis Bacon’s work ‘Second Version of Triptych 1944’ on display in the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast exhibition at the the Royal Academy of Arts in London
PA
UK news in pictures 24 January 2022 Rowers (front to back) Charlotte Irving, Kat Cordiner and Abby Johnston, on their way to shatter the world record for rowing across the Atlantic
PA
UK news in pictures 23 January 2022 A grey seal pup on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one of the UK’s most important sites for the mammals
PA
UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast
PA
UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams’ Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh
PA
UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a ‘Kill The Bill’ protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London
PA
UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year
PA
UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic
Getty
UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London
AP
UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men's race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London
AFP/Getty
UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois
PA
UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London
REUTERS
UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque
PA
UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelsea’s Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge
Liverpool FC/Getty
UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Year’s Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London
EPA
UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year
PA
UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland
PA
UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket
PA
UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queen’s Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London
PA
UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London
Getty
UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham
PA
UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip
PA
UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London
Reuters
UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester
PA
UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge.
Getty
UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year
PA
UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton
PA
UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent
PA
UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts 'Boris' bubble' held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election
PA
UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire
PA
UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle
PA
UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool
PA
UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas's Hospital in Westminster
Getty Images
UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds
PA
UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds,
PA
UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange
PA
UK news in pictures 9 December 2021 Camels are lead around Salisbury Cathedral during a rehearsal for the Christmas Eve Service
PA
UK news in pictures 8 December 2021 Margaret Keenan and Nurse May Parsons, a year after Margaret was the first person in the UK to receive the Pfizer vaccine
PA
UK news in pictures 7 December 2021 Snowfall in Leadhills, South Lanarkshire as Storm Barra hits the UK with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow
PA
The decision on the timing of publication is for the prime minister, and it is thought No 10 will hold it back for a few hours to enable them to digest the report, and will then allow MPs some time to read it before going to the Commons.
There was no official explanation from the Cabinet Office for the failure to deliver the Gray report to Mr Johnson over the course of Wednesday.
It is understood that Ms Gray has completed the report, and that it is now going through the process of final sign-off, which could involve checks by lawyers and human resources teams and confirmation from the Metropolitan Police that nothing within it would cut across their separate criminal inquiry.
Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle indicated earlier today that he was ready to suspend the House before reconvening in the evening if No 10 requested a late statement.
But his deputy Dame Rosie Winterton later clarified that this could happen only if the request came in before