Inside Politics: Gray report delayed again and PM accused of lying over Afghan pet airlift

Another day, another delay. The Sue Gray report into Downing Street and Whitehall drinks gatherings was not published on Wednesday because it is going through final legal and human resources checks – and to make sure it doesn’t cut across the Met Police probe. It might come out today, or tomorrow…or possibly even Monday, but once again, nobody really knows. Meanwhile, Operation Save Big Dog has been continuing apace this week, with the prime minister said to have been meeting wavering MPs in his office as he seeks to shore up support among MPs ahead of a potential no confidence vote, which looks as though it will be triggered regardless of what the report concludes, according to The Guardian, which this morning splashes on a story saying senior back benchers with nothing to lose will move as a collective when the document finally drops. Away from partygate, there was little reprieve for Johnson as he once again faced claims of being economical with the truth, after an email emerged suggesting he did in fact authorise the extraction of animals from Afghanistan, despite a previous denial.

Commons proceedings get underway with Defra questions at 9.30am, followed by any urgent questions at 10.30am. After that is the weekly business statement by Commons leader Jacob Rees-Moggs. The main business is a debate in the chamber this afternoon to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

Coming up:

– Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey on BBC Radio 4 Today at 8.10am

– Standards committee chairman Chris Bryant on Sky News Breakfast at 8.30am

Daily Briefing

GRAYJA VU: It is a case of as you were this morning after the further delay of senior civil servant Gray’s report. With the parliamentary calendar containing few gaps over today and tomorrow, it is thought that the inquiry findings will land on Monday. Sources close to Gray’s probe told The Independent that her report is complete and is expected to be handed to the PM within days, after the final legal and human resources checks have been completed. Sources also insist that there has been no interference from Downing Street in the process of finalising the document, which is expected to be highly uncomfortable for the PM. Opposition parties are continuing their calls for it to be published in full. Wes Streeting, Labour’s shadow health secretary, accused the PM of fighting a “war of attrition”. “He’s hoping that we’ll all get bored and move on,” he said. “Bluntly, I am bored of talking about Boris Johnson’s lies and deceit”. The story on the front of The Guardian says a raft of new MPs are poised to send in their letters to 1922 Committee Chair Graham Brady when the report is out. It also says the PM is facing an increasing threat from the “white, middle-aged backbencher” with no prospects of getting promoted and who Johnson has nothing to offer. We’ll have live politics updates throughout the day here.

PEN PALS: Readers who followed the evacuation of Afghanistan closely will remember the case of Pen Farthing, the former royal marine who campaigned tirelessly to get cats and dogs housed by his animal charity, Nowzad, extracted from Kabul as it fell to Taliban militants. Farthing eventually managed to charter his own plane to get the animals out, leading whistleblowers and MPs to criticise the government for authorising the flight as Kabul airport faced capacity constraints. The PM previously dismissed as “nonsense” claims that he intervened in the case, after an email from his parliamentary private secretary suggested otherwise. Now new evidence has emerged and surfaced at the foreign affairs committee. It suggests that the PM was in fact personally involved. An email from an official in minister Zac Goldsmith’s office to the Foreign Office said: “Charity Nowzad, run by an ex-Royal Marine, has received a lot of publicity and the PM has just authorised their staff and animals to be evacuated.” Both Goldsmith and Johnson deny authorising any action to save the animals. Labour MP Chris Bryant, who objected to the move at the time, raised a point of order in the Commons about the matter and said the prime minister should come to parliament and answer questions about the episode. “Either a government minister in the Foreign Office has lied, or the prime minister has lied.” Bryant, who used to work in the Foreign Office himself, told broadcasters there was no way an official would have written that the PM had “authorised” something if this wasn’t the case. Doing so, he said, would be a “sackable offence”.

VOB VACANCY PUSH: Universal credit claimants will be forced to search for jobs outside their preferred sector after just four weeks or face the prospect of sanctions, under a controversial tightening of the benefits system. Therese Coffey, the work and pensions secretary, said the move would help people “to get any job now” and forms part of a new government drive to get 500,000 jobseekers back into work by the end of June. But ministers were immediately warned the new policy — dubbed “Way to Work” — was “callous”, risked “creating huge amounts of anxiety and stress” and could force people to accept insecure short-term employment.

LIVING WITH COVID: England has today returned to its plan A Covid measures, with rules on mandatory face coverings now lifted. Plan B measures were initially introduced on 8 December 2021 to slow the spread of the Omicron variant. These meant people were required by law to wear face coverings indoors in public venues, apart from hospitality, recommended to work from home where possible and required Covid passes to access large events and nightclubs. These measures have been removed. Despite the decision to lift restrictions, however, health secretary Sajid Javid warned: “As we learn to live with Covid we need to be clear eyed that this virus is not going away so, if you haven’t already, please come forward for your first, second or booster jab.”

MOD ‘HIDING’: The government has been accused of “hiding from questions” after it refused to put forward a minister or official to give evidence to MPs on the military’s increased involvement in tackling small boat crossings. Former senior Navy and Border Force officials have meanwhile raised concerns about placing Royal Navy vessels in the Channel, warning they could serve as a “honey pot” and encourage more asylum seekers to cross. It emerged last week that the Royal Navy was to be put in charge of cross-Channel counter migration operations on the English coast, taking over from Border Force to take “operational primacy” of the situation.

“Of course, but let me tell the house that I think the right honourable and learned gentleman is inviting a question about an investigation on which, as you know, Mr speaker, I cannot comment, and on which he, as a lawyer, will know that I cannot comment.”

PM responds to Starmer’s question asking if he thinks misleading parliament is a resignation matter.

“Johnson will plead for forgiveness. How successful he is at doing that will be the key to winning the no confidence vote.”

Tom Newton Dunn of The Times and Evening Standard on Johnson’s future.

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