Partygate report blasts 'failures of leadership' as Boris Johnson comes under pressure over illegal parties

• Boris Johnson will be quizzed after the report found "failures of leadership and judgment".
• The report has not been published in full after police requested only "minimal reference" to events under investigation.

A damning report into allegations of illegal gatherings at Downing Street has said "failures of leadership and judgment" allowed a culture of drinking and partying to develop, piling further pressure onto Boris Johnson.

The update, which is drawn from an inquiry into so-called partygate by senior civil servant Sue Gray, confirms that she investigated a total of 16 events across 12 dates, including three not previously made public.

In a trimmed-back report, published Monday morning, she wrote: "There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of Number 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of these events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to developed in the way they did."

Gray added: "At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time."

She also took aim at the fact staff could not raise concerns about "behaviours they witnessed at work", but felt unable to do so, and said too much pressure had been placed on the senior official who directly supports the prime minister.

Gray said some changes can be made immediately, without waiting for the police investigation to conclude.

While the update was critical of the wider culture within Downing Street, there was no overt criticism of Johnson himself. However, she did confirm that events he is known to have attended – including the garden party on 20 May 2020 and the 19 June 2020 birthday party – are included in the police investigation.

The prime minister, who received a copy of the update from the Cabinet Office on Monday morning, is set to answer questions about his involvement from MPs this afternoon.

The update is far from the full version of the partygate inquiry, which has been watered down after a request from the Metropolitan Police to only make "minimal reference" to those events under criminal investigation.

"Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather," Gray wrote.

While much of the heat in Westminster has died down the report is could lead to a flurry of letters of no confidence being submitted, bringing Johnson closer to a vote in his premiership.

Johnson has long insisted that he did nothing wrong, although his version of events has changed over time.

Initially he denied any parties had taken place, but when a video of his then-spokeswoman Allegra Stratton laughing about a "cheese and wine party" emerged, Johnson said he shared the country's anger.

When it later emerged that he had joined a garden party in May 2020, the prime minister said he "implicitly" believed it was a work event and that it was allowed within the rules. Other events include the now-infamous 'bring your own booze' party, to which an email was sent by one of Johnson's aides to several staffers, and two alcohol-fuelled events held the night before Prince Philip's funeral.

The most recent allegation is that he was "ambushed" with a cake for his birthday party in June 2020.

Asked if he still believed he had done nothing wrong on Monday morning, Johnson told broadcasters: "You are going to have and see the outcome of investigations but of course I stick absolutely to what I said in the past."

But the drip-drip of allegations and leaks has seen several senior Conservative MPs call for the prime minister to resign, and potential rivals begin to build support for a leadership challenge.

Among those to call for Johnson to go are Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross and former Brexit secretary David Davis, as well as other former ministers.

Senior backbench MP William Wragg has gone to the police with allegations of bullying and intimidation, while former minister Nus Ghani claimed she had been sacked because of her "Muslimness."

After his statement, Johnson will address the entire parliamentary party on Monday evening, MPs told Insider.

One backbencher said the meeting was likely to be used to "repeat the messages that No 10 want us to follow and to get the cheerleaders to stick up for him".