The Prime Minister allegedly met with top civil servant Sue Gray in secret to tell her to abandon her report into Partygate.
According to reports inThe Times, Boris Johnson suggested that Sue Gray should not publish her long-awaited report into Partygate during a secret meeting organised by Downing Street.
A source told The TImes: “He asked her is there much point in doing it now that it’s all out there, […] He was inferring that she didn’t need to publish the report.”
It follows an admittance by his team yesterday that it had requested a face-to-face meeting between the top civil servant tasked with investigating endemic Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Previously, Downing Street had maintained that Sue Gray requested the meeting and refused to reveal what had been discussed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speechless.
We now know the reason the PM met with Sue Gray, was to ask her not to release the report.
Despite the meeting, it is believed that Sue Gray could release her report as early as Wednesday morning.
The news follows the release of photographs apparently showing the Prime Minister drinking at a party in No.10 when, eight days before, he had banned people from socialising indoor with people outside their household and weddings were not allowed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr Johnson wasn’t fined for attending the event, but others were – including at least one other person pictured in the photographs.
Asked by an MP in the House of Commons on 8 December last year whether there had been a gathering on that date, the Prime Minister said there was not.
He told Labour MP Catherine West : “I am sure that whatever happened, the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The Prime Minister is now open to the charge of knowingly misleading parliament.
A Downing Street source has said that the fact the Prime Minister had his red box and was ‘dropping in on a leaving do for a colleague’ made the case that he was ‘believed he was working’.
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, who oversees the Metropolitan Police, has this morning joined calls for the force to explain why they didn’t fine Boris Johnson for attending the lockdown party.
He told the BBC’s Radio 4 Today Programme that the force should set out its thinking behind the decision not to fine the Prime Minister, after the release of new photographs byITVNews on Monday night.
21/05/2020. London, United Kingdom. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak join the Nation in the ‘Clap for our Carers’ at 8pm outside 10 Downing Street, to give thanks to the NHS and Key Workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. Picture by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street.
Mr Khan said: “I think it’s important when it comes to trust and confidence, when it comes to policing by consent, when it comes to questions being asked about the integrity of an investigation, that the police explain why they reached the conclusions they have.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Police announced they had concluded their Partygate investigation on Thursday after handing out 126 fines for 10 gatherings.
Mr Johnson received one fixed penalty notice for attending an illegal gathering, despite evidence that he was also present at others.
The Liberal Democrats have now asked the Police Watchdog to investigate the Met’s decision.
Elbow get behind campaign to save Jodrell Bank from closure
Danny Jones
Manc band Elbow are among the latest to get behind the campaign to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from closing permanently.
The Greater Manchester natives famously played a sold-out gig at the important scientific and cultural landmark for a very special live album recording well over a decade ago, and know all too well the site’s national and, indeed, global heritage.
Choosing the Observatory and the rare chance to perform a show in the shadow of the world-renowned James Lovell Telescope, it probably remains one of their most significant standalone UK date ever.
With that in mind, the local lads have been left just as worried by the news of its impending closure as everyone else, and have therefore issued a fresh appeal to help keep it open.
Posting a timely statement on social media, the group wrote: “Jodrell Bank has long been close to elbow’s heart. In 2012, the band played beneath the Lovell Telescope for one of the most memorable shows in our history.
“The recent news that funding for the e-MERLIN radio telescope network is set to end in 2028 puts the future of the scientific work at Jodrell Bank under serious threat. It is a remarkable place, with an extraordinary history, and one that continues to play an important role in science, culture and education.”
In addition to reliving clips and images from the historic live set all the years later, they also pointed people towards their ‘elbow – Live at Jodrell Bank‘ album documentary, which has now been made available online for the very first time as part of wider efforts to raise awareness around the cause.
Directing people to key online resources shared by the institution and astrophysics centre itself following their unfortunate update late last month, the push to not only find the funding but sustain support for the facility continues to ramp up throughout the world of science, arts and industry.
For anyone who somehow missed the news – 2028 being the current deadline handed down as per budget cuts across the sector – concerned parties here in the North West and all over the country have since started petitioning to save Jodrell Bank Observatory from shutting down for good.
In addition to being described as a “huge blow” to the field by the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS), some have even gone so far as to describe the decision as a form of “vandalism” when it comes to research and British culture as a whole.
Having also served as the host venue for the annual bluedot Festival since 2016, the multi-genre science and arts celebration could soon be forced to find a new home.
The battle is far from over yet, and the community has time to rescue Jodrell Bank Observatory from its fate, but it will take lots of money and more notable public figures to make it happen.
Once again, you can do your bit by signing the petition mentioned above right HERE.
Featured Images — Emma Farrer (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group
News
All Greater Manchester boroughs to have 24-7 night buses from next month as new services launch
Emily Sergeant
Extra night buses, new routes, and more frequent bus services are being rolled out across the Bee Network at the end of this month.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy, and now plans to introduce these from September onwards have been confirmed by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford will all get a 24-hour bus service by next month, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that once the new services have launched, it will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
Some of the other changes set to be introduced from next month include a selection of brand-new bus services, and more frequent buses during the day and at the weekends.
All Greater Manchester boroughs will have 24-7 night buses from next month / Credit: TfGM
There will also be better connections overall to key employment and leisure destinations like Manchester Airport, Trafford Centre, MediaCity, Middlebrook Retail Park in Bolton, Kingsway Business Park, and Logistics North.
“The Bee Network belongs to the people of Greater Manchester and it needs to work for every community,” explained Mayor Bev Craig.
“As we build it, we’re listening and responding to what residents want with the biggest set of improvements we’ve ever made in one go.
🚌 More improvements are on the way across the #BeeNetwork.
36 service changes will benefit around 740,000 people across Greater Manchester, helping more communities access reliable, convenient public transport.
“We’re bringing night buses to every borough, launching new routes and ensuring buses run more often in the mornings, evenings and weekends. In doing so, we’re making it easier than ever for people to get around the city region by bus, but we’re also supporting our businesses, whose staff and customers need a reliable and safe way to reach them.
“Almost three quarters of a million people live within walking distance of a bus route we’re improving over the next few months, and we’ll continue improving connections for even more communities based on the feedback we get.”
Georgina Pellant -
24th May 2022 
