Warning letters sent about Sue Gray report

Around 30 people including Prime Minister Boris Johnson are being contacted by the Cabinet Office to warn them of the contents of the Sue Gray partygate report.

It is thought that most of the letters were sent out on Thursday, as the Metropolitan Police concluded its investigation into lockdown breaches in Downing Street and across Whitehall.

Mr Johnson is set to be among those approached by the Cabinet Office team but No 10 had no update as to whether he had received a letter yesterday evening.

Not everyone contacted will necessarily be named or identified by some other means in the report – it may merely be that their actions are referenced because they are pertinent to the narrative of a particular event.

The investigators are understood not to be including the full details of the contents in the letters but instead are giving a “gist” of the relevant sections to those being approached.

Earlier, Mr Johnson insisted he would not seek to block names appearing in the senior civil servant’s report, and said he was “looking forward” to seeing its contents “pretty soon”.

The prime minister said he was “very grateful” for the Met’s investigation, which concluded with 126 fines.

There were demands for answers over how the PM escaped with just one fixed-penalty notice (FPN) despite being believed to have been present at multiple rule-breaking events.

Potentially damaging further details, including the names of some of those who attended gatherings, will be published in the Gray report.

Sources close to the investigation expect it will be published early next week.