Former chief prosecutor brands Met decision to limit Sue Gray report ‘absolute nonsense’

The Met wants Sue Gray to publish 'minimal reference' to events

The Met Police's decision to limit the scope of Sue Gray's eagerly-awaited report into Downing Street parties has been branded "absolute nonsense" by a former chief prosecutor. The forces' directive to publish “minimal reference” to events currently being investigated means some of the more controversial elements of the report, which might have made the Prime Minister's future untenable, will be redacted before publication. https://www.instagram.com/p/CZRSrF2oDGl/ https://twitter.com/nazirafzal/status/1486988830154629133?s=20&t=cW-Kj4wOdx18dsWSRBXZog Human rights Barrister Adam Wagner argued a similar point, pointing out a factual civil service report couldn't prejudice a police investigation. In criminal cases, the media are given reporting restrictions to prevent the potential of influencing a jury during a trial, he noted, and there is "no jury, nor trial, that can be prejudiced in this case". https://twitter.com/AdamWagner1/status/1486981215882301440?s=20&t=cW-Kj4wOdx18dsWSRBXZog Former Editor of the Financial Times Lionel Barber described the Met's position as "unfathomable".

In December, the Met refused to investigate alleged parties held at Downing Street because its policy was not to undertake retrospective investigations of lockdown breaches.

Forced to u-turn on their original pledge, the Met is now refusing publication of a report that could have "laid bare" covid rule-breaking "under the noses of the copper in Downing Street", Barber wrote on Twitter. Barber asks "Am I missing something?". https://twitter.com/lionelbarber/status/1486989283709927426?s=20&t=yoyCBcyAQMhcGGVdrM17vQ The Sunday Times' Whitehall editor, Gabriel Pogrund, summed up why the Met's decision had potentially deflated the impact of Gray's report. https://twitter.com/Gabriel_Pogrund/status/1486981716677992451 On Friday morning, Chris Philp, the digital minister, said that Gray’s report still had not been received by Number 10. Speaking on Sky News, he said: “I spoke to someone in Downing Street about half an hour ago and they certainly didn’t indicate it had been received - I don’t know a lot more than you do but I’ve certainly got no information as of right now that it’s been received.” It's unclear when Gray's report, redacted or not, will be published. Related Links

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