As it happened: Johnson grilled by MPs after Gray finds 'failures of leadership'

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

It’s been quite a day in Westminster. Let’s reflect on some of the key moments as we draw our live coverage to a close.

Gray day: After weeks of anticipation and waiting, Sue Gray handed over her initial findings on lockdown parties in No 10 and government to the prime minister, who published them and then made a statement to MPs.

Gray said what she could publish was limited because the Met Police is also investigating but in a damning passage she blamed "failures of leadership and judgment" at No 10 and in the Cabinet Office.

You can read our summary of the key findings here.

Met matters: Gray’s update revealed the Met Police is investigating 12 parties in Downing Street and other government buildings. In a statement, the force said it will review “more than 300 images and over 500 pages of information”.

MPs react: An ill-tempered session of questions followed the PM’s statement. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the British people believed Johnson should "do the decent thing and resign", while the SNP's Ian Blackford was told to leave the chamber after saying Boris Johnson had lied.

Full disclosure: MPs from across the House called for Gray’s report to be published in full when the police investigation concludes. Johnson didn't commit to this but No 10 now says Gray will update her report and it will be published.

Tories meet: The prime minister then addressed the 1922 Committee of backbench Conservative MPs. Johnson reportedly gave an impassioned speech referencing how he almost died from Covid, and promised much closer relations between No 10 and the parliamentary Conservative party.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Sir Robert Buckland, who was in cabinet as justice secretary when the parties took place, tells the BBC that Sue Gray's report did not "pull its punches" over the parties in No 10.

But he says the report does not offer "a resolution of the issue" either.

He praises the PM's words in the Commons, promising reform inside Downing Street, but adds: "Words are not enough, it is deeds that matter now."

And he says "nothing can take away from the anger" of the public over the "appalling juxtaposition" of No 10 partying while others stuck to the rules.

Instead, he says there needs to be "equality in the law and the same standards to apply to anybody", even if that means a fixed penalty notice - effectively a fine - for Boris Johnson.

During the discussions in the Commons about the Sue Gray report earlier, Conservative MP Katherine Fletcher recalled conversations she'd had with her constituents over the weekend.

She said many of them recognised the PM had been "a wally", but given "100,000 Russians have showed up" on Ukraine's borders, they're wondering why everyone is "talking about cake".

She asked if the prime minister agrees with that statement.

Boris Johnson said he did and that he's focused on standing up to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Since then, Downing Street has said officials are "looking to finalise the time" for Johnson to hold a call with Putin. Reports had suggested a planned call between them had been cancelled but No 10 says there wasn't a "settled time" for the call.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Oscar Reddrop, a former Conservative press officer, tells the BBC he thought Boris Johnson "tonally got it all wrong today".

"I think the statement started off ok, I think there was contrition shown. But pretty soon after that he made the mistake of leaping back into the parliamentary theatrics of PMQs, which is a very, very different time and setting," he says.

"Coming out swinging looked tonally so out of step today," he says.

However, Reddrop believes Johnson may have dodged hard-hitting headlines tomorrow.

He believes some of his own MPs were left feeling "very, very concerned".

But once the 1922 Committee Meeting came around, Reddrop says Johnson "by all accounts has won over a great deal of MPs, telling them he nearly died fighting this".

"He was banging the desk saying I understand I messed up and I can get this right."

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has tested positive for Covid, she reveals on Twitter.

She says she will be "working from home while I isolate".

Truss earlier appeared in the Commons chamber to update MPs on the situation in Ukraine, and then attended a meeting of the Conservative parliamentary party which was addressed by Boris Johnson.

She had been due to accompany Johnson on a visit to Ukraine tomorrow where the prime minister will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

BBCCopyright: BBC

Alejandra Godoy from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice Group lost her mother to the virus and couldn't attend her funeral.

"It's just a shame that the prime minister cannot admit to what he's done," she tells the BBC.

"Any apology isn't enough any more. For me and the bereaved families who have lost loved ones, we're still living with this every day.

"I don't think he's going to resign. I anticipated that he might do but he hasn't got any conscience, to be honest with you. It's very disappointing."

Asked if it would be better to wait until the full Gray report is released to make a full judgement - which the PM repeatedly urged people to do when he spoke in the Commons earlier - Godoy says the information is "plain and simple".

"He did all the things that he did. There were all these parties going on. Many of us, the grieving families, we weren't allowed to be with our loved ones. I wasn't allowed to be at the funeral with my mum.

"He's made all these mistakes but he's just not willing to admit to anything."

BBCCopyright: BBC

BBC reporter Nick Garnett has been in Leigh - a former Labour stronghold that was won by the Conservatives in 2019 - finding out what people there think of Sue Gray's findings.

Cafe owner Philip Farnworth says his brother died with Covid three weeks ago but "we were fortunate enough that we could spend some time with him when he passed".

He continues, referring to politicians and officials who attended parties when lockdowns were in place:

Quote Message: These people have been put in charge, they've got power. That's why they've been voted in - to change things. And all of them should resign - every single one of them that attended those parties, laughing and giggling when people were dying on their own. They should resign. If not, they should be sacked. They’ve shown their true colours."

These people have been put in charge, they've got power. That's why they've been voted in - to change things. And all of them should resign - every single one of them that attended those parties, laughing and giggling when people were dying on their own. They should resign. If not, they should be sacked. They’ve shown their true colours."

BBCCopyright: BBC

Former leader of the Scottish Conservatives Ruth Davidson says the prime minister "got the tone wrong" in the Commons earlier today.

Davidson, a longstanding critic of Boris Johnson, tells the BBC there "needed to be more contrition" and that talking about free ports and making a jibe at Keir Starmer about Jimmy Savile was "completely inappropriate and put people off".

She adds Conservative colleagues "that are thinking what to do just don’t know where it all ends and just can’t believe him when he says it’s all over".

A Tory MP leaving the 1922 Committee meeting says about a quarter to a third of the room was “flat”.

They say people are still feeling “burnt” by what’s happened but thinks the PM’s been given until the local elections in the spring to see if he can fix the situation.

Upon leaving the 1922 Committee meeting, Peterborough MP Paul Bristow acknowledges it's been a "difficult day" but says there is support for Boris Johnson.

Bristow says he left the meeting "absolutely pumped" and adds that nobody in the meeting had called for Johnson to go.

SafiahCopyright: Safiah

"Appalling, but not particularly surprising," says Safiah Ngah, as her immediate response to Sue Gray's report into allegations of gatherings at Downing Street during Covid restrictions.

It was "incredibly traumatic" for the 29-year-old from north London to lose her father during the pandemic.

He was an NHS worker who died of Covid and "followed the rules to a tee", and whose family were only able to see him for a single video call from hospital.

But the delays, disruption and gaps in Gray's report into rule-breaking have made it even more hurtful, she says.

"It speaks volumes about who the priority is here... it's those who are in power," Safiah says.

Read more from Safiah and other bereaved families here.

The meeting of the 1922 Committee is over.

We're told it sounds like the prime minister promised much closer relations between No 10 and the parliamentary Conservative party.

One MP says that's key and tells our correspondent Ben Wright that Boris Johnson is a PM "on probation".

Emerging from the 1922 committee with Boris Johnson, a critic of the prime minister says their colleagues are "deluded".

They say there is "no way we are getting 54 letters" of no confidence.

The mood improved in the room when Johnson said he'd publish the full Gray report and would say so if asked at PMQs.

Earlier, the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford was ordered to leave the Commons chamber after accusing the prime minister of lying to MPs about the events at Downing Street.

Under parliamentary rules, MPs are not allowed to accuse each other of lying in the House of Commons.

Defending his comments on the BBC News Channel, Blackford repeats his accusation that the prime minister misled Parliament by saying on 8 December that no parties took place.

"I think the public... expect me to speak truth to power," he says.

He adds that Boris Johnson has "disrespected the office of prime minister" and should resign.

Cheers have grown a bit in strength and frequency during the course of the 1922 Committee meeting of backbench Tory MPs.

The prime minister has been stuck in there a fair while.

EPACopyright: EPA

Leader of the Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg says the "mood was positive" among Conservatives.

"We've got to remember how well the prime minister has done in the general run of being prime minister," he says.

Rees-Mogg says Boris Johnson has a "determination to put things right" and adds that "you can't ignore a majority of 80".

He adds: "So many people voted personally for Boris Johnson rather than voting for political parties.

"Politicians have to accept that our bosses are the British people, and they voted for that, they put him in office."

Some Tory MPs are spilling out of the meeting but it seems PM is still inside.

One who just left described it as “very good” and “warm”.

The latter perhaps being more about the temperature because it’s so jampacked...

BBCCopyright: BBC

Earlier, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries appeared on the BBC News Channel to defend the prime minister.

She said Boris Johnson had apologised and "left the report to the Met and we'll wait to see what their findings are".

Asked about Sue Gray blaming a "failure of leadership" for lockdown parties at Downing Street, she said this did not necessarily refer to Boris Johnson's leadership.

She pointed out the prime minister had promised to implement Gray's recommendations immediately.

"That is leadership," she added.