MP asks if Boris Johnson’s top adviser Sue Gray saw report in advance

Labor MP Angela Eagle told MPs that speculation was mounting that Steve Barclay had read Sue Gray’s report before it was officially published. Ms Eagle presented plans to submit a question to find out if he had “successfully edited” the report.

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Dame Eagle asks if any corrections have been made to Sue Gray’s report

A Labor MP has questioned whether Boris Johnson’s top adviser had looked at Sue Gray’s report the night before it was officially published.

Raising a point of order in the House of Commons, Angela Eagle noted that the Prime Minister confirmed that he had not received the report in advance but did not clarify whether anyone else in Downing Street had received it.

Ms Eagle said Steve Barclay, the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and cabinet minister, has been linked to swirling theories that someone at Downing Street might have access to potentially edit the report before it is published.

Mr Barclay, MP for North East Cambridgeshire, sat next to the Prime Minister as he insisted before the House of Commons that he was not trying to “acquit me of responsibility” for Ms Gray’s damning report.

Ms Eagle told MPs: “The Prime Minister said he had not received the report in advance but did not answer a question as to whether anyone else at Downing Street had.

“There has since been further speculation that this official was in fact the correct Honorable MP for North East Cambridgeshire who also serves as the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff.

“Given his unique position as a Member of this House, Member of the Cabinet and Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister, I can ask your advice on whether it would be ok to table a question on the named day asking if he was given a copy of the SU grade report in advance, and whether he has successfully or unsuccessfully attempted to make changes to it.

Ms Eagle raised her point of order hours after the Prime Minister’s official spokesman personally apologized for not telling journalists the truth about parties at Downing Street.

Yesterday Tory MPs voiced fears of a cover-up of the ‘Abba party’ at the Downing Street flat after Sue Gray admitted she had not fully investigated the gathering.

Ms Gray’s long-awaited report on the Partygate scandal admitted her information on the event was “limited” as she had stopped when the police investigation began.

After Scotland Yard concluded its inquiry last week, it ruled that it was “not appropriate or proportionate” to continue monitoring the event.

Boris Johnson’s wife Carrie is said to be performing the Abba song “Winner Takes It All” at the event at the flat on November 13, 2020.