Sue Gray report: Five details and events to watch out for as PM prepares for tough week

Chris Mason takes swipe at Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak

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Mr Johnson – having survived another week in office – is in an increasingly perilous position. Intervention from the Metropolitan Police has not quelled public desire for the Sue Gray report, which remained painfully under wraps as another dramatic week closed on January 28. With new rumours and controversies erupting every day, Express.co.uk has provided a brief guide on what to expect for the week ahead.

The type of report

According to the Daily Mail, the Prime Minister will likely have received the report over the weekend.

If true, civil servants would have handed him a copy to filter through, but questions remain about what it contains.

Due to the Metropolitan Police investigation, it is expected she may have to hand in a redacted version so as not to interfere with the parallel inquiries.

In this case, Parliament and the general public may not get the complete picture, meaning they have to wait until the police conclude their report.

Prime Minister’s Questions

Regardless of what happens with the report on Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday promises another explosive PMQs.

After the last round on January 26, an email emerged claiming the PM intervened to extract animals under the care of the Nowzad charity when the Government said it was prioritising people.

While Mr Johnson has since dismissed the claims as “rhubarb”, they will likely help with Sir Keir Starmer’s line of questioning as the party continues to examine his relationship with the truth.

If the report is in, people can expect Keir Starmer to zero in on the facts of the case, and he will want to question whether the PM misled Parliament – ordinarily a resigning matter for a minister.

The 1922 Committee

Several Tories have, over the last few weeks, said they sent a “letter” to the party’s 1922 Committee.

Those letters voice an MPs’ lack of confidence in their serving party leader, and enough of them will trigger a vote of no confidence.

If there is enough momentum, they could reach the required 54 threshold soon, and committee chair Sir Graham Brady will reveal when.

On top of the 54 who sent their letters, another 126 – to a total of 180 – would need to vote against the Prime Minister to oust him and trigger a leadership contest.

Resignations

Resignations often spell the death knell of a Prime Minister’s term in office.

When Theresa May faced a similar situation to Mr Johnson in 2018, the then Foreign Secretary resigned.

Conservatives later toppled her due to her Brexit approach, something the current PM objected to in his resignation letter.

Lord Agnew, the Prime Minister’s fraud minister, resigned at the despatch box last week in protest of “schoolboy errors” made with the Covid loans scheme, and his departure could see others follow.

Tory candidates

On January 29, Tom Tugendhat came forward as a surprise contender for the next Tory leader.

The centrist and ex-Remainer said it would be a “huge privilege” to serve as Prime Minister should Mr Johnson exit the role.

He added that anyone among his colleagues who wanted to do the same should “go for it” and that the onus fell on them to “put ourselves forward”.

His prospective candidacy may end up opening the floodgates for other contenders, with Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss among the favourites.

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