Police officers who guard No 10 have reportedly been interviewed as part of Sue Gray’s inquiry into parties held at Downing Street during Covid restrictions.

A source told The Telegraph their statements to the civil servant in charge of the probe were “extremely damning”.

Ms Gray is looking into allegations of a number of parties held at Downing Street while the country was under Covid restrictions. She is expected to publish her findings in the next week.

Officers who were on duty outside No 10 at the time of alleged rule-breaking parties have now reportedly been spoken to for the inquiry. 

Access to Downing Street is controlled by the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. According to The Telegraph, members of this branch have given detailed testimonies about what they saw to Ms Gray.

Asked how significant their information was, a source told the newspaper: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”

Downing Street refused to comment on the ongoing investigation.

On Sunday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Tory MPs were rallying behind the prime minister ahead of the Partygate inquiry’s expected publication this week.

The Met has previously faced questions over how officers could have been unaware of a “bring your own booze” garden gathering as they stood guard outside Downing Street.

Ms Gray is also looking into reports of other gatherings alleged to have happened at No 10 - including two events on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.

Officials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from the investigation into the partygate scandal due to “culture of fear” surrounding the probe. Three sources told The Independent they had not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations. The Met has been approached for comment. By Zoe Tidman, Yahoo News

Maldives has formally established diplomatic relations with the Republic of Burundi.

The Joint Communiqué formalizing diplomatic relations between the two countries was signed by Permanent Representative of the Republic of Maldives to the United Nations Thilmeeza Hussain on behalf of the Maldivian government, whereas Permanent Representative of the Republic of Burundi to the United Nations, Zéphyrin Maniratanga signed on behalf of the government of Burundi.

The signing ceremony was held at the Permanent Mission of Maldives to the United Nations in New York, United States.

One of the key priorities of the foreign policy of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih remains to cultivate meaningful partnerships with friendly countries, based on mutual respect.

The establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries paves the way for the two countries to cooperate further to achieve common goals in areas of shared interest, as relatively small nations in the international arena.

Maldives currently maintains diplomatic relations with 179 countries, with the establishment of diplomatic ties with Burundi.

Situated in Africa, Burundi is a non-coastal country with a population of approximately 11.89 million. - Zunana Zalif, Raajje Television

Boris Johnson has announced an easing of England’s Plan B coronavirus restrictions amid a battle to save his premiership.

Speaking in the House of Commons this afternoon, the prime minister said that the restrictions brought in to tackle the Omicron wave – including vaccine passes, face masks and working from home – will be allowed to expire on 26 January.

Johnson added that face masks for school pupils will be scrapped from tomorrow.

Johnson told MPs more than 90% of over-60s across the UK had now had booster vaccines to protect them, and scientists believed the Omicron wave had peaked.

He said the government had taken a “different path” to much of Europe and the “data are showing that, time and again, this government got the toughest decisions right”.

The news comes as Covid infection levels are falling in most parts of the UK for the first time since early December.

The prime minister and his Cabinet met on Wednesday morning to examine the latest COVID data before making a statement in the Commons in the afternoon.

England’s Plan B measures – which include guidance to work from home, the use of the COVID pass and mandatory mask wearing in shops and on public transport – are set to expire on 26 January.

Health secretary Sajid Javid signalled an end to the restrictions on Tuesday when he told MPs that he was “cautiously optimistic that we will be able to substantially reduce restrictions next week”.

The move avoids yet another confrontation with Tory MPs who want the restrictions brought to an end – something Johnson would wish to avoid as his position has already been weakened due to the row over Downing Street parties.

A group of Tories who won their seats in Johnson’s 2019 election landslide appear to have lost faith in the prime minister, after he admitted attending a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden during England’s first coronavirus lockdown.

Johnson has insisted that “nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules” and he believed he was attending a work event.

A series of gatherings in No 10 and Whitehall are being investigated by senior civil servant Sue Gray, and Tory MPs were urged by ministers to wait for her report before deciding whether to move against the PM.

Watch: Labour: PM 'in a scandal of his own making'

 

 

 

 

 

 

Labour: PM ‘in a scandal of his own making’

Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says that Boris Johnson cannot focus on the “real issues facing this country right now” because the prime minister is “in a scandal of his own making”.

But reports have suggested the threshold of 54 letters from MPs that would launch a no-confidence vote in the PM could be reached this week.

Johnson made a public return on Tuesday after limiting his public activities when a close contact tested positive for COVID.

When asked whether restrictions would be lifted during a visit to a hospital, Johnson said: “We’ve got to be careful about COVID. We’ve got to continue to remember that it’s a threat.”

The Plan B measures were introduced to combat the wave of cases driven by the Omicron variant, with the aim of buying time to offer more booster jabs.

Johnson’s announcement follows Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s plans to ease them in Scotland from Monday.

It means nightclub closures and the requirement for table service in hospitality will come to an end, while attendance limits on indoor events and the guidance asking people to stick to a three-household limit on indoor gatherings will be lifted.

However, some baseline coronavirus measures which were in place before the Omicron wave will remain, including wearing face coverings in public indoor settings and on public transport, as well as working from home whenever it is possible.

A total of 19,450 people were in hospital in the UK with COVID as of 17 January, government figures show – down 2% week-on-week, though the total has risen slightly in the most recent two days.

A further 94,432 lab-confirmed COVID cases have been recorded in the UK as of 9am on Tuesday, while a further 438 people were reported to have died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID – though the figure is inflated by a lag in weekend reporting.  By Andy Wells, Yahoo News