The country’s leading civil servant has stepped down from his role investigating alleged lockdown-breaking parties inside Downing Street after claims emerged he had hosted an event himself over the same period. He will be replaced by veteran civil servant Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the communities and levelling up department. “She will ascertain the facts and present her findings to the prime minister,” the statement added, giving no time for this. A report by Case into an alleged party inside No 10 on 18 December last year, when all indoor social mixing was banned, plus a series of other claimed events, had been due to be published as early as this week. But a Cabinet Office statement said staff in Case’s private office took part in “a virtual quiz” on that date.

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2021 13:46 UTC