Lib Dems table motion to force publication of full Sue Gray report

The Guardian reports:

A new attempt will be launched next week to force publication of the full report into whether No 10 parties broke Covid laws, with Conservative MPs urged to support the move to ensure there are “no more cover-ups and no more lies”.

While more questionnaires were sent out by Scotland Yard to those who attended a dozen gatherings under investigation, a “humble address” motion was tabled in the House of Commons by the Liberal Democrats.

If passed, ministers would be forced to release a specific set of documents within two days of the Met concluding its investigation. A date has yet to be set for the vote, but could come on the next opposition day allocated to the Lib Dems.

Ed Davey says:

Boris Johnson can’t be trusted to admit whether he or any other Conservative ministers end up being fined by the police. We’ve seen time and again that his instinct is to lie, blame others or cover up the truth.

MPs from across all parties need to come together and force Boris Johnson to come clean. The public deserves to know whether our prime minister has broken the law, and for the full Sue Gray report including any photos to be published.

If Johnson is found to have broken the law, he must fess up and resign. No more cover-ups, no more lies.

For a sitting prime minister to be found guilty of breaking the law would be unprecedented and put to bed once and for all the Conservative Party’s claim to be the party of law and order.

The motion is on the Parliament website and reads:

That this House considers that a motion for an Humble Address on the laying of papers including the full, unredacted report of the Cabinet Office investigation into alleged gatherings on Government premises during the period of covid-19 restrictions, all accompanying evidence collected as part of the Cabinet Office investigation, including photographs and a full list of the names of any elected officials, senior civil servants, and political appointees given Fixed Penalty Notices as a result of the police investigation, should be debated no later than two sitting days after the confirmation by the Metropolitan Police that their investigation into alleged breaches of covid-19 restrictions in Downing Street and Whitehall was completed.

These sort of motions have in recent years become a regular and welcome part of the ways Liberal Democrat MPs turn issues into media stories.

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