Labour leader says 'party-gate' claims are damaging the union
Sir Keir Starmer is calling for the findings of a report into Downing Street lockdown parties to be published quickly and in full
Last updated 28th Jan 2022
The Labour leader has reiterated calls for Sue Gray’s inquiry into Downing Street lockdown parties to be published quickly, and in full, as he accused Boris Johnson of “damaging the United Kingdom and the union.”
Earlier on Friday it was revealed Scotland Yard had asked for the senior civil servant’s report on partygate to make "minimal reference" to the events being investigated by Met police.
That has led to a further delay of it’s publication, as Sue Gray reportedly decides whether to release a redacted version, or wait until the police investigation has concluded.
Speaking to Forth 1 News on a visit to Glasgow’s the Forge Market Keir Starmer said: "What I want to see is Sue Gray's report in full and the investigation finished as quickly as possible.
"Because we're in this situation where the whole of Government is paralysed because the police are looking at what the Prime Minister was getting up to in Downing Street.
"On the one hand, you've got people really worried about their bills and you've got these investigations going on into what the Prime Minister was up to.
"He has paralysed the Government so the sooner we get both the full report and the investigation completed, the better."
Commenting on whether he feels the Metropolitan Police were right to ask Sue Gray to make only "minimal reference" to any potentially criminal events being investigated by the force, he added: "We've got a criminal investigation into the behaviour of the Prime Minister and what went on in Downing Street.
"There are bound to be process issues along the way, but this is caused by one thing, and that's the behaviour of the Prime Minister."
Asked whether, with his legal background, he saw any issues of prejudice, Sir Keir said: "Any issues of prejudice have got to be worked through but this whole mess, this whole of paralysing of politics, is being caused by the Prime Minister and his wrongdoing."
Is the party-gate saga strengthening the case for Scottish independence?
Reflecting on whether Mr Johnson was increasing support for Scottish independence, Sir Keir said: "The more that anybody sees Boris Johnson, the more they're frustrated at the fact that, through his misbehaviour, we now have a civil service investigation and a criminal investigation into our prime minister and into what went on in Downing Street.
"That the whole of Government is paralysed and not focused on the things that in Scotland most people here talking about: the cost of living, the price hikes, the energy price hikes, their bills are going up, they're really worried about inflation and they know that the Government's about to whack them with more tax - their focus is completely wrong."
He added: "Scottish Labour is making a very, very powerful argument as we come out of this pandemic.
"We've been through something the likes of which we've never seen before and what we, in the Labour Party, say is, 'let's harness that, let's rebuild and reform as we come out of this'.
"Let's not just go back to reopening the old arguments and old divisions."
"That's a very powerful case for Scotland and a very powerful case for the union."
Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: "This gets murkier by the minute. Sue Gray and the Met are in difficult positions but the sequence of events and the situation arrived at now creates the suspicion - however unfairly - that the process of inquiry is aiding Johnson at the expense of public accountability."
Scotland's First Minister added: "I doubt Johnson cares about damage to the reputations of others - individuals or institutions - as long as he saves his own skin. But these things matter. Rapid conclusion and full publication of the findings of inquiries surely now essential for public trust."