Met accused of using 'disproportionate' force and 'seeking to interfere' following Sue Gray report intervention

The force sparked even more confusion over the long-awaited investigation yesterday, when they asked the senior civil servant to only make “minimal reference” to the allegedly lockdown-busting events which they are now looking at.

As well as attracting widespread criticism, the statement means the wait for the document which could make or break Boris Johnson’s premiership now rolls into the weekend.

Scotland Yard said in a statement yesterday morning: “For the events the Met is investigating, we asked for minimal reference to be made in the Cabinet Office report.

“The Met did not ask for any limitations on other events in the report, or for the report to be delayed, but we have had ongoing contact with the Cabinet Office, including on the content of the report, to avoid any prejudice to our investigation.”

It is thought that the request has been made over concerns the contents of Cabinet Office inquiry may impact the police investigation, and it means the Gray report could now be further delayed or released in a slimmed-down version.

There is now uncertainty over when the report will surface and whether this will be before the end of the Met’s investigation.

Ken Macdonald, a former director of public prosecutions (DPP), said the move seems “disproportionate” in the face of “very powerful” public interest in the report’s swift publication.

Lord Macdonald said there is a “very powerful public interest in the speedy publication” of the Gray report, arguing that although it could “tip off” potential suspects or witnesses, they are likely to be caught off guard by her findings.

“I very much doubt that anything that Sue Gray says is going to come as any great surprise to any of the protagonists, so it’s all a bit of a mystery,” he told the BBC.

Concerns were also raised by senior Tory Sir Christopher Chope, who raised the issue in the House of Commons on a rare Friday sitting.

“There is no reason for the Metropolitan Police to be able to require Sue Gray not to issue her report in an unamended way for the benefit of the Prime Minister who ordered that report, and for this House, which is eager to see that report.

“It seems that the Metropolitan Police is usurping its position by seeking to interfere in the affairs of state without there being any criminal offences or any grounds for them carrying out such interference.”

Sources close to the Gray inquiry have previously indicated she was concerned about the prospect of releasing a report that was shorn of some of its key findings, raising the likelihood of a significant delay.