MATT WESTERN MP COLUMN: We must see full report to trust findings of ‘Partygate’

The PM must decide if the game is finally up

We’re now in week seven and the ‘Partygate’ scandal continues. Let me start by saying that if I was a Conservative MP, I would have called for the prime minister to resign at the outset, writes Matt Western.

If I was a Conservative minister, I would have demanded he resign while tendering my own resignation.

Constituents who know me, know that.

And contrary to popular belief, MPs are not all the same.

What damaging revelations of illegal behaviour will the prime minister be found to have been involved in next?

The all-important report by senior civil servant (second permanent secretary to the Cabinet Office) Sue Gray must be seen in full, and the PM – and those Government MPs defending him – must consider its contents and decide whether the game is finally up.

The prime minister and his front bench – who have been tasked with defending the indefensible – have been talking about waiting for the results of Ms Gray’s report for weeks now.

Despite the obvious concerns about a civil servant investigating her own boss, the contents will be highly damaging, with reports that the police and others have offered damning testimonies.

If the report is not seen in full, it will be nothing short of a cover-up.