Sue Gray: Who is the civil servant investigating Downing Street lockdown parties?

Who needs influencers when we've got civil servants?

The most talked-about person in the UK right now isn't a former reality star or a viral TikTok creator, it's a senior cabinet office employee who works for the government.

Sue Gray is investigating allegations of parties held at Downing Street while the UK was in lockdown due to Covid-19.

Boris Johnson has admitted he attended a recently-revealed gathering at 10 Downing Street on 20 May 2020, saying he was there for 25 minutes.

That was during the height of the first UK coronavirus lockdown and has rocked public confidence in the government.

When the prime minister apologised, he urged MPs to wait for Sue Gray's inquiry into the alleged law-breaking parties, which he said "will report as soon as possible".

At the time parties were banned, you couldn't see your friends or family and loved ones were dying alone in hospitals.

But at No 10, an invite went out telling people to "bring your own booze" to a garden get-together (also banned) where those invited could "make the most of the lovely weather".

An estimated 100 people were invited and 30 are believed to have attended. Eyewitnesses told the BBC that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie were there before the prime minister apologised for attending.

This is what Sue Gray is looking into, as part of the wider investigation, but who is she - and how big is the job in front of her right now?

First of all, when it comes to civil servants investigating Downing Street parties during Covid - the recent track record isn't great.

In December 2021, the UK's top civil servant Simon Case stepped down from leading this same inquiry into the parties when it emerged one had been held in his own office.

That was when Sue Gray took over and she is now charged with determining who attended the 20 May party - among other party-related issues.

As an employee of the Cabinet Office, she has worked under both Conservative and Labour governments - and she's got a strong reputation.

In 2015, as the government's director general of its propriety and ethics team, she was described as "the most powerful person you've never heard of".

It was also reported that she had advised staff on how to destroy emails with a "double-deletion" to stop information becoming public through Freedom of Information requests.

Under British law, information held by public authorities (such as the government) must be made available to the public. It's something that journalists often use when they're working on stories about these authorities and what they've been up to.

Sue Gray has been responsible for people getting kicked out of the Conservatives in the past.

In 2017 she was responsible for the sacking of Damian Green, a close ally of then-Prime Minister Theresa May, because of "inaccurate and misleading" statements over what he knew about claims porn was found on his office computer.

Just last year, she suggested that she missed out on the top civil service job in Northern Ireland because - by her own admission - she is "too much of a challenger".

"Perhaps I would bring about... too much change. And yes, I wanted to have change," she told the BBC at the time.

Currently it isn't known who attended in full - and the lack of clarity from other Conservative MPs has made excellent source material for comedians on social media.

Boris Johnson didn't show up to a sitting in Parliament this week, where Labour Party deputy leader Angela Raynor was granted an "urgent question" of the prime minster to explain his involvement (or lack of) with what happened on that warm spring day.

He made his admission and apology at Prime Minster's Questions a day later.

The findings of Sue Gray's investigation could have huge implications on his future - or at least how he is seen or portrayed in the media.

But while the traditional media has gone on the attack, on social media, Sue Gray has (of course) been turned into a bit of a meme.

This being Britain, many of those memes are either about dogs, food - or dogs and food.

So next time you're asked a question you don't want to give an answer to, you could try responding with a simple "Sue Gray is investigating" and see how far that gets you.

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