Government braced for difficult day over Gray report

It was a week before Christmas when top civil servant Sue Gray was asked to begin her investigation into gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid-19 lockdowns.

Ever since, its full publication has been the crutch upon which many a Conservative MP has leant when asked to pass judgement on the prime minister's conduct and that of the government he leads.

Merely invoking her name has provided an excuse to stop short of delivering a definitive verdict on his behaviour, his character.

This morning, her completed investigation will be sent to Downing Street.

Plenty of Conservative MPs acknowledge, privately, that the revelations of the last six months have permanently damaged the prime minister's reputation in the eyes of many: His character, his judgement, his integrity. Bluntly, whether he tells the truth.

The government is braced for a difficult day.

But the volcanic anger of many Tory MPs just a few months ago has cooled - their appetite for revolution, replacing him, significantly dimmed.

But where might it be by this time tomorrow?

Number 10 will hope moving swiftly on to announce plans to address the soaring cost of living - more on that here - will show their focus is on what matters to millions of families now.