UK's Johnson To Sacrifice Cabinet Secretary Amid Pressure Over Partygate - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2022) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will have his cabinet secretary fired to shield himself from public outrage over a damning internal inquiry into lockdown drinking parties at Downing Street, media said.

Simon Case, the country's most senior civil servant, will be blamed for allowing a drinking culture to flourish in the government, something unheard of during his predecessor's term, the Guardian reported based on details it learned from multiple sources.

An unnamed senior official who saw parts of the long-awaited report on "Partygate" told the daily it will present evidence of Case's mismanagement. Senior officials reportedly said he will be so heavily criticized that he will have to stand down or be fired.

"That is probably why he is still there... Because Johnson needs a body," a source said.

Johnson was fined in April for celebrating his birthday at the office despite a COVID-19 ban on gatherings. But the inquiry, led by cabinet official Sue Gray, will present more evidence of similar incidents for which he was not fined, sources told the paper.

A friend of Gray told the Guardian that the report will present a truthful account of events. They said that before Johnson took office in 2019 the only party ever held at Downing Street was Christmas party.

"We didn't have karaoke machines and suitcases to bring in drink in those days. I think it will be very difficult for Simon Case," the source reportedly said.