Partygate: Sue Gray report will be published in full, Boris Johnson says

Watch: Boris Johnson confirms the Sue Gray report will be published in full

A report by Sue Gray into Downing Street parties and gatherings that took place during lockdown will be published in full, Boris Johnson has said.

The PM is under pressure to resign after the Metropolitan Police announced they have launched a criminal probe into the allegations of widespread partying through Downing Street and Whitehall.

On Wednesday, Johnson refused to confirm if the full report would be made public.

It was thought part of the report could be redacted to avoid the risk of releasing anything which could prejudice a criminal case.

However, during a trip to Wales on Thursday, the PM confirmed it will be released in its entirety.

When asked if he will publish it in full, Johnson said: "Of course."

The report is being held as a make-or-break moment for Johnson's premiership.

Read more: Threat of general election within weeks branded nonsense

If the findings are damning - including whether Johnson broke COVID-19 rules after attending a "bring your own booze" party in Downing Street during lockdown - it is widely rumoured Tory MPs will force a vote of no confidence.

With no clear indication of when Ms Gray’s findings will be delivered to his office, Johnson has been continuing with his diary events rather than waiting for the report to arrive.

Earlier claims that the country would be plunged into a general election if Johnson is ousted were branded as "nonsense".

On Wednesday, the leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said he thought an election would be needed to secure the mandate of the next party leader if Johnson's premiership is ended in the coming weeks by the Partygate scandal.

The comments have been seen as a thinly-veiled threat aimed at those Tory MPs with small majorities whose constituencies could be under threat if voters were sent to the polls.

But Damian Green, who served as Theresa May's deputy prime minister, brushed off the claims.

"Jacob, bless him, is talking nonsense," he told ITV's Peston.

"We have a system of parliamentary democracy - he's leader of the House of Commons, he must have noticed that.

"Probably the two most presidential prime ministers we've had in my lifetime have been Thatcher and Blair. Both of them left in the middle of a parliament and both of their successors went on for the whole term of that parliament."

During the PM's outing on Thursday, he was also questioned on reports that he authorised evacuating animals out of Kabul over humans when the Taliban took over Afghanistan.

He said: “No, that is… this whole thing is total rhubarb.

“I was very proud of what our armed services did with Op Pitting and it was an amazing thing to to move 15,000 people out of Kabul in the way that we did.

“I thought it was also additionally very good that we were able to help those vets who came out as well.

“But I can tell you that the military always prioritised human beings and that was quite right.

“I think we should be incredibly proud of Op Pitting and what it achieved.”