Boris Johnson tries to change subject from 'partygate' woes

LONDON (AP) — The British government says Prime Minister Boris Johnson has received a report from an investigation into lockdown-breaching government parties.

The Cabinet Office says senior civil servant Sue Gray “has provided an update on her investigations to the Prime Minister.”

Johnson’s office has promised the report will be published “swiftly,” and the prime minister will address Parliament about its findings later.

But some of Gray’s findings are being withheld because of a separate police investigation into whether some of the gatherings broke COVID-19 laws.

Allegations that the prime minister and his staff flouted restrictions imposed on the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus have caused public anger and led some Conservative lawmakers to call for Johnson’s resignation.

Johnson has urged his critics to wait for Gray’s conclusions.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was marking the second anniversary of Brexit on Monday by touting the economic opportunities outside the European Union — and trying to change the subject from a scandal over lockdown-breaching government parties.

The U.K. officially left the now 27-nation bloc on Jan. 31, 2020, though it remained part of the EU’s economic structures for another 11 months.

Since then, the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic has obscured the economic ructions caused by the end of frictionless trade with Britain’s biggest economic partner. Britain’s economy is growing after entering recession amid pandemic lockdowns, but trade with the EU has fallen since Brexit introduced customs checks and other hurdles.

Johnson vowed Monday to unlock the potential of Brexit, unveiling a...