Facts 

Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis asserted that civil servant Sue Gray was “independent minded as well as doing this in an independent capacity” while dealing with questions about her report into whether Boris Johnson had breached Covid regulations at Downing Street parties. 

Sue Gray is a civil servant. Her report was not an external report of the kind that would be carried out by an independent outsider. It was an internal report.

Verdict

Brandon Lewis was misleading TV viewers. Brandon Lewis was wrong to claim that Sue Gray was “doing this in an independent capacity.”

We approached the Treasury press office and Mr Clarke’s office to give him a chance to comment, but received no response.