THE DUP was last night urged to break its silence on the Downing Street lockdown parties' controversy after Sue Gray's much-anticipated report criticised Boris Johnson for "failures of leadership and judgement".
With the British prime minister expected to face growing calls to quit from within Tory ranks, the DUP stands alone among Westminster's parties in not calling for him to stand down.
Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's party last night failed to respond when asked if it continued to support the embattled Mr Johnson.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said the absence of DUP MPs in the House of Commons yesterday contrasted with last week when he was heckled during his contribution on the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.
The Tory leader last night promised a shake-up of No 10 when it emerged that the Metropolitan Police are investigating at least 12 events across Whitehall for Covid breaches, including the prime minister's birthday celebration and a gathering in his Downing Street flat.
He apologised and pledged "I get it and I will fix it", amid a chorus of calls to resign.
Downing Street was last night forced to cave into mounting pressure, saying it will publish Ms Gray's updated report following the conclusion of the police investigation.
Scotland Yard said it was reviewing more than 300 images and over 500 pages of information passed to officers by the Gray inquiry.
Mr Eastwood said the report pointed to a "toxic culture at the heart of government and a careless disregard for what families have gone through".
He criticised the DUP for its failure to call out Mr Johnson.
"I can understand some absences but it is astounding to me that not one MP was available to react to a statement that goes to the heart of Boris Johnson’s fitness to remain in government," he told The Irish News.
Alliance deputy leader and North Down MP Stephen Farry said the DUP's "complete absence and silence" in the wake of the report's findings was "particularly surprising", given that many of the prime minister's MPs no longer supported him.
"Boris Johnson's actions have caused offence right across the political spectrum," he said.
"The DUP should have learnt the lesson by now regarding putting faith in the prime minister while compromising on other values in the process."
