What's the mood amid Tory MPs following Sue Gray's partygate report?

On the surface it certainly feels as if the mood among Tories is positive for Boris Johnson.

After an uncomfortable session in the Commons, in which Conservative MPs watched attacks by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and some of their own colleagues in silence, the PM addressed his party in an upstairs room in Parliament's Portcullis House. Several MPs have told me the mood in there was pretty positive. One said that it was “back to the Boris of 2019”.

Although there were critics voicing their opinion, more were offering support as Mr Johnson said he was sorry, took a share of the responsibility and promised to overhaul the Downing Street operation. Emerging from the meeting, one MP from the 2019 intake told me that the “vast majority” in the room were backing the PM, insisting their constituents wanted to move on from talk about parties. Meanwhile, a critic of the prime minister came out to say his colleagues are "f****** deluded…there is no way we are getting 54 [no confidence] letters”.

So, is it right to judge the mood as shifting to support the PM? I think caution is probably still to be advised. First were the hugely cutting interventions on the Commons floor – from Aaron Bell, Andrew Mitchell and even former PM Theresa May.

In the meeting with Mr Johnson, Edward Leigh said at one point that there was something that he would tell Ms May to her face if she was there. At which point, she piped up “I am”, as she was sitting behind him. He argued that while the minority government was paralysed in her time, Johnson had an 80 seat majority and could get through this. But others messaged their private views. One told me: “On general mood I wouldn’t believe the No 10 spin.”

A senior MP added that the positive mood was inevitable in that forum, saying "it was a good atmosphere. But the whips were standing around North Korean style checking whether backbenchers were clapping like performing seals." That said – it does seem clear that things have calmed down. One letter writer – Gary Sambrook – even tweeted his support for Johnson.

His allies hope that changes at Downing Street will help. One said the PM had promised to publish the report in full, to calm down anger among colleagues, and said “personnel changes” were coming. They even said that the resignation of Angela Richardson as aide to Michael Gove, because of her “deep disappointment”, was manageable because she had made clear she would go quietly. They admit the PM is not out of the woods – but they are convinced that he is safe for now. However, given the difficult polling, they know May elections and the outcome of a police investigation could still mean great risk ahead.