The initial findings from senior civil servant Sue Gray’s report into Downing Street parties taking place while coronavirus restrictions were in place have been released.
In a limited report, which left out details of gatherings being investigated as part of the Metropolitan Police probe into the matter, Gray concluded that the events “should not have been allowed to take place or develop in the way that they did”.
Gray also determined that there were “failures of leadership and judgement” from within Downing Street and the Cabinet Office in enabling the gatherings to go ahead, and that “too little thought” was given to public health concerns and how the public would have perceived such behaviour.
She also said that among those working in government, there was a “serious failure” to observe the high standards of behaviour expected, adding that every government department ought to have a “clear and robust policy” over the consumption of alcohol at work in the aftermath of her findings.
Elsewhere, the report indicated that the Downing Street Garden was made use of for the purpose of gatherings “without clear authorisation or oversight” and that this was “not appropriate”. It also revealed that some junior members of staff felt unable to raise concerns about some of the conduct they witnessed while working.
Gray’s report is the product of her inquiry into 16 separate gatherings that took place between May 2020 and April 2021, 12 of which are being investigated as part of the Metropolitan Police investigation. All but one took place within Downing Street or the Cabinet Office, with the other held in the Department for Education.
In response, prime minister Boris Johnson accepted the report’s conclusions and promised an overhaul of how Downing Street is run to help “fix” the situation, after Gray suggested that its “fragmented and complicated” leadership structures had “led to the blurring of lines of accountability.”
In a statement to the House of Commons, Johnson said: “I am sorry for the things we simply didn't get right and also sorry for the way this matter has been handled.
“It's no use saying this or that was within the rules or that people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone, we asked people across this country to make most extraordinary sacrifices.
“I understand the anger people feel and it isn’t enough to say sorry.”
However, Johnson seemed to U-turn his commitment last week to release Sue Gray’s full report once the Metropolitan Police’s inquiry is complete, saying that he will “take a decision” on whether to publish at that point in time.
In what quickly spiralled into a stormy session in the Commons, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer referred to the reports conclusions as “damning” and repeated his calls for the PM to resign, urging Johnson’s fellow Conservative MPs to “end this farce” by forcing a vote of no confidence in the prime minister’s leadership.
Meanwhile, the SNP’s leader in Westminster, Ian Blackford, was asked to leave the chamber by Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle after he accused the PM of lying to Parliament and refused to withdraw or amend his comments.
Yet, the prime minister once more held firm in the face of calls for his removal, saying that he was determined to “get on with the job” of acting on Sue Gray’s recommendations and leading the country forward.
Photo taken from Wikimedia Commons
