Partygate: South Cambridgeshire MP says Downing Street behaviour ‘impossible to justify’ after Sue Gray interim report
South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne has said “those who make the rules need to obey the rules” after the publication of Sue Gray’s interim update on lockdown parties held in Downing Street.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued an apology to MPs after Ms Gray criticised “failures of leadership and judgment” in No 10 and the Cabinet Office while England was under coronavirus restrictions in 2020 and 2021.
The senior civil servant said she was unable to publish meaningful findings about the “extensive” material she gathered because of the Metropolitan Police investigation.
Her limited report listed 16 events she examined as part of her inquiry, but she said only four of those were not now being investigated by the police.
The 12 events - on eight separate dates - being investigated by police for alleged Covid-rule breaking include the May 20, 2020 “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden, which the PM has apologised for attending, and the PM’s birthday party on June 19, 2020.
And the police are also investigating a gathering on November 13, 2020 at Mr Johnson’s Downing Street flat.
Mr Johnson promised a shake-up of No 10 and insisted “I get it and I will fix it” as he faced fresh calls to resign after the report was published.
Conservative Mr Browne said: “Sue Gray’s report echoes my own well-covered comments about the cultural problems in Downing Street. I agree these events shouldn’t have happened. There was, as the reports states, too little thought given to what was happening across the country. Those who make the rules need to obey the rules.
“Much of the behaviour is impossible to justify to a public who have had an extremely tough time over the last two years. I am also deeply concerned that staff felt unable to address these concerns to their senior managers. As the report says, we must learn the lessons, and I welcome the first steps at reform announced in the Prime Minister’s statement today. Number 10 has grown in recent years and the Prime Minister is right to reform the way it operates.
“The Prime Minister has again unequivocally apologised today, fully accepted the findings in the report, and said he will cooperate with the ongoing police investigations.”
Scotland Yard said it was reviewing more than 300 images and over 500 pages of information passed to officers by the Gray inquiry.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer demanded Mr Johnson publish a full Gray inquiry in the future, as he said the British people believe the Prime Minister should “do the decent thing and resign”, but will not because he is “a man without shame”.
Giving a statement to MPs an hour after the Gray update was published, the Prime Minister said: “Firstly, I want to say sorry – and I’m 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 and it’s no use saying people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone.”
He added: “I get it, and I will fix it. I want to say to the people of this country I know what the issue is.”
Mr Johnson insisted he was “making changes” to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, including by creating an Office of the Prime Minister with a permanent secretary to lead No 10.
Yet the Prime Minister refused to tell the Commons whether he was at the party in his No 11 flat on November 13, 2020.
Ms Gray’s conclusions about the wider culture within the “heart of Government” were scathing.
“Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the Government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify,” she said.
“At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time.”
There was “too little thought” given to what was happening in the country at the time and “failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times”.
“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place.
“Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”
The Downing Street garden was used as an extension of the office in a “sensible” precaution against the spread of Covid-19, Ms Gray said, but “was also used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight” and “this was not appropriate”.
The report also hinted at the drinking culture within government, media reports have suggested “wine time Fridays” were a feature in No 10 during the pandemic.
Ms Gray’s findings did not mention these reports but she said: “The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time.
“Steps must be taken to ensure that every government department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.”
Read more
Cambridge MP calls on Prime Minister Boris Johnson to ‘resign without delay’
