Sue Gray: Downing Street parties 'should not have been allowed to take place'

The Prime Minister has apologised after a report by a senior civil servant concluded a number of gatherings which took place at Downing Street “should not have been allowed to take place”.

In a statement in Parliament, Boris Johnson said he could “understand the anger that people feel”.

He added: “I get it – and I will fix it.”

But Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the PM of “fraying the bond of trust between our government and the public”.

He urged Conservative backbenches to move to get rid of Johnson as prime minister, adding Johnson was “totally unworthy of his responsibilities”.

The Prime Minister is set to address the 1922 committee of Conservtive MPs this evening. 

Sue Gray’s report, published at 2:30pm, was delivered to Number 10 on Monday morning.

It was delayed from last week after the Met intervened to request that “minimal reference” was made to events now being investigated by police.

Gray said there had been “failures of leadership and judgement” throughout No 10 and the Cabinet Office, and that “some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify”.

Her report said that gatherings were a “serious failure” to observe the high standards expected of government by the public.

She also slammed the consumption of alcohol at work, saying this was “not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time”.

The report covers 12 dates on which gatherings were reported to have taken place, including the Prime Minister’s birthday in June 2020 and the one on the eve of the funeral of Prince Philip in April 2021.

It also says that, as a result of information provided by this investigation, the Met was investigating some of these events further, though police have already concluded that four dates did not reach the threshold for criminal investigation.

However, Gray explained she had “not made comment on whether individual gatherings were in line with the relevant guidance and regulations in place at the time” due to the ongoing police investigations.

“I did not judge it appropriate to do so given the police investigation that is now underway,” she added.

The report also raised concerns about staff feeling unable to speak out about behaviour at work.

It calls for more ways for staff to raise concerns “informally, outside of the line management chain”.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Johnson said he accepted Gray’s findings “in full”.

He said: “I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way that this matter has been handled. It’s no use saying this or that was within the rules and it’s no use saying that people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone.”

Johnson committed to implementing changes to tackle some of the issues raised, including creating an official Office of the Prime Minister, review codes of conduct and strengthen the cabinet government.

“I know what the issue is. It’s whether this government can be trusted to deliver and I say, Mr Speaker, yes, we can be trusted,” Johnson added.

Starmer said the report and police investigation proved there was “evidence of serious and flagrant breaches of lockdown”.

“There can be no doubt that the Prime Minister himself is now subject to criminal investigation,” he added.

Addressing Conservative MPs, Starmer said: “They can heap their reputations, the reputation of their party, the reputation of their country on the bonfire of his leadership or they can spare the country from a prime minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities. It is their duty to do so. They know better than anyone how unsuitable he is for high office.”

The SNP have described the PM’s position as “untenable” and called for his resignation.

The party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, was kicked out of the chamber after refusing to withdraw an accusation that the Prime Minister had misled the House.

Speaking before the statement, Blackford said: “It is clear the Prime Minister knew about events, attended them – and was lying to Parliament when he claimed otherwise.

“Misleading Parliament is a resignation matter in itself, but just as important is the fact that the Prime Minister and his Downing Street team were breaking the rules that they had imposed.”

Boris Johnson also came under fire from former prime minister Theresa May.

Speaking in the Commons, she said: “What the Gray report does show is that No 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had opposed on members of the public. Either my Rt Hon friend had not read the rules, or didn’t understand what they meant, and others around him. Or they didn’t think the rules applied to No 10. Which was it?

Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar said Johnson was “not fit to continue”.

He said: “Every second that Boris Johnson remains in office he further degrades the office of prime minister. Frankly, the United Kingdom deserves better.”

The Scottish Greens also called on the PM to resign, with Gillian Mackay MSP saying: “Mr Johnson’s failure of leadership, his contempt for the rules, and his unwillingness to accept responsibility are all reasons why he is utterly unfit to remain in post.”