UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Tuesday after an inquiry found that Downing Street parties while Britain was in lockdown represented a “serious failure” to observe the standards expected of government or to heed the sacrifices made by millions of people during the pandemic.
But Johnson brushed off calls to quit over the “partygate” scandal, promising to reform the way his office is run and insisting that he and his government can be trusted.
“I get it, and I will fix it,” he said in Parliament after senior civil servant Sue Gray published interim findings on several gatherings in 2020 and 2021.
The report into alleged lockdown parties at Downing Street found there were “failings of leadership and judgement” by No 10.
The heavily edited and short report also revealed Scotland Yard was investigating a dozen gatherings.
The Sue Gray report into the parties found “serious failings”. (Source: 1News)
Gray wrote that against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the public was asked to accept far-reaching restrictions some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings was “difficult to justify”.
“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,” she wrote.
“At times it seems there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the appropriateness of some of these gatherings, the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public."
While her report lacked details, it is damning in its overall conclusion that many of these gatherings should not have taken place, with almost all being investigated by police.
Scotland Yard confirmed it was investigating eight out of the 12 alleged gatherings, including Johnson's surprise birthday in June 2020.
Gray also condemned the “excessive consumption of alcohol” as inappropriate in a professional workplace.
She did not criticise Johnson directly, but said “there is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government".
Gray's conclusions relate to just four of the 16 events she investigated.
Her findings on 12 other events have been withheld at the request of the police, who last week launched a criminal investigation into the most serious alleged breaches of coronavirus rules.
The Metropolitan Police force said it had asked for Gray’s report to omit the events being investigated by detectives “to avoid any prejudice to our investigation".
The cuts to Gray's report have led opponents to accuse Johnson of a whitewash.
The allegations that the Prime Minister and his staff flouted restrictions imposed on the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus — holding “bring your own booze” office parties, birthday celebrations and “wine time Fridays” — had caused public anger, led some Conservative lawmakers to call for Johnson’s resignation and triggered intense infighting inside the governing party.
Opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer said the British public had made “heart-wrenching sacrifices and endured "a collective trauma" during the pandemic.
Starmer said many British people “think the Prime Minister should do the decent thing and resign".
Of course, he won’t. Because he is a man without shame.”
Johnson urged his critics to wait for the conclusions of the police investigation.
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