sue gray report filetype:pdf / Despite the “bitter and sad” findings of a report into parties conducted in Downing Street during the Covid limitations, Boris Johnson has stated that he will remain Prime Minister.
Sue Gray, a civil servant, highlighted excessive drinking, harassment of cleaners and security employees, and violations of Covid rules in her report.
She stated that No 10’s leadership “must bear responsibility” for the company’s culture.
Some of Mr. Johnson’s critics have renewed their calls for him to resign.
The prime minister, though, ruled out resigning in a press conference on Wednesday, saying, “I’ve got to keep moving forward.”
MPs to remove Johnson
Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s leader, had previously called on Conservative MPs to remove Johnson, saying it was time for him to “pack his bags.”
Mr. Johnson told the Commons that he accepted “full responsibility for everything that happened under my watch,” that he had been “humbled,” and that he had learned lessons.
He told MPs that his prior statement that “the rules and advice were followed at all times” was “what I believed to be true.”
He said that he had attended parties to wish departing employees farewell and that his attendance had not been determined to be in violation of the guidelines.
“However, this was clearly not the case for some of those groups after I had left, and for others when I was not even on the premises,” he continued.
Mr. Johnson said he was “shocked” and “appalled” by some of Ms. Gray’s findings, particularly the way security and cleaning employees were treated.
where does all this leave the prime minister?
He stated a lot of the report, which he had only read for the first time on Wednesday, was “unknown to me” during the press conference later that day. So where does all this leave the prime minister?
He apologized and went out of his way to explain why he didn’t believe he had willfully deceived the Commons in his prior explanations of events.
This is critical because if he is found to have lied before the House on purpose, he will lose his job.
However, the prime minister stated that he did not believe he had done anything improper at the time of the incident that resulted in him being fined by police.
Many Conservative MPs are enraged and embarrassed by what has occurred. They understand that a lot of stuff can’t be explained or wished away.
However, a number of cabinet ministers have publicly stated their support for the prime minister.
Ms. Gray slammed what was going on in No 10 under the Covid restrictions in her 37-page assessment, which included a “bring-your-own-booze” party in May 2020 and a surprise birthday celebration for Mr. Johnson the following month.
She discovered: sue gray report filetype:pdf
- The culture at No 10 must be borne by the political and official leadership.
- On the eve of Prince Philip’s burial, staff partied – some until after 4 a.m.
- In June 2020, there was another party “Some people consume excessive amounts of alcohol. One of the participants was ill. A brief altercation occurred between two other people.”
- To evade press photographers, a No 10 official sent a note referring to “drunkenness” and encouraging colleagues to leave No 10 via the rear exit following a December 2020 Christmas quiz.
- “Numerous instances of disrespect and mistreatment of security and cleaning personnel”
A purported party in the prime minister’s flat, which Ms. Gray claimed she was only able to acquire “minimal” evidence on, was one gathering that Ms. Gray did not fully investigate.
She halted her probe into the 13 November 2020 gathering after the police launched their investigation into the departures of aides Lee Cain and Dominic Cummings.
However, after the police inquiry was completed, Ms. Gray “concluded it was not suitable or reasonable” to conduct more investigations.
You can read Chris’s full blog here.
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