The United Kingdom (UK) published its report, called the Sue Gray report, on the incidents of violations of COVID-19 lockdown restrictions by government officials during Downing Street parties in 2020-2021. The report highlighted the “failures of the leadership,” which resulted in the breaching of health protocols.
British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson has been caught in a string of scandals recently that brought to light the several parties attended by British ministers as the country’s citizens struggled with COVID-19 restrictions. Amid calls for his resignation, he set up an internal probe, led by Sue Gray, that was responsible for the “investigation into alleged gatherings on government premises during COVID-19 restrictions.”
The Sue Gray report looked into 16 events conducted between May 2020 and April 2021. Apart from one gathering at the Ministry of Education, all of these parties were conducted at No. 10 Downing Street or the Cabinet Office. Out of these 16, 12 are being investigated by the country’s police. According to Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick, there was evidence to suggest that the attendees of the gatherings “knew, or ought to have known, what they were doing was an offense.” However, it remains unclear whether Johnson was being investigated or not.
This includes a party on November 27, a Department of Education meeting on December 10, a Christmas quiz on December 15, a December 18 Christmas party at Downing Street and a Downing Street staff party hosted by the PM at his residence in May 2020. Furthermore, last month, Johnson also admitted to attending a get-together to mark his birthday at his Downing Street office.
The report said that the conclusions were made following in-depth interviews with 70 individuals, along with a careful examination of documentary information and digital communications. However, the document clarified that its findings were not a determination of whether any crime was committed at these events, which will be established by the Metropolitan Police.
Moreover, due to the ongoing criminal investigation, the report could not present all the evidence that was collected in the probe to prevent any prejudice to the police’s process. However, Downing Street confirmed that it would publish the updated report on the events after the police investigation was concluded.
As a part of the report’s findings, the impact of the COVID-19 protocols and restrictions on the day-to-day lives of individuals were highlighted. Against this backdrop, it said that “the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify.” It claimed that the events indicated a “serious failure” of the government officials, who failed to adhere to the far-reaching restrictions that the entire British population was subjected to.
The Sue Gray report questioned the “appropriateness” of the events as they posed a severe threat to public health. In this regard, it highlighted the “failures of leadership and judgement” by several office-bearers at Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.
The document also criticised the “excessive consumption of alcohol” that it claimed was not appropriate for a professional environment. Consequently, it recommended that critical steps ought to be taken to introduce “a clear and robust policy” preventing alcohol consumption in Government Departments.
The report also raised concern about the lack of a mechanism that would allow staff members to raise concerns about such events. Hence, it pointed out the need to bring in measures to allow staff to raise concerns formally “outside the line management chain.”
In response, Johnson addressed the British Parliament and apologised for the lockdown-violating parties. He said that he accepted the Sue Gray report’s findings “in full.” He vowed to bring in changes to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office to prevent such violations from occurring again.
The report’s findings have strengthened calls for Johnson and other officials’ resignation from their positions. For instance, Angela Rayner, an opposition leader from the Labour Party, said that the findings were “sickening” and showed that Johnson must resign as he had “lost the confidence of the British public.” Similarly, Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford also echoed this call for his resignation.
Our national story about Covid is one of a country that stood up when it was tested.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 31, 2022
But that will forever be tainted by the behaviour of this Conservative Prime Minister.
By routinely breaking the rules he set, Boris Johnson took the public for fools.
My full statement: pic.twitter.com/hxDECNrdpD
Over the past few months, Johnson’s popularity has been steadily declining. For instance, according to a Survation poll on Wednesday, around 62% adults in the UK wanted him to resign as the country’s PM. Similar numbers were also reported by a Savanta ComRes poll (66%) and an Opinium survey (63%). However, over the past few months, Johnson has rejected calls for his resignation despite his growing unpopularity and is likely to continue to do so till the conclusion of the police investigation.