Boris Johnson’s leadership has been plunged into crisis after a report blasted “failures of leadership and judgement” in 10 Downing Street.
The Prime Minister was branded "unfit for office" after top civil servant Sue Gray said several Downing Street lockdown parties "should not have been allowed".
Her nine-page interim update said "at least some" of the gatherings were "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 revealed three new gatherings we didn’t even know about and said police are probing 12, including an ‘ABBA party’ in the Downing Street flat that the PM denied ever happened.
Boris Johnson told MPs he was “sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right”, adding: “I get it and I will fix it.”
Yet desperate and cornered, he accused Keir Starmer of "failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile" and suggested with no evidence that the Labour frontbench were on drugs.
The PM said Labour ’s criticism was a “tissue of nonsense” after the report did not directly attack him, or say directly if people broke the rules or the law.
But ex-PM Theresa May said it was clear No10 "was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public.”
In an excoriating attack, she said Boris Johnson either ignored the rules or hadn't read or understood them - while Tory ex-Cabinet minister Andrew Mitchell said: "He no longer enjoys my support".
Tory MP Angela Richardson became the first member of the government to quit over the report - resigning as a junior aide to Michael Gove.
No10 have now committed to publish a second “update” from Sue Gray after the Met Police finish a criminal investigation into 12 of the 16 events Ms Gray probed.
The report was stripped of almost all details after the Met Police asked Ms Gray to make only "minimal reference" to the 12 gatherings it was probing. Ms Gray conceded: "I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events.”
So what DID we find out from the report and the subsequent debate? Here’s what you need to know…
Police are looking at THREE HUNDRED pictures
Sue Gray warned she has “extensive substantive factual information” after interviewing more than 70 people and checking e-mails, WhatsApps, texts, photographs, official records and entry and exit logs.
And police revealed she gave them “well over 500 pieces of paper, about a ream and a half, and over 300 photographs".
Met Police Commander Catherine Roper said: “We'll be contacting those people that we want to have further information from with a series of questions - that could be via email or it could be by post.”
But will it ever see the light of day?
Most of the information Sue Gray gathered will now be locked away for "storage and safekeeping”, “until such time as it may be required further”.
That’s because it could not be published due to the Scotland Yard probe. Frustrated Ms Gray said: “It is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report”.
Tonight Downing Street pledged to “ask Sue Gray to update her work” after the Met probe ends and the PM “will publish that update”.
But that stops short of a commitment to a full report - and it’s thought Ms Gray could hold back evidence like photos or texts.
Furious Keir Starmer said: “The Prime Minister must keep his promise to publish Sue Gray’s report in full when it is available.” Tory MP Tobias Ellwood added: "If the PM fails to publish the report in full then he will no longer have my support."
The PM is accused of misleading Parliament over an ‘ABBA party’
Police are probing a so-called ‘ABBA party' in Boris and Carrie Johnson's flat above Downing Street, the report reveals - despite the fact Boris Johnson denied it happened.
Ms Gray revealed she looked at "a gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat" on 13 November 2020, during the second lockdown.
Yet last year, when the PM was asked in Parliament if there was “a party in Downing Street on November 13”, he replied: “No”.
The Mirror reported last year that No 10 aides “drank their socks off” at the alleged do, which Mrs Johnson’s spokesperson denied.
New reports, also denied, suggest they played Abba’s The Winner Takes It All to celebrate her adversary Dominic Cummings quitting.
The PM’s Press Secretary refused to withdraw Boris Johnson’s claim that no party happened on November 13, despite a gathering in the No10 flat being listed by Sue Gray’s report.
She said “we stand by previous comments we have made on this”, adding: “We cannot comment further on specific dates and details within them.”
Police are probing THREE events we didn’t even know about
Sue Gray investigated 16 events in Downing Street and Whitehall - and her list reveals three had never before been exposed by the press.
They are "a gathering in the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a No 10 private secretary" on 18 June 2020; "a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a No 10 official" on 17 December 2020; and " a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries" on 14 January 2021.
All three of those events are being probed by the police.
On the other hand, some events were not probed by Sue Gray - such as the ‘wine-time Fridays’ revealed by the Mirror or drinking in the DWP.
Sue Gray’s brutal comparison to normal Brits
The report said No10 staff “worked long hours under difficult conditions” but said frontline workers “were working under equally, if not more, demanding conditions, often at risk to their own health”.
She added: “Criminal sanctions were applied to many found to be in breach.
“The hardship under which citizens across the country worked, lived and sadly even died while observing the Government’s regulations and guidance rigorously are known only too well.”
Tory MP Aaron Bell told Boris Johnson he drove three hours to his grandmother’s funeral in May 2020, adding: “I didn’t hug my siblings, I didn’t hug my parents, I gave a eulogy. Afterwards I didn’t even go to her house for a cup of tea… Does the Prime Minister think I’m a fool?”
There were ‘failures of leadership and judgement’
Sue Gray said “at times it seems there was too little thought” given to whether the gatherings were appropriate. She added: “There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times.”
Some gatherings ‘should not have been allowed’
The report went on: “Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”
Ms Gray added: "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."
Boozing at work was “inappropriate” and could be banned in No10
While Sue Gray did not go into details, 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.”
Downing Street indicated alcohol could be banned in No10. The PM’s spokesman said the report “alludes to that and the need for changes to be made in that area”.
He added: “Steps will be taken to ensure every Government department has a clear, robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.”
No10 garden was used inappropriately
The report said it was “sensible” to use the No10 garden for meetings, but it was “used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight. This was not appropriate.
“Any official access to the space, including for meetings, should be by invitation only and in a controlled environment.”
Staff knew the gatherings were wrong - but didn’t feel able to say
Ms Gray said: “Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so.”
She added: “No member of staff should feel unable to report or challenge poor conduct where they witness it.
“There should be easier ways for staff to raise such concerns informally, outside of the line management chain.”
Gray’s challenge to Boris Johnson - ‘don’t wait for police’
Apart from announcing a few structural reforms, Downing Street are now refusing to comment on the detail on parties, instead waiting for the Met Police investigation to conclude.
Ms Gray, however, said: “There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government.
“This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded.”
And finally… the list of parties is absolutely enormous
Finally, even a simple list of the parties shows just how widespread the gatherings were across Downing Street and Whitehall.
Sue Gray investigated the following 16 events. The 12 marked with asterixes are being investigated by police. We have re-inserted details cross-checked with media reporting.
- 15 May 2020: Around 20 No10 staff including Boris and Carrie Johnson gathered in the sunshine in the Downing Street garden for wine and cheese.
- 20 May 2020: The PM’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited 100 No10 staff to “make the most of the lovely weather ” and “bring your own booze!”. The PM attended for 25 minutes.*
- 18 June 2020: "a gathering in the Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall on the departure of a No 10 private secretary"*
- 19 June 2020: Boris Johnson was thrown a surprise birthday party by wife Carrie during the first Covid lockdown despite indoor social events being banned. He attended for 10 minutes.*
- 13 November 2020: Sources told the Mirror No10 aides “drank their socks off" at an alleged gathering in Boris and Carrie Johnson’s flat above 11 Downing Street. Abba was reportedly blasted out.*
- 13 November 2020: Sources told the Mirror a relatively small number of people gathered for drinks in No10’s ‘round table room’ to mark the departure of aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain.*
- 27 November 2020: Sources told the Mirror 40 to 50 people crammed into a room in No10 for a leaving do for top aide Cleo Watson.
- 10 December 2020: The Mirror revealed up to two dozen of then-Education Secretary Gavin Williamson's top team gathered for "drinks and canapes" in his department's cafe.
- 15 December 2020: Boris Johnson hosted a Christmas quiz virtually but with two staff by his side, and sources said many stuff huddled by computers in No10 to take part while drinking booze from a local Tesco Metro.
- 17 December 2020: "a gathering in Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall to hold an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office";*
- 17 December 2020: The official who was in charge of writing Covid rules admitted to having a leaving do while indoor socialising was banned. Kate Josephs, the former Director General of the Covid Taskforce, was given a grand send off in the Cabinet Office "with drinks".*
- 17 December 2020: "a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of a No 10 official";*
- 18 December 2020: Party stories cascaded out after the Mirror broke the original tale of the No10 Christmas party. No10 dodged questions for a week before bombshell video emerged of staff joking about it - prompting former Press Secretary Allegra Stratton to resign. She had joked with colleagues that there had been “wine and cheese” and the Friday night bash was “not socially distanced”.*
- 14 January 2021: " a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries";*
- 16 April 2021: On the No10 roof, the Union flag was flying at half-mast in mourning for Prince Philip - who the Queen would bury alone the next day. But in the basement, a staffer nicknamed “DJ” was blaring out tunes from a laptop on a photocopier at a boozy party for a photographer's leaving do.*
- 16 April 2021: A separate leaving do took place on the same night for chief spin doctor James Slack.*
