The Transport Secretary has said there are 'better things' to focus on than parties in Downing Street.
Grant Shapps suggested there were “rather a lot of better things” that the media should be focussing on instead of so-called ‘partygate’.
The Transport Secretary told BBC Breakfast he wanted to speak about the changes to travel rules, and he said: “I think what was interesting about your report is it didn’t sort of highlight the other things that have been going on, the fact that we have been able to release people from working from home, from the international travel restrictions, the 37 million people who’ve had boosters, the fact we have the fastest growing economy and the many other good things that happened.
“I don’t want to accuse that of being a rather one-sided report, but there have been rather a lot of better things happening which have been the result of making very difficult decisions, particularly on the handling of Omicron.”
He added: “I think a more balanced view would be yes, it’s difficult in Government, but there have been many things which were getting right under difficult circumstances.”
The Transport Secretary said he did not seek to defend the most recently revealed gathering and he was “furious” with anyone who had broken the rules.
Mr Shapps told Sky News: “It was his (Boris Johnson’s) birthday and these are people that he worked with all the time.
“As I said, I don’t seek to defend it. This is for Sue Gray to decide on whether this was appropriate, she’ll make the recommendations.
“I think we can be pretty clear that the Prime Minister didn’t present the cake to himself. This is somebody coming in with that cake and I’ve explained to you that I’m furious with everybody who broke the rules.”
Mr Shapps said Downing Street interior designer Lulu Lytle had said she “wasn’t invited to any parties” after reports she was present for a birthday gathering at No 10 for the Prime Minister.
Ms Lytle has admitted attending but insisted she was only present “briefly” while waiting to talk to Mr Johnson about the lavish refurbishments she was carrying out to the couple’s flat above No 11.
The Transport Secretary told Sky News: “She was in the building, of course.”
He said: “The Prime Minister clearly didn’t organise to be given a cake. Some people came forward and thought it would be appropriate on his birthday.”
He added: “I do understand that Sue Gray was already aware of this particular incident, so she will be using that in her report and we’ll wait to see what she says.”
Mr Shapps suggested the public would not consider the Prime Minister’s birthday gathering as a party.
The Transport Secretary told BBC Breakfast: “I think most people would think of a party as being an arranged event rather than something where on somebody’s birthday in the office that they work in with the people that they always work with, someone says ‘it’s your birthday here’s a cake’.
“But that is for Sue Gray to get to the bottom of, I do agree and understand why – not least from my own personal experience – this would cause upset.”
But he said there were “so many other issues” to focus on, including the threat of a Russian invasion in Ukraine.
Mr Shapps said: “Those are the issues that we… that he is still focused on and the issues that we really should be focused on ourselves because things like that are really going to matter to our lives in a way that events of 20 months ago may not.”
