An alleged lockdown-busting party in Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat and a gathering in the Cabinet Room to mark his birthday are being investigated by police.
A report produced by senior civil servant Sue Gray catalogued a series of “failures of leadership and judgment” within No 10 and the Cabinet Office while England was under coronavirus restrictions in 2020 and 2021.
But she was unable to provide meaningful findings because the police were now investigating at least 12 gatherings linked to government properties in Downing Street and Whitehall.
They include a “gathering in the No 10 Downing Street flat” on November 13 2020, the night Mr Johnson’s former aides Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain left their roles.
Police are also investigating the June 19 2020 event in the Cabinet Room at No 10 to mark the Prime Minister’s 56th birthday where Mr Johnson was “ambushed by cake”, in the words of minister Conor Burns, although he later insisted there was no cake.
The Prime Minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson reportedly organised the surprise get-together complete with a chorus of “happy birthday” and interior designer Lulu Lytle also admitted attending while carrying out the lavish and controversial work to their Downing Street flat.
The May 20 2020 “bring your own booze” event in the No 10 garden which Mr Johnson attended for 25 minutes, apparently believing it was a work event, is also under investigation.
Mr Johnson will face MPs on Monday afternoon, fighting to maintain his grip on power.
Ms Gray’s limited report listed 16 events she examined as part of her inquiry, but she said only four of those were not now being investigated by the police.
“Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather,” she said.
But her conclusions about the wider culture within the “heart of Government” were scathing.
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
“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,” she said.
“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.”
There was “too little thought” given to what was happening in the country at the time and “failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times”.
“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place.
“Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”
The Downing Street garden was used as an extension of the office in a “sensible” precaution against the spread of Covid-19, Ms Gray said, but “was also used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight” and “this was not appropriate”.
The report also hinted at the drinking culture within Government, media reports have suggested “wine time Fridays” were a feature in No 10 during the pandemic.
Ms Gray’s findings did not mention these reports but 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.”
