A senior minister has warned the Prime Minister "is in real trouble here" following the publication of the Sue Gray report into the 'partygate' scandal.
The former Conservative party leader and Cabinet minister, Lord Hague of Richmond, argued that the report has left a sour taste in the mouths of many in the Conservative Party. It comes after Sir Bob Neill, Conservative chairman of the Justice Select Committee, said he was surprised that "some senior civil servants in Downing Steer are still in post after what was found."
Sir Neill told Times Radio: "Now I’m surprised frankly that some senior civil servants in Downing Street are still in post after what was found, but ultimately the political leadership, I’m afraid, stops with the Prime Minister and the accountability to the public stops with the Prime Minister.”
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He claimed there has been a "very strong feeling of a loss of faith" in the operation of the current government, adding: "I think that then feeds through into a sense that the Government is unable to move on from this, a sense that there is a degree of drift. Although we’ve done some good things, many worthwhile things, we’re not actually getting a grip of the agenda going forward.
"That requires, I think, a fresh momentum and it requires real drive and I don’t think that the situation that unfortunately has happened in Number 10 leaves the Prime Minister able to take that initiative.”
He went on: “In the long term, charisma which the Prime Minister has and energy which he’s shown isn’t always enough. There has I think also to be a sense of seriousness of purpose and of responsibility and I think the British people are going to expect that particularly as we are facing some very tough times over the next couple of years. To do that I think we have to get the tone right and optimism has its place, but also seriousness and self discipline and restraint has its place too.”
Meanwhile, Lord Hague also told Times Radio: "Well I think Boris Johnson is in real trouble here and when an MP as reputable, as experienced, as respected as (Sir) Bob Neill who we were just listening to gives that opinion, that he’s just given, that’s very serious trouble for the Prime Minister and I think the Sue Gray report has been one of those sort of slow-fuse explosions in politics.
“It’s still going along, a lot of people misread it really, the events of last week as meaning the trouble is over, Boris is free and that’s actually not the mood in the Conservative Party which is very, very troubled about the contents of that report.
“So I think the Conservative Party will need to resolve this one way or another, obviously because to be an effective party they either need to rally behind the Prime Minister they’ve got, or they need to decide to force him out and I think they’re moving towards either next week or around the end of June, they are moving towards having a ballot, it looks like that.”
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