An internal report on “partygate”, the scandal of parties in Downing Street during the confinement, concludes with “errors of leadership and judgment”. In it, senior civil servant Sue Gray, whose The report was handed over to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday morning January 31, writing:
“There have been failures of leadership and judgment from different parts of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some events should not have been allowed. »
Mr. Johnson, also targeted by a police investigation for these events, was to speak in the afternoon in the House of Commons.
” Excessive consumption of alcohol “
At a time when the British were forced to drastically limit their social interactions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, “some of the behaviors associated with these gatherings are difficult to justify”, points out Sue Gray.
In particular, she denounces a ” excessive consumption of alcohol “ Who “not appropriate in a professional setting” and points out that the garden of the Prime Minister’s residence was used to “gatherings without clear authorization or supervision”, whati “was not appropriate”.
She concludes that “a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or proceed as they did. There is an important lesson to be learned from these events that needs to be addressed immediately across government.”, she adds, pointing out that “it does not need to wait for the conclusions of the police investigation”.
Sur Gray looked at 16 events, 12 of which are under investigation by police, including a rally in the Downing Street flat and another on Boris Johnson’s birthday in June 2020.
Due to the ongoing police investigation, the senior official explained that she can only make “minimal reference” to the gatherings investigated by police in her 12-page report.
British police provoked outrage on Friday by asking that this internal report be redacted from key elements so as not to harm their own investigations into several of these parties, potentially the most damaging to Boris Johnson.
Johnson’s apology
The revelation of these parties shocked the British, who were then subject to strict confinements, and plunged Boris Johnson into a serious crisis threatening his retention in his post. Many members of his camp were waiting for the publication of Sue Gray’s report to decide whether or not to try to oust him through a vote of no confidence.
Saying to understand the anger of the public, Boris Johnson had apologized for his “bad judgements”, but he denied breaking the rules, saying in particular that he thought that a party he briefly attended in May 2020 was a “work event”.
“We will have to wait and see the outcome of the investigations, but of course I absolutely stand by what I have said in the past,” he said Monday, interviewed on television on the sidelines of a visit to the south-east of England.
To make people forget the scandals, the Prime Minister launched a counter-offensive, announcing on Monday a bill “Brexit freedoms” which aims to facilitate the process already underway to modify or abandon and replace the laws inherited from the European Union.