In a report released at a series of meetings in Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government called for “responsibility” for failing to comply with the brutal lockout measures imposed on the people.
Officer Sue Gray’s long-awaited report was released in January but was largely removed at the time due to the ongoing police investigation into the matter. At his January briefing, Gray accused the government of showing “serious failures” in mental health and leadership.
Ms. Gray decided to go it alone to reissue her report on Wednesday, choosing to blur the faces of the young staff and hide their names from the public. The published photos only show Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case, and blur the faces of Gray’s fellow officers.
Commenting on his findings, Gray wrote: “Many will be disappointed that such behavior takes place on such a large scale at the heart of government. The public has the right to expect the highest standards of behavior in such areas, and what has happened here is clearly lacking.
“The events I researched involved government leaders. Many of these events cannot be allowed. It is also true that some junior officers feel that they are allowed to participate in some of these activities because of the presence of senior officers. ”
“The senior leadership at the Center, both political and official, must be held accountable for this culture,” Gray said.
13 November 2020; Meeting at 10 Downing Street to dismiss the Special Counsel. Sue Gray’s report.
One of the incidents described in Gray’s report underscores the sanctity of the violations: the published photos show prepackaged supermarket-style sandwiches, jugs of juice, and several red Cokes and melamine trays lying on the top of the cabinet in the dining room. An office desk where government business is usually run.
Even one of the sandwiches is facing the camera and has wraps from British premium supermarket Marks & Spencer.
The horrific event was the prime minister’s own birthday, according to the report, and he says there were cakes and “beer cans” in the supermarket, along with handing out sandwiches.
Senior officer Martin Reynolds emailed Downing Street officials: “Come and wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday,” but as it was a surprise party, Gray said that neither Boris Johnson nor his cabinet colleague Rishi Sunak knew what was going on at the time. .
Another case recorded in the report describes an incident held in connection with the departure of an unnamed “official number 10” person, which allegedly lasted “several hours”, resulting in at least one employee “falling” and becoming ill. It was accompanied by a “little argument between two people”.
19 June 2020; It met at the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister’s birthday. Sue Gray’s report.
The so-called party scandal began in December when an image of Mr Johnson, his current wife, Carrie Johnson, and other officials having a wine and cheese party in the garden of the Prime Minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street, was broadcast. May 2020, when such gatherings were banned by the government’s own brutal quarantine measures.
Since then, the media has continued to report on several cases of blatant violations of the government’s self-isolation regime.
In fact, the BBC on Tuesday said it spoke to those on Downing Street and said that drunken hangovers are so common in government during lockdown that it happens “every week”. The report continued, claiming that it was common practice for the government to hold a “Friday Wine Time” at 4pm on the weekend.
So far, 83 people, including Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, have been fined 126 for violating the government lockdown.
19 June 2020; It met at the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister’s birthday. Sue Gray’s report.
Following the report’s release, the House of Commons Privileges Committee will conduct an investigation to determine whether the Prime Minister has misled Parliament. Although Mr Johnson has apologized repeatedly, he has not admitted to lying to the public or even to Parliament.
Commenting before the report, Environment Minister George Eustis said there was a “culture” where workers “drank at the end of the day” during the Downing Street quarantine, but said that “the line between what is acceptable and what is unclear, and that was a mistake”. . ”
But the prime minister has seen several members of the Conservative Party come closer to his defense, including Cabinet Minister Jacob Rees-Mogg, who last week said the scandal was “basically unimportant”.
“When we come back to the party gate 36 years from now, people are like, ‘What are they talking about? They’ve moved from Covid and they’re doing it in Russia and Ukraine… but they’re bothered that the prime minister spends five minutes in his garden or 25 minutes whatever it is,'” he said.
On Tuesday, he was also defended by Conservative MP Peter Boone, who called Prime Minister Johnson an “honest man” and said he would not lead Downing Street’s day-to-day operations.
19 June 2020; It met at the Cabinet Office at 10 Downing Street on the Prime Minister’s birthday. Sue Gray’s report.
The prime minister has seen his position within the ruling Tory party slightly strengthen in recent weeks, becoming one of the most aggressive and engaging world leaders in Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine, and mobilizing former critical MPs such as former Conservative leader Sir Ian Duncan Smith. rally. around Johnson.
Mr Johnson’s stance is also bolstered by the opposition Labor Party’s poor performance in this month’s local elections, despite months of party scandals and the escalating cost of living crisis plaguing the country.
Labor failed to win in part because leader Sir Keir Starmer faced his own lockdown scandal, the “birgate,” in which he and other Labor officials were told they spent hours drinking beer and eating curry. Durham sparked another police investigation and allegations of hypocrisy.
Starmer, who has frequently urged the prime minister to resign, said he would resign if Durham police found he had violated the isolation laws.
After the report was published, Johnson would once again seek support from the Conservative Party ranks, with a committee of representatives entitled to start a leadership war in 1922.
Source: Breitbart
