British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson said on Wednesday that he welcomed the findings of the Sue Gray report, which has found his government guilty of holding multiple parties when the country was under COVID-19 lockdown. However, despite taking “full responsibility,” Johnson refused to resign from his post.
“They were clearly in breach of the rules and they clearly fell foul of the rules,” Johnson said about the gatherings while speaking at the House of Commons. The PM mentioned that while he “briefly attended” some of these gatherings, he had “no knowledge of subsequent proceedings” because he was not present, indicating that he had no intention of quitting.
🗣STATEMENT ON SUE GRAY REPORT
— Julian Sturdy MP (@JulianSturdy) May 25, 2022
Following the publication of the full Sue Gray report, I feel it is now in the public interest for the Prime Minister to resign. pic.twitter.com/oXfkb7KmrS
“I have been appalled by some of the behaviour, particularly in the treatment of the security and the cleaning staff,” Johnson said about his government’s staff who attended the parties. “I would like to apologise to those members of staff.”
He stated that the “entire senior management has changed” and there he has appointed a new Chief of Staff as well. He said that his government was “humbled” and assured the parliament that it has “learned a lesson.”
In a separate statement, Johnson said he is “grateful” for the report, which he said has “identified a number of failings, some official, some political.”
He defended the officials and advisers implicated in the report, saying, “These were the public servants who secured the PPE that saved many lives, established the biggest testing programme in Europe, and enabled the development and distribution of the vaccines that succeeded in protecting so many people.”
I'm grateful to Sue Gray for her report and I sincerely repeat my apologies for the event I received a fine for.
— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) May 25, 2022
The Prime Minister has apologised and lessons have been learned. I hope we can now move forward and continue delivering for the British people.
Johnson noted that the police had not found his attendance at the parties to be “in breach of the rules.”
Furthermore, he claimed that Gray is “reassured” by the changes the government has introduced since the damning findings and reports came out.
The British leader affirmed that he remains committed to “protect[ing] our nation from the aftershocks of Covid, stand[ing] firm against Putin’s aggression, and to unit[ing] and level[ing] up across our United Kingdom.”
On Wednesday, senior civil servant Sue Gray released the findings of a report regarding the UK’s Partygate scandal, which involves several parties held at Johnson’s residence in Downing Street that violated lockdown restrictions.
Per the 60-page report, which looked into 16 events conducted between May 2020 and April 2021, the PM attended eight events, violating lockdown protocols. The report adds that there was “excessive alcohol consumption by some individuals” during the parties.
Furthermore, Grey found that emails and communication between Johnson’s staff revealed that they planned the gatherings in advance despite some members warning that holding such events would be a bad idea. Apart from Johnson, the report also names several high-profile staff members, including Johnson’s former advisor Dominic Cummings, his Principal Secretary Martin Reynolds, and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
The report also includes nine photos of Johnson attending two parties—his birthday gathering in June 2020 and a farewell event in November that year.
SNAP POLL: 74% of Britons think that Boris Johnson knowingly lied about whether he broke lockdown rules
— YouGov (@YouGov) May 25, 2022
All Brits
He did: 74%
He did not: 13%
Con voters
Did: 51%
Did not: 29%
Lab voters
Did: 94%
Did not: 2%https://t.co/zDwuSmBu46 pic.twitter.com/7EOdSBLKEO
In conclusion, Sue Gray states that “a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did” and there is “significant learning to be drawn from these events,” which must be immediately addressed by the government. “This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded,” she added.
Johnson has been facing intense pressure from opposition leaders and the British public at large to resign after a string of scandals brought to light the several parties attended by British ministers as the country’s citizens struggled with COVID-19 restrictions. A snap YouGov poll on Wednesday found that 59% of the British public believe that Johnson should quit and 74% believe that the PM knowingly lied about violating COVID-19 protocols.