A former top civil servant who helped write England’s Covid rules will keep her £190,000 council job - despite spending six months on paid leave after attending a Partygate leaving do.
Kate Josephs, now CEO of Sheffield City Council, revealed in January that she was given a leaving party “with drinks” in the Cabinet Office when she left her role as Director General of the Government's Covid Taskforce.
Today she said she had been handed a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police, which she had paid, and would be returning to work after months on paid leave.
According to the Sheffield Star, senior council officer Eugene Walker, who usually makes £150,000 per year, has covered for her on extra pay.
A cross-party council committee decided to issue Ms Josephs with a written warning, but allow her to keep her job in a closed meeting on Tuesday, after months of secrecy surrounding deliberations on her future in the role.
In a statement issued on Twitter, Ms Josephs said: “I want to apologise, again, for gathering with colleagues in the Cabinet Office as I left my previous job.
“I am so very sorry that for too many people - including those I serve in Sheffield and the colleagues I am proud to work alongside - my actions brought back personal pain and suffering experienced during the Covid pandemic.
“Knowing this is something that will stay with me forever, I cannot and will not brush that hurt under the carpet; all I can offer is my sincere apology and my promise to work harder than ever for our city.
“I now see that it was a mistake to gather in the way we did; the event simply should not have happened.”
She went on: “People have asked why I did not speak out about this until January. Because the event itself happened in my former role, I went to my former employer for guidance.
“I was asked to respect the confidentiality of the Cabinet Office's independent investigation. I wish I had challenged that more strongly and spoken sooner to colleagues in Sheffield; I have accepted a written warning from the Committee in respect of this error of judgement.”
Ms Josephs added: “I am not and have never pretended to be perfect. I have made mistakes for which I am deeply sorry.
“I intend to learn from these mistakes and continue to work hard to be the very best chief executive I can be for our city.”
She later told ITV Calendar she will make a contribution of "at least" £90,000 to Sheffield charities during her time in office - the amount she received while she was on paid leave.
Ms Josephs’ lockdown leaving do took place on December 17 2020, the day before Number 10's official Christmas Party was held on December 18 2020.
There were reportedly around 20 to 30 guests - some of them senior officials - and booze and pizza were available.
On December 16 London moved to Tier 3 which banned all indoor mixing except in household bubbles.
Bars, pubs and restaurants were also closed and Brits were urged to work from home if they could do so.
Sue Gray’s report, published in May revealed music was played on a smartphone at the bash, to which as many as 40 people were invited.
“The intention was to follow the social distancing guidance by observing a one-way system, social distancing and other precautionary measures," Ms Gray wrote.
"This did not happen."
