Sue Gray's 'update' on her inquiry into a number of alleged parties which took place in Downing Street during Covid-19 lockdowns has found that there was a 'serious failure' to uphold standards within the government.
Sue Gray's report investigated a number of alleged gatherings within government while Covid-19 rules were in place which restricted social gatherings.
Reports of the alleged parties have created pressure on the Prime Minister in recent weeks, and Gray's inquiry investigated 16 of them, including a reported gathering in Number 10 on the Prime Minister’s birthday.
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The senior civil servant found that many of the events "should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did", and she calls for "significant learning" within the government.
It says that at least some of the gatherings "represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of Government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time."
The report finds that there was "little thought" during the gatherings about whether they were appropriate, the risks they presented to public health and how they would appear to the public.
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It criticises "failures of leadership and judgement" from people within the government, as well as the drinking of alcohol on a work premises, including the No 10 garden, saying: "The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time."
The report also goes on to say that some staff wanted to raise concerns about the alleged parties but felt unable to.
"Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so. No member of staff should feel unable to report or challenge poor conduct where they witness it," it says.
In the conclusion to her report, while praising the national efforts to tackle Covid-19, Sue Gray calls for "significant learning" within the heart of government.
She writes: "A number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.
"There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government. This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded."
Because of a police investigation into 12 of the gatherings, the Met asked for the report to be redacted, and Gray acknowledges within her findings that "I am extremely limited in what I can say about those events and it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report setting out and analysing the extensive factual information I have been able to gather."
The Prime Minister is now expected to make a statement on the report at the House of Commons at 3.30pm.
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