The Sue Gray investigation into Downing Street’s multiple breaches of covid regulations during lockdown has been gutted of details about the party gate scandals.
The long-awaited report was published online on Monday but at the request of the Met Police details on alleged rule breaches they are investigating have not been included.
Despite the restrictions, Gray criticised behaviour that she said was "difficult to justify" and which amounted to "serious" failures of leadership.
The 12 page report, with two pages deliberately left blank, considered a number of gatherings and gave a timeline of events.
The senior civil servant was tasked with investigating reports of a series of breaches of lockdown rules and listed 16 separate events across Whitehall which have been uncovered.
She reported that 12 of the gatherings are now being investigated by police including claims of parties in Boris Johnson's Downing Street flat.
Four gatherings, she noted, are not being investigated.
In the “general findings” section, Gray concluded: “Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the Government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify.”
She continued: “At least some of the gatherings in question 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.”
“At times it seems there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the appropriateness of some of these gatherings, the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public.”
She added: “There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”
She also concluded that the “excessive consumption of alcohol” is “not appropriate” in a professional workplace at “any time”.
Gray added: “Steps must be taken to ensure that every Government Department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace.”
She also made clear boundaries have to be set for the use of the Downing Street garden, which was at the centre of key allegations: “During the pandemic it was often used as an extension of the workplace as a more covid secure means of holding group meetings in a ventilated space.
"This was a sensible measure that staff appreciated, but the garden was also used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight. This was not appropriate.”
Another section was damning about the sprawling operation at Downing Street: “The number of staff working in No 10 Downing Street has steadily increased in recent years. In terms of size, scale and range of responsibility it is now more akin to a small Government Department than purely a dedicated Prime Minister’s office.
“The structures that support the smooth operation of Downing Street, however, have not evolved sufficiently to meet the demands of this expansion. The leadership structures are fragmented and complicated and this has sometimes led to the blurring of lines of accountability.
“Too much responsibility and expectation is placed on the senior official whose principal function is the direct support of the Prime Minister. This should be addressed as a matter of priority.”
The four events not being investigated took place in 2020, on 15th May, 27th November, as well as the 10th and 15th of December.
She wrote: "The police have confirmed that on the basis of the information available the gatherings on these four dates are not considered to have reached the threshold for criminal investigation.
"No conclusions should be drawn, or inferences made from this other than it is now for the police to consider the relevant material in relation to those incidents. The police have also said this does not in itself mean that they will decide to take further action or that there has necessarily been a breach of the regulations."
The Prime Minister is due to come before the Commons at about 3.30pm to give a statement on the report.
He is then scheduled to meet backbench Tory MPs in the evening to rally their support before flying off to the Ukraine on Tuesday.
In an attempt to move on from the scandal Johnson is also due to speak to Russian president Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Monday afternoon as part of efforts to avoid a conflict in the region.
But Gray, a senior civil servant with years of Whitehall experience, was careful to decsribe her report as an “update” of her inquiry.
It means that the full details of her investigation could be published once the police inquiry is complete leaving the Prime Minister facing fresh embarrassment.
Downing Street said the limited version of the partygate inquiry that Sue Gray has handed to Boris Johnson will be published on Monday afternoon, but would not commit to publishing a fuller report after police have finished investigating.
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