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Boris Johnson’s full statement after Sue Grey reportBoris Johnson has issued a televised apology over the Partygate scandal in an address to the nation as Sue Gray’s damning report attacked “a serious failure” to abide by the “standards expected of the entire British population” during the Covid pandemic.As he faces calls from his own side to step down, the long-awaited inquiry findings revealed dozens of staff attended a drunken party, planned two weeks beforehand, where red wine was spilled on a wall, and that “winetime Fridays” were regular events.One individual was sick due to “excessive alcohol consumption” and there was a “minor altercation” between two other partygoers. Former minister Tobias Ellwood warned the Conservatives were on course to lose the next general election, questioning whether fellow Tory MPs could still defend Mr Johnson’s behaviour over lockdown-busting events, including having initially denied parties took place.“There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” Ms Gray writes.But the prime minister claimed to have been vindicated, even though he has been fined for attending a birthday party for him in the Cabinet room in June 2020.However, Mr Johnson said there was no excuse for bad behaviour by workers towards security and cleaning staff, insisting those guilty would be made to apologise.Mr Johnson urged the public to “move on” from Partygate, as he said that lessons had been learnt from the scandal. He added that he takes “full responsibility” for the law breaking events.A meeting with the 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers scheduled for 5pm, at which he is expected to attempt to calm any rebellion.Show latest update

1653490323PM ‘personally apologised to cleaners and security staff’The Prime Minister said he had personally apologised to No 10 cleaners and security staff who were subjected to “disrespectful and poor treatment” highlighted in Sue Gray’s report.Mr Johnson told the news conference: “I was appalled to learn that there have been multiple examples in Sue Gray’s phrase of disrespectful land and poor treatment of cleaning and security personnel.“I personally apologised to those dedicated members of staff for what happened and I expect anyone who behaved in that way to do the same.”Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:521653490233PM avoids question of pressuring Sue Gray Mr Johnson swerved the question of whether he tried to pressure Sue Gray not to publish her report.Shaking his head, he said: “The terms of reference make it absolutely clear that Sue has to publish a report and I think it’s entirely right that she has, and I think that the… I don’t think anybody could reasonably say that reading that report that an awful lot has been swept under the carpet.”He also avoided questions of what his personal failings were, but added that he bitterly regretted what had happened.Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:501653489896I regret how things went, says PMBoris Johnson said he bitterly regretted what had happened in the Partygate scandal, which was why his government had changed some of the staff members. He said he still believed the parties were work events but he appreciated things did not go the way he wanted.Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:441653489459Boris Johnson repeats apology in live press conferenceThe prime minister has repeated his apology over lockdown-breaking parties, as he addressed the nation on live television, saying he had been humbled by what had happened.He said he thought it was right to thank staff who were leaving, but that it was unacceptable and “utterly intolerable” to be rude to cleaning staff, and those responsible should apologise.Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:371653488539Johnson to address nationBoris Johnson is due to hold a press conference soon.Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:221653487693Sue Gray halted Abba party probeSue Gray abandoned her investigation into the “Abba party” in Boris Johnson‘s flat despite finding that alcohol was there on the evening Dominic Cummings was forced out of Downing Street.The senior civil servant found the Prime Minister did attend the mid-lockdown gathering, along with five special advisers but halted her work having only collected “limited” information when the Metropolitan Police began their investigation.There was no mention in her report of The Winner Takes It All and other Abba songs reportedly heard blaring from the Downing Street residence after the departure of Mr Cummings as chief adviser was announced following a bitter power struggle.Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister’s wife, was reportedly at the event in the flat during England’s second national lockdown on November 13 2020.Ms Gray said a “meeting” was held in the Prime Minister’s residence from “some time after” 6pm to discuss “the handling of the departure” with five special advisers.She found that Mr Johnson joined the event where “food and alcohol were available” at around 8pm.But she said she had not long been investigating the evening when Scotland Yard began its criminal investigation.Boris Johnson ducked questions about his actions during the so-called ‘Abba party’ in Downing Street as he erroneously claimed it had been probed by Sue Gray, reports Kate Devlin:Jane Dalton25 May 2022 15:081653485996More Tories will join me in defecting, MP predictsA Labour MP who defected from the Conservatives suggested that more may cross the floor as a result of the Sue Gray report.Christian Wakeford said: “Wine-time Friday, karaoke, grown men drinking shots of Apple Sours. How can anyone on the benches opposite honestly describe these as work events?“Misleading the House is a very serious issue, as the prime minister well knows, but taking the people of this country for fools is far worse.“Whilst he is busy trying to defend the indefensible, I would like to know how many of my former colleagues does he think will be joining me on these benches after today?”Boris Johnson replied: “He will find the answers to his questions in the Sue Gray report. I really don’t have anything more to add.”Jane Dalton25 May 2022 14:391653484039‘Gaseous Zeppelin of Sir Beer Korma punctured,’ claims PMThe prime minister slated Labour’s Keir Starmer for what he said were double standards because it can be difficult to separate work and leisure time, he claimed.Referring to Durham police’s investigation into the Labour leader’s having food and drink with staff in lockdown, Mr Johnson said: “After months of his frankly sanctimonious obsession… the great gaseous Zeppelin of his pomposity has been permanently punctured and irretrievably by the revelation that he is himself under investigation by the police… and yet… Sir Beer Korma is currently failing to hold himself to the same high standards that he demanded of me.”’Sir Beer Korma’: Johnson calls Starmer ‘sanctimonious’ over takeaway investigationJane Dalton25 May 2022 14:071653483620Your Sue Gray questions answeredThe Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul will answer questions live tomorrow on Partygate.Submit your question now or when at 1pm tomorrow for the “Ask Me Anything” event, here:Jane Dalton25 May 2022 14:001653483423No 10 ‘cesspit of arrogant, entitled, narcissists’Downing Street has become “a cesspit full of arrogant, entitled, narcissists” under Boris Johnson, according to Labour MP Chris Bryant.Dismissing the PM’s statement as “baloney”, Mr Bryant said one of the most damning features of the report was the many examples of cleaners and security staff being treated with a lack of respect and poor treatment. Those people knew what the rules meant, even if Downing Street staff did not. He asked whether Mr Johnson had no shame that No 10 had become “a cesspit full of arrogant, entitled, narcissists”.The prime minister said it was disgraceful to be rude to cleaning or security staff and anyone guilty would be disciplined or made to apologise.Jane Dalton25 May 2022 13:57 More

Boris Johnson ducked questions about his actions during the so-called ‘Abba party’ in Downing Street as he erroneously claimed it had been probed by Sue Gray.The prime minister said the event had been “extensively investigated to the best of my knowledge” and he could not improve on the Gray report. But the damning dossier on the extent of the partygate scandal at the heart of government makes clear it did not look into the event.The party became notorious after it was reported that songs including The Winner Takes It All could be heard through the building.Ms Gray said she had just started the “process of obtaining evidence” about the event when the Metropolitan Police began its own probe.“At this point I stopped my investigation, given the need to avoid any prejudice to the police investigation,” she said.Following the police announcement earlier this month that it would issue no more fines for rule braking over the scandal, she said she considered whether or not to conduct any further investigation into the event “but concluded it was not appropriate or proportionate to do so.”Describing the party, the report found: “Following the announcement of the departure of Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain, a meeting was held in the No 10 flat from some time after 18.00 to discuss the handling of their departure.“Five special advisers attended. The prime minister joined them at about 8pm. Food and alcohol were available. The discussion carried on later into the evening with attendees leaving at various points.”Asked about reports he was conducting a “job interview” at the party, Mr Johnson said: “That evening was extensively investigated to the best of my knowledge and I don’t believe I can improve on what Sue Gray has had to say.”The event took place on November 13 2020, a week after a second national lockdown for England began on November 5. More

ITV News journalist Paul Brand has hit out at the “grim” homophobic abuse he and his husband have received over his reporting on the Partygate scandal.Mr Brand, ITV’s UK editor, has been at the centre of reporting on Covid law-breaking in Downing Street and Whitehall.He has broken several agenda-setting exclusive stories on the affair, including a picture of Boris Johnson raising a glass at the leaving do of his former spin doctor, Lee Cain, published earlier this week.This has led some people online to speculate about who his sources are. A Tory MP also suggested that the image was linked to Mr Brand’s husband, Joe Cuddeford, a civil servant.Mr Cuddeford works for the Geospatial Commission, a government body, which is part of the Cabinet Office and uses location data to investigate economic and social opportunities.Writing to Twitter on Tuesday morning, Mr Brand said that he wanted to refute claims that his source is a family member.”So…there’s some pretty wild stuff being said about my family on here,” he wrote. “I haven’t tweeted so far as it’s never great to engage with conspiracy theories etc.”He added: “But it’s all got a bit OTT [over the top] lately, so to be clear nobody in my family is my ‘source’, attended any parties or was fined.”A number of homophobic tweets directed at Mr Brand and his husband were posted to Twitter on Tuesday. Some of the tweets, posted by anonymous accounts, remain online.Mark Jenkinson, a Tory MP, replied to a Twitter user with a blank avatar who had questioned if it was a “coincidence” that Mr Brand “keeps landing exclusive leaks”, given that his husband works for the civil service.The MP for Workington wrote: “It must be a coincidence, because he’s a deputy director in the Cabinet Office and the investigation was carried out by the…oh.”Mr Brand added in his post: “It’s been an education in how disinformation spreads. Inevitably it became pretty homophobic and grim so in order to protect the people I love I felt I had to tweet this.”Mr Jenksinson said he had never been “involved in any conspiracy theories about Paul Brand”. He said he was not implying that Mr Brand’s husband was involved in the leaks. More

A former minister has urged fellow Tories to topple Boris Johnson or lose the next election, saying any other prime minister would have quit over the Partygate scandal.Tobias Ellwood described Sue Gray’s final report as “damning”, asking his colleagues: “Are you willing, day in and day out, to defend this behaviour publicly?”The former defence minister was heckled by MPs loyal to Mr Johnson as he warned of the “erosion of trust” with the British public.“Can he think of any other prime minister who would have allowed such a culture of indiscipline to take place under their watch? And if it did – would they not have resigned?”Mr Ellwood warned that, unless Mr Johnson is removed, “the broad church of the Conservative party will lose the next general election”In response, Mr Johnson insisted he retained the support of Conservative MPs, although he was speaking in front of half-empty Commons benches,On his chances at the general election, expected in 2024, he said: “Overwhelmingly, emphatically, yes. We are going to go on and win the next general election.”Mr Ellwood echoed Keir Starmer who also said it was up to Conservative MPs to no longer “hide in the backseat praying for a miracle”, after the Gray report.“Or they can act to stop this out of touch, out of control prime minister from driving Britain towards disaster,” the Labour leader told the Commons.Sir Keir argued the “values symbolised” by the famous Downing Street door “must be restored.”Tory MPs should “tell the current inhabitant, their leader, that this has gone on too long,” the Labour leader told his opponents.Mr Ellwood was the only Conservative to openly call for Mr Johnson to be removed, during his statement on the long-awaited 37-page report.Its publication is expected to trigger more demands from Tory MPs for a no-confidence vote in his leadership – with 54 signatures needed to trigger the contest.Most said they were awaiting Ms Gray’s conclusions before deciding whether to act, although much of the anger of earlier in the year has cooled as the saga has dragged on.In his statement, the prime minister repeated his claim that he did not realise he and others were breaking the rules at the time, so did not lie to parliament.He called on the country to “move on” from the scandal and insisted he had “learned the lesson” from the management failures in No 10, through an earlier overhaul of top staff.Mr Johnson also suggested there is no need to release the 300+ Partygate photos seen by the Metropolitan police, because the public has already seen “a representative sample of the images”. More

One of Boris Johnson’s former senior aides boasted “we seem to have got away with” the infamous bring your own booze garden party, Sue Gray’s report says.According to the investigation, Martin Reynolds, the prime minister’s former principle private secretary, was also warned by a No 10 official the ‘BYOB’ event was “somewhat of a comms risk” and urged to cancel the event.In the long-awaited report, Mr Reynolds, who invited staff to the event to enjoy the “lovely weather”, told Ms Gray, however, that he did not “recall any such conversation” over pulling the gathering.The event which began at 6pm on 20 May, 2020 – in the midst of England’s first lockdown – was attended by around 30-40 people, including the prime minister for around 30 minutes.Some No 10 staff who attended the gathering, the report states, were present early on in the evening with a number leaving between 10 and 11pm.It states that Lee Cain, Downing Street’s former director of communications, sent an email to Mr Reynolds ahead of the event, saying: “I’m sure it will be fine — and I applaud the gesture — but a 200 odd person invitation for drinks in the garden of No 10 is somewhat of a comms risk in the current environment.”It added: “Lee Cain says he subsequently spoke to Martin Reynolds and advised him that the event should be cancelled. Martin Reynolds does not recall any such conversation”.Ms Gray also wrote that Dominic Cummings, the former chief adviser to the prime minister, also told the investigation he raised concerns in writing, but “we have not found any documentary evidence of this”.Following the event, a No 10 special adviser thanked Mr Reynolds for “providing the wine”, saying it was “a very kind thing to do and I know everyone really appreciated it”.The event was also referenced in a subsequent WhatsApp message on an unknown date from Mr Reynolds to a special adviser, which said: “Best of luck — a complete non story but better than them focusing on our drinks (which we seem to have got away with).Earlier this year, it emerged an email sent on Mr Reynolds behalf was sent inviting around 200 staff to enjoy the “lovely weather” with some “socially distanced drinks in the garden” on the evening of 20 June, 2020.“Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”, the email added.Just an hour before the event, a Covid press conference took place upstairs in No 10 – reminding the public of the severe restrictions. But one special adviser, according to Ms Gray’s report, replied to Mr Reynold’s invite, saying “drinks this evening is a lovely idea”.“Just to flag that the press conference will probably be finishing around that time, so helpful if people can be mindful of that as speakers and cameras are leaving, not walking around waving bottles of wine etc”. In response, Mr Reynolds replied: “Will do my best!…” More

Downing Street cleaners and security staff have been subjected to a “lack of respect and poor treatment”, the likes of which they felt “unable to raise properly”, Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal has revealed.The damning revelation was revealed in the report that looked into lockdown-busting parties held in the heart of government. It was published in full on Wednesday after a heavily-redacted version was released in January while the Metropolitan Police carried out its own probe into events.The findings of the inquiry, first launched in December, were made public by No 10 just before Boris Johnson met MPs in the Commons today’s round of Prime Minister’s Questions.Among the cataloguing of No 10’s boozy culture – of plucky junior civil servants following the lead of their more senior colleagues in attending the drunken events – are ruinous descriptions of the concerns of Downing Street’s cleaners and security staff being dismissed. Many of those workers are paid substantially less than the partygoing government staffers.In the conclusion of her report, Ms Gray states: “I found that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly. “I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. “This was unacceptable. I am reassured to see that steps have since been taken to introduce more easily accessible means by which to raise concerns electronically, in person or online, including directly with the permanent secretary in No 10. “I hope that this will truly embed a culture that welcomes and creates opportunities for challenge and speaking up at all levels.” Addressing MPs in the Commons, prime minister Boris Johnson offered a stoney-faced apology to the security and cleaning staff for their “appalling” treatmentHe insisted he had “no knowledge” of such treatment, saying he was “surprised and disappointed” to hear about them.He told the chamber: “I have been as surprised and disappointed as anyone else in this House as the revelations have unfolded and, frankly, I have been appalled by some of the behaviour, particularly in the treatment of the security and the cleaning staff.“And I’d like to apologise to those members of staff and I expect anyone who behaved in that way to apologise to them as well.”Referring to Ms Gray’s report, deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tweeted: “Boris Johnson has turned Downing Street into a vomit-stained Bullingdon Club.“The treatment and mockery doled out to cleaning and security staff that has now been exposed is beyond shameful.“This prime minister has nothing but contempt for the people of this country.” More

Boris Johnson has urged the public to “move on” from partygate, as he said that lessons had been learned from the scandal. In his first public comments, just hours after he received Sue Gray’s damning report into events in Downing Street under Covid restrictions, he also said he accepted “full responsibility” for his failings.But he denied he had intentionally misled parliament and insisted he had been as “surprised and disappointed” as others to see the extent of the revellling in Downing Street. He ducked a direct question from one of his own MPs about reports he suggested to Ms Gray that she drop plans to publish her report, saying only that the decision of what to put in the public domain was one for the senior civil servant. The Gray report criticises what it said was a “serious failure” to abide by the “standards expected of the entire British population” during the pandemic.It found that a senior advisor to the prime minister boasted “we seem to have got away with” the now notorious ‘bring your own booze’ garden party during coronavirus restrictions.Other findings include that one individual threw up and a scuffle broke out at another leaving do for a No 10 official.And after a party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, one reveller finally left No 10 at 4.20 am. The prime minister has been accused of presiding over Covid lockdown breaches on a “record-breaking scale”, after the Metropolitan Police issued 126 fines for events spanning eight dates. Mr Johnson himself received just a single fine, for a party to martk his birthday during lockdown.Referring to Ms Gray’s report, Mr Johnson said: “I hope very much that now that she has reported we will be able to move on and focus on the priorities of the British people”.But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer told him to resign saying : “It is time to pack his bags” . He urged unhappy Conservative MPs to act to oust their leader. They should “tell the current inhabitant (of No 10) that this has gone on too long,” he said.They “can hide in the backseat praying for a miracle” or “they can act to stop this out of touch, out of control prime minister from driving Britain towards disaster,” he added. More

Sue Gray’s report into the Partygate scandal attacks “a serious failure” to abide by the “standards expected of the entire British population” during the Covid pandemic.The long-awaited inquiry into the No 10 parties concludes “too little thought” was given in Boris Johnson’s No 10 into “the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public”.“There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times,” Ms Gray writes.“Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did.”The senior Whitehall mandarin highlights how junior staff “believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders.“The events that I investigated were attended by leaders in government,” the report states, adding: “The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture.”Ms Gray also criticises the revelation that, on at least one occasion, a security guard protested at a party taking place, but his warning was dismissed.“Some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly,” she writes.“I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable.”Ms Gray also concludes that the public will be “dismayed that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of government”.The publication of the report is expected to trigger more demands from appalled Tory MPs for a no-confidence vote in his leadership – with 54 signatures needed to trigger the contest.However, she adds: “It is my firm belief, however, that these events did not reflect the prevailing culture in government and the Civil Service at the time.”Most said they were awaiting Ms Gray’s conclusions before deciding whether to act, although much of the anger of earlier in the year has cooled as the saga has dragged on.The prime minister will make a statement to MPs later, when he will repeat his claim that he did not realise he and others were breaking the rules at the time, so did not lie to parliament.He is expected to tell the Commons: “I commissioned this report to set the record straight and allow us all to move on. I accept full responsibility for my failings. I am humbled by the whole experience. We have learned our lesson.”The phrasing will be seen as an argument that Mr Johnson has already put right the failings that led to the law-breaking, with his shake-up of No 10 earlier this year. More