- Summary of the Gray document on the 'Partygate' scandal.
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| British Prime Minister Boris Johnson |
It all started in May 2021. The Sun newspaper published a photo and a video of the then British Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, kissing an adviser. The image was dated a few days earlier, when the restrictions due to the Covid pandemic that had been decreed, precisely, by that ministry, that of Hancock, were still in force.
The minister had to resign, but this did not close the door to scandal. More photos were leaked. They all showed Downing Street officials at gatherings and parties when the government itself had banned more than two people from gathering.
There are 37 pages where there is talk of "leadership failures" and the Government is asked for "responsibilities"
And in those photos also appeared the Prime Minister himself, Boris Johnson. In a photo from May 2020, Johnson was seen in the garden of the official residence having a glass of wine with other officials. All while the British could not meet or be with their families in the most difficult moments of the Covid pandemic.
The Partygate, the party scandal, has haunted the prime minister ever since, pressing his head like a guillotine. In an attempt to show responsibility and good manners, an official report was commissioned to independently clarify what happened at parties held at British Government offices (Downing Street and Whitehall) during the pandemic.
The report was entrusted to senior official Sue Gray. On January 31, the general conclusions were released, but its full content was published this Wednesday, six months after the first revelations. There are 37 pages where there is talk of "leadership failures" and the government is asked for "responsibilities".
Gray's document is based on interviews with staff at 10 Downing Street and includes WhatsApp messages and photographs (some of Boris Johnson himself). In summary, he says that "many of those events should not have been allowed" and that "the way they were developed was not in accordance with the covid regulations at the time". But what are the keys to the report?
They knew they were wrong
Johnson's former director of communications, Lee Cain, writes a WhatsApp message to Martin Reynolds, then the prime minister's chief private secretary. He tells him that organizing a drinks outing for a colleague in full lockdown in front of the Covid was a bad idea.
"Looks like we got away with it"
"I'm not sure it will work at all, to be honest," he writes in another message when pressed by Reynolds. Then, at a later date, Reynolds tells him, "Looks like we got away with it." Everything indicates that they were aware that they were breaking the Covid regulations.
The garden party is "a risk"
On May 20, 2020, there was a Downing Street garden gathering of between 30 and 40 people, organized by Reynolds. In an email to staff, he asked them to "bring your own drink." The party started when a press conference by the Downing Street team for the Covid crisis had not yet finished.
"I hope you are aware that there will be cameras: no one should be walking around waving bottles of wine"
In response, a 10 Downing Street employee suggested that people be "aware" that there would be cameras, so they shouldn't "walk around waving wine bottles". Cain also warned Reynolds to that effect. "I am sure that everything will be fine - and I applaud the gesture - but an invitation to 200 people to have a drink in the garden of No. 10 is right now a risk for communication," he wrote in an email.
Lots of alcohol and no social distance
The report details that it was found that the staff had "drank excessively". In one of them, someone "was sick" and there was "a little altercation" between two people. In another, there was "red wine spilled on a wall and on several boxes of copier paper." Lots of long parties. On April 16, the night before Prince Philip's funeral, the last member of Johnson's staff to leave "a meeting" did so at 4:20 a.m.
"Red wine spilled on a wall and on several boxes of copier paper," Gray mentions in his report.
And all without Covid rules. According to Gray, social distancing "didn't happen," despite warnings. He mentions that karaoke equipment was installed and that a children's swing and slide in the garden of No. 10 were "damaged."
Improper behavior
The report describes a staff member who vomited after drinking too much at a party. Two others quarreled. Gray details that the employees of No. 10 had abusive and inappropriate behavior with the cleaning staff and bragged that they had managed to set up their parties.
"I was aware of disrespect and mistreatment of security and cleaning staff. It is unacceptable."
Gray claims that some employees have "witnessed or been subjected to behavior" that "concerned them but sometimes felt unable to address appropriately." "I was aware of multiple examples of disrespect and mistreatment of security and cleaning staff. It is unacceptable," he says.
Nothing about Abba's party
The night Dominic Cummings, a former adviser, left the administration, a group gathered at Boris Johnson's home for drinks. According to the English press, Abba songs, such as The Winner Takes It All, were played because Carrie Johnson (Boris's wife who couldn't stand Dominic) had gotten rid of a rival.
'The Winner Takes It All' played because Boris's wife had gotten rid of a rival
Sue Gray decided not to delve into the event once the police investigation was over. "It was not appropriate or proportionate to do so," he said.
So whose fault is it?
By way of conclusion, Sue Gray asserts that the "senior leadership", both "political and official", of the Boris Johnson administration must "take responsibility" for allowing the government's own laws to be broken. And he assures that although there was "no excuse" for anyone to break the rules, the direction came from above.
"Top management, political and official, must take responsibility"
"The younger ones attended meetings where their superiors were present or even organized them," he says. "Many of these events should not have been allowed. It is also the case that some of the more junior officials believed that their participation in some of these acts was allowed given the attendance of senior leaders," says the senior official.
At that point, Gray writes: "The senior leaders of the center, both politicians and officials, must take responsibility for this culture."