“Leadership failures”.
The initial conclusions of the long-awaited report on the parties held during the confinement in Downing Street -the residence of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson- were published.
The report, made by officer Sue Gray, is limited, since the police asked not to add many details and thus “avoid any damage” in the investigation that they have open on the same cause, although it reveals some clues to what happened and concludes with a criticism of the British leadership.
“Some of the meetings in question represent a serious failure to meet the high standards expected of those who work at the heart of the gobierno”, reads the recently published report. “It should not have been allowed”.
Boris Johnson has acknowledged the facts and, before the House of Commons, pointed out that “it is not enough to ask for forgiveness”.
“I understand it and I will solve it“, he stated between the criticisms of the parliamentarians.
The report hardly counts 11 pages , but here we tell you some of its main conclusions.
1. “It should not have been allowed”
Gray points out in the report that, in some cases, “nor should have been allowed to take place“. As for other events, “they should not have been allowed to develop the way they did”.
Sue Gray was specifically investigating 10 events which took place on a dozen dates between May 2020 and April 2021, including 3 of which there was no record.
From those 16, 12 are being investigated by the police.
Includes the Downing Street Garden Drinks Party attended by prime minister the 20 of May of 2020. Also cause for police investigation is Johnson’s birthday in the Cabinet room on 19 June 2020.
Regarding alcohol consumption, Gray also pointed out that “excessive alcohol consumption is not appropriate in a workplace professional in no time. Steps should be taken to ensure that all government departments have a clear and robust policy covering alcohol consumption in the workplace.”
At the time the events occurred, the UK was in various degrees of lockdown.
The rules for the general public included a ban on indoor gatherings of more than two people, as well as other restrictions for outdoor events.
two. “Leadership failures”
The official also concludes that “there were leadership failures and judgment by different parts of number 10 and the Cabinet Office“.
“Sometimes it seems that they did not think about what was happening in the whole country when considering the appropriateness of some of these meetings, the risks they presented to public health and how they could appear to the public”, states the document.
On this point, MPs from the opposition demand that all findings be published in full.
The report is crucial to the Johnson’s term, which has been rocked by weeks of damaging headlines about parties in Downing Street and other government buildings.
Many Conservative parliamentarians indicated that they were waiting He launched his findings to decide whether to try to remove him from office.
Needed 54 leaders of the Conservative Party to carry out a motion of censure.
3. “Serious non-compliance with the high standards expected” from the government
“At least some of the meetings represent a serious non-compliance with the high standards that are expected not only from those who work in government but from the entire British population at that time”, says Gray.
“In the context of the pandemic, when the g The government called on citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behavior around these meetings is difficult to justify”, points out the civil official.
All events took place at number of Downing Street or in the Cabinet Office, except one in the Department of Education.
“It is not up to me to pass judgment on whether the criminal law has been violated; that is properly a matter for law enforcement,” said Gray, second permanent secretary in the Cabinet Office and who reports to the UK’s highest-ranking civil servant, Simon Case.
Regarding the investigation carried out by the police, Gray wrote in his report that he has been “in regular contact with the Metropolitan Police since that my work has progressed so that they can make decisions about the meetings under review, including the possibility of starting their own investigation”.
4. Members who wanted to protest but couldn’t
One of the latest revelations in the report is that “some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviors they witnessed at work, but sometimes felt unable to do so”.
“No staff member should feel unable to report or challenge misconduct where they witness it”, Gray noted.
The document also notes that there should be “easier ways for staff to raise such concerns informally , outside the management chain”.
Condemnation of Downing Street culture
Nick Eardley, cpolitical correspondent of the BBC
On a first reading, some of these conclusions are quite damning for Downing Street in a time of restricted confinement.
There is a lot of talk about events that should not have happened or that should not have been able to develop in the way they did it.
There is talk of leadership failures, significant things to be drawn from these events.
I think Boris Johnson will be under a lot of pressure when he comes to the House of Commons to set out what he thinks those lessons are.
There is a broader question as to whether those failures of leadership were from the prime minister himself.
I suspect we will hear opposition politicians in the next few hours say exactly that, that culture was created by man at the top.
However, what really needs to be taken into account is how Conservative MPs react to this. We know that many of them have been deeply uncomfortable with the stories you have heard about what happened in Downing Street.
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