Head of Covid task force’s unanswered questions over lockdown leaving drinks as pressure grows on Sheffield Council chief executive Kate Josephs – Tom Richmond

I am less convinced, however, about the sincerity of the apology that Halifax-born Josephs, the former director general of the Covid task force, posted on social media last Friday, although she appears more contrite than some.

Sheffield Council chief executive Kate Josephs held lockdown-breaking leaving do - as she left Covid taskforce team

But I do believe it is wrong for Josephs to hide behind the fact-finding inquiry being headed by senior civil servant Sue Gray in the hope that the focus on the PM overlooks the culpability of others.

Why Boris Johnson must resign over Downing Street’s boozy lockdown parties and contempt for Covid families – Tom Richmond

And while a one-off misjudgment is not necessarily a resignation issue, Josephs, given her role at the time, must offer a far fuller explanation about a party on December 17, 2020, that broke the spirit of lockdown rules. Given it took place in the Cabinet Office, part of Whitehall, 48 hours before Boris Johnson effectively cancelled Christmas due to a surge in Covid cases, she owes it to the people of Sheffield to answer these questions:

* Why did Josephs wait until Friday, and five minutes before details of her farewell drinks emerged in the media, to make this admission when Whitehall rule-breaking has been dominating the news agenda for six weeks? Why not an earlier mea culpa instead of denials when journalists in Sheffield started asking questions about her alleged presence at Downing Street parties rather than the Cabinet Office, a minor technical difference?

* Who organised the party, who sent out the invitations and who was present at this gathering? Name names. Given Sheffield’s CEO says that it was held “with drinks”, did individuals pay for the liquid refreshments or were they claimed on expenses so taxpayers foot the bill?

* Given that her farewell do came 24 hours after the PM gave a Downing Street press conference where he said that it was “vital that everyone exercises the greatest possible personal responsibility”, did Josephs ask for her gathering to be postponed? If not, why not?

*What assessment did she make of the Tier 3 restrictions in place in London at the time which banned people from mixing indoors with anyone outside their household and support bubble? A statement issued earlier on December 17, the day of the gathering, by Matt Hancock, the then Health Secretary, said the Covid case rate in the capital was “increasing exponentially”.

* Was social distancing observed by those present and what steps were taken by attendees to minimise the risk of attendees spreading Covid as they returned to their homes for Christmas?

It is inconceivable that Josephs did not know the likelihood that the PM would have to face the country 48 hours later on December 19 and announce: “It is with a heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot continue with Christmasas planned.”

He then added: “We are sacrificing our chance to see loved ones this Christmas, so we have a better chance of protecting their lives so we can see them at future Christmases.” The irony...

I remember that evening well. Like others, it was spent on the telephone trying to dissect the new rules and working out how best to look after loved ones, from elderly relatives to clinically vulnerable neighbours, over Christmas and New Year so they were not alone.

Now, more than a year later, it emerges that booze-filled parties were commonplace across Whitehall that appear to have contravened the very rules overseen by Josephs who, for the record, was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath for public service in the Queen’s birthday honours last summer – an elite accolade now viewed more dimly.

And while Tory chairman Oliver Dowden – the man who conducted the now infamous Downing Street briefing on the eve of the funeral of Prince Philip where the Queen, emotively and evocatively, mourned her husband in solitary isolation – has confirmed that the PM is responsible for the “culture” of Downing Street, the so-called ‘partygate’ scandal involves many of Britain’s brightest and best public servants.

Yet, given that the aforementioned Gray report is intended to establish facts, not apportion blame, and the ultimate arbiter appears to be Boris Johnson, where does this leave Kate Josephs? I don’t know – her unreserved apology (off camera) simply said that she, too, is awaiting the Gray inquiry to conclude.

However one tweet expressing regret is not sufficient recompense. And, given her current public health role in Sheffield, and the need to command public confidence if future restrictions have to be imposed, she should not be waiting for the unfortunate Sue Gray to tell the full story – Josephs should be telling it now to help the public, and Sheffield councillors, assess the credibility of her position. It is called personal responsibility.

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Tom Richmond is Comment Editor of The Yorkshire Post. He tweets via OpinionYP.

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