Kate Josephs 'will be better chief executive' after volunteering during Partygate paid leave

Ms Josephs was put on leave in January from her £190,000-a-year job after details emerged of her hosting a leaving do party during the December 2020 lockdown as she departed her role as head of the Government’s Covid taskforce.

A council internal investigation has now ruled she can return to work with immediate effect.

Ms Josephs said it had been a difficult few months but she had tried to put her time away to good use while dealing with the internal investigation process and a national media spotlight on her conduct.

She said: “I am a human being, a mum, a daughter, a wife and a friend, there have been times where it has very hard.

“But I’ve been very thankful for the support I have received from a lot of people, a lot from friends I have had for a long time and also friends since I have been back in my home region.

“I’ve tried really hard not to waste the time I’ve had. I would have loved to be back at work. I understand and respect the decision that it wasn’t right for me to be at work but I would have been here in a heartbeat if I could have been.

“What I’ve tried to do while I’ve been off is spend as much time as I can volunteering in the community at a grassroots level and have learnt a huge amount from that. That will make me a better chief executive.

“Every difficult challenge we face as a city I can think of a human being who I now know and I sat with, talked to and made a cup of tea with.

“That will stay with me and I owe it to them to bring that forward into my job now I’m back in the office.”

The Sue Gray report outlined how the leaving do event for Ms Josephs was attended by 20 to 30 people, with six pizzas ordered for those still in the room more than two hours later. She left in the early hours after tidying up, the report said. Ms Josephs was fined by police over the event.

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