Sue Gray report condemns ‘party’ failings at heart of Boris Johnson’s government

The senior civil servant has said that a number of the events she investigates “should not have been allowed to happen” and the public would be “dismayed” by her findings.

She said some of the more junior officials who attended parties “believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders”.

“The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture,” Ms Gray said.

She also said there were “multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff” during the events, which was “unacceptable”.

Scotland Yard handed out a total of 126 fines for lockdown breaching gatherings across Number 10 and Whitehall, including one each to Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak.

“Many will be dismayed that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of Government,” Ms Gray said.

“The public have a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour in such places and clearly what happened fell well short of this.”

The report contains more details of events that have been highlighted in newspaper headlines over the last six months.

At one event on June 18 2020 it is noted that one attendee was sick, while at a gathering on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021 a swing set in the Downing Stret garden was broken.

There were also details about the Cabinet Office leaving drinks of Sheffield Council boss Kate Josephs.

Email invites were sent around on 16 December 2020 for the leaving drinks on 17 December 2020.

The email included a sad face emoji and said: “We'd love it if you could join us for a farewell, COVID secure, drink.”

The event is said to have begun between 1900 and 2000 and more than 20 staff attended.

Six pizzas were ordered at 2244 and Kate Josephs left after midnight (0023).