“Failing leadership” has allowed illegal lockdown parties to be held at British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s residence during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. That’s in the long-awaited and Wednesday published report from senior British official Sue Gray about the so-called ‘party gate’. The report speaks of a “culture” of rule-breaking in the Johnson administration. “Many of these events should not have happened.”
Several British media reported last year that parties were being held at the prime minister’s residence during the start of the pandemic, just as severe corona measures banned Britons from gathering. In response to these reports, Prime Minister Johnson asked senior official Gray to investigate. A first 12-page draft was published at the end of January, the rest was postponed because the London police had started their own investigation. The police then issued dozens of fines, including to Johnson himself.
‘Excessive use of alcohol’
According to Gray, the British government should bear responsibility. “The public has a right to expect the very highest standards of behavior in such places,” the report said. Gray doesn’t blame Johnson alone. Attached photos and details in the report show more officials attending the Downing Street parties. Gray also speaks of “excessive alcohol use” during a meeting.
An investigation has been conducted into 16 parties and gatherings held during the coronavirus restrictions imposed in 2020. Last week, British TV channel ITV published photos from the report of a toasting Johnson taken during a lockdown party in November of that year. “Many will be stunned that this kind of behavior on this scale took place at the heart of government,” Gray writes.