Crazy gatherings, drunken fights, excessive drinking, red wine spilled on the walls, broken children’s swings: Sue Gray’s report paints a wild picture of life inside Downing Street as the section The rest of the UK is under strict embargo.
Gray was careful to avoid criticizing individuals in his 37-page document, instead pointing to “failures in leadership and judgment” in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office.
“The center’s senior leadership, both political and bureaucratic, is responsible for this culture,” the report said.
Senior leaders know they are breaking the rules
Page by page, report not only outlines how illegal parties are going, but high-profile figures know they can bend or break the rules.
On one occasion Martin Reynolds, Boris Johnson’s chief private secretary, sent an email to 200 people inviting them to a drink party in the Downing Street gardens on May 20, 2020.
In response, a colleague warned: “The press conference will probably end around that time, it would be helpful if people could be mindful of that as the speakers and cameras are leaving. waved the bottles of wine again.”
Some time later, Reynolds wrote to another colleague referring to the May party: “Good luck – a story that’s not a story at all but better they focus on our drinks (which). we seem to have overlooked).”
In another, Lee Cain, then head of Downing Street communications, warned Reynolds during an exchange of gatherings scheduled for June 18, 2020 that the idea of a the party could be a mistake. “Honestly, I’m not sure it works at all. . . Cain wrote.
Before the meeting, one official sarcastically wrote to colleagues: “Martin (Reynolds) and Stuart (Glassborow) want to give a speech tomorrow when we have drinks but not drinks.”
Party culture in Downing Street
Gray’s report reveals details of a dizzying series of gatherings in Downing Street and its surrounding areas.
At an event on December 18, 2020, attended by up to 45 people in the Number 10 press office, Gray noted there was a chaotic atmosphere with “excessive” drinkers.
“The event was so crowded and loud that several people who worked elsewhere in the Number 10 building that evening heard significant levels of noise emanating from what they described as a party inside. press office,” she wrote.
The report said a room cleaner the next morning discovered red wine spilled on one wall and on some of the copier’s paper boxes. As noted, staff at No. 10 repeatedly showed disrespect to cleaning and security staff.
Two gatherings took place on June 18, 2020. The first took place at Number 10 in the Cabinet Room and lasted up to an hour. The second, which took place in the cabinet secretary’s room at 70 Whitehall, involved “wine, food and music” and lasted several hours.
Helen MacNamara, the deputy cabinet secretary – who is responsible for Whitehall’s ethics and decency – attended part of the evening and even provided a karaoke machine.
“There are some individuals who consume alcohol excessively,” the report said. “An individual is sick. There was a slight variation between the other two individuals. “The last member of staff left this gathering at 3:13 a.m.
At a gathering on 16 April 2021 – before Prince Philip’s funeral – the report recounted how staff had parted ways until the early hours of the morning.
“The exit log indicates that some left after midnight and others between 01:45-02:45 am. Two employees remained after that, one left at 03:11 am and the last one left at 04:20”.
Grassroots officials bear the brunt of the fine
The report could be politically damaging for Johnson as it depicts a Bacchanalian culture in Number 10 while millions are largely locked in their homes. But some of the report’s conclusions could be useful to the prime minister.
For example, Gray confirmed that Johnson was unaware of the gathering to mark his 56th birthday on June 19, 2020 – for which he received a fixed penalty notice.
“He returned from an outside visit to 10 Downing Street at 14:20 and was taken into the Cabinet Room which was stocked with sandwiches, snacks, soft drinks and cans,” the report said. . Johnson, wife Carrie Johnson and prime minister Rishi Sunak were all fined £50 for attending the event.
Likewise, Gray ruled that investigating a gathering held on November 13, 2020 at Johnson’s private apartment above Number 10 following the departure of former chief of staff Dominic Cummings was ” inappropriate or disproportionate”.
Gray said she is not reviewing the gathering further as the Metropolitan Police force has begun its own investigation into the rule-breaking across Whitehall.
Critics have noted that the Met appears to have handed out more fines to junior employees than to their bosses – including Simon Case, the head of the civil division, who was not fined at all.
Gray noted that younger employees often follow the direction of their superiors when they attend alcohol parties.
“I offer a reflection: although there is no reason for some of the behavior outlined here, it is important to acknowledge that those in the most junior positions attended the meetings. that their seniors are present or actually celebrated,” she said. “I hope this will be taken into account in consideration of any disciplinary action.”
