Boris Johnson apologises as Sue Gray report slams lockdown parties

An investigation says lockdown-breaching parties by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his staff represent a 'serious failure' of the standards expected of government. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised after an inquiry found that Downing St parties while Britain was in lockdown represented a "serious failure" to observe the standards expected of government or to heed the sacrifices made by millions of people during the pandemic.

But Johnson brushed off calls to quit over the "Partygate" scandal, promising to reform the way his office is run and insisting that he and his government can be trusted.

"I get it, and I will fix it," he said in Parliament after senior civil servant Sue Gray published interim findings on several gatherings in 2020 and 2021.

Gray found that "failures of leadership and judgment" allowed events to occur that "should not have been allowed to take place."

"The hardship under which citizens across the country worked, lived and sadly even died while observing the government's regulations and guidance rigorously are known only too well," Gray wrote.

Media stand outside 10 Downing St awaiting the conclusions of an investigation into allegations of lockdown breaches. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP

"Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify," she added.

Gray's glimpse inside a 10 Downing St marked by excessive alcohol consumption and staff afraid to speak out about workplace problems are a blow to Johnson, despite the fact that Gray's conclusions relate to just four of the 16 events she investigated.

Her findings on 12 other events have been withheld at the request of the police, who last week launched a criminal investigation into the most serious alleged breaches of coronavirus rules. The Metropolitan Police force said it had asked for Gray's report to omit the events being investigated by detectives "to avoid any prejudice to our investigation".

Among the events under police investigation are a June 2020 birthday party for Johnson in Downing St and two gatherings held on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral in April 2021 — a funeral at which the widowed Queen Elizabeth II had to sit alone.

The cuts to Gray's report have led opponents to accuse Johnson of a whitewash.

The allegations that the prime minister and his staff flouted restrictions imposed on the country to curb the spread of the coronavirus — holding "bring your own booze" office parties, birthday celebrations and "wine time Fridays" — have caused public anger, led some Conservative lawmakers to call for Johnson's resignation and triggered intense infighting inside the governing party.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer said the British public had made "heart-wrenching sacrifices" and endured "a collective trauma" during the pandemic.

"The prime minister took us all for fools," he said. "He held people's sacrifice in contempt. He showed himself unfit for office."

Britain's Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons. Photo / UK Parliament, via AP

Starmer said many British people "think the prime minister should do the decent thing and resign. Of course, he won't. Because he is a man without shame."

Johnson can ignore opposition criticism, because the Conservatives have a large majority in Parliament. His fate rests on how Conservative lawmakers respond to his apology. Some previously said they would push for a no-confidence vote if Gray found Johnson was at serious fault or had misled Parliament.

Johnson urged his critics to wait for the conclusions of the police investigation.

But one Conservative legislator, Andrew Mitchell, said in the House of Commons that Johnson "no longer has my support."

Former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May also was unimpressed. She said that either Johnson and those around him "had not read the rules, or didn't understand what they meant ... Or they didn't think the rules applied to them. Which was it?"

Boris Johnson leaves 10 Downing St on his way to the Houses of Parliament. Photo / Alberto Pezzali, AP

Gray did not criticise the prime minister directly, but said "there is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government".

It's unclear whether Gray's full findings will be published once the police investigation is finished. Johnson's spokesman, Max Blain, said the prime minister's office would discuss with police and Gray's team "what is suitable" to publish.

Johnson could be interviewed by detectives as part of their probe and may face a fine if he is found to have breached the law.

Johnson, meanwhile, sought to change the subject from his personal woes, marking the second anniversary of Brexit on Monday by touting economic opportunities outside the European Union.

The UK officially left the now 27-nation bloc on January 31, 2020, though it remained part of the EU's economic structures for another 11 months.

Since then, UK-EU trade has fallen, though the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic has obscured the economic ructions caused by the end of frictionless trade with Britain's biggest economic partner.

Johnson vowed Monday to unlock the potential of Brexit, unveiling a "Brexit Freedoms" Bill that the government says will slash red tape for British businesses by amending laws that were carried over from the UK's years as an EU member.

Pages of a senior civil servant's report into social gatherings held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Photo / UK Cabinet Office via AP

Opponents say the bill will just make it easier for the government to change laws without Parliament's approval.

The government is also promising this week to give long-awaited details of plans to "level up" the country by expanding economic opportunity to neglected regions.

And Johnson plans a diplomatic push to try to ease tensions between Russia and Ukraine. His office says the prime minister will speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone late on Monday (local time) and visit Ukraine on Tuesday as part of efforts to deter Russia from invading its neighbour.

Some political observers said Gray's circumscribed and partial report may give Johnson at least a temporary reprieve from calls for his ouster.

"It's a mess," said Will Walden, a former Johnson aide. "It's probably bad for democracy, but inadvertently good for the PM."