Isabel Hardman Isabel Hardman

A Graywash? Downing Street party report is merely an ‘update’

The report criticises ‘failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No. 10'

(Getty images)

Sue Gray’s report on the lockdown partying in Downing Street is short. Just 11 pages. Early on, it makes clear that the police are investigating all but four of them, which makes this an ‘update’. Gray avoids making a judgement on whether the gatherings were a breach of the regulations and guidance in place at the time because of the police inquiry. Instead, her conclusion is that ‘a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place’ and that the ‘significant learning’ that needs to take place across Government ‘does not need to wait for the police investigation to be concluded’.

The ‘learning’ is set out in a section called ‘general findings’ which criticises ‘failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No. 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times’. 

Perhaps the most newsworthy line in the whole report is this one: 

Gray calls for a robust policy on alcohol consumption in No.

Isabel Hardman
Written by
Isabel Hardman
Isabel Hardman is assistant editor of The Spectator and author of Why We Get the Wrong Politicians. She also presents Radio 4’s Week in Westminster.

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in