"The senior leadership at the centre" of the "partygate" scandal, "both political and official, must bear responsibility" for the "culture" behind the events, United Kingdom senior civil servant Sue Gray said on Wednesday in her full report about the parties held in Downing Street during the tough lockdown in the country in 2020 and 2021.
Gray confirmed that "many of these gatherings" were "not in line with Covid guidance at the time," adding that parties "were attended by leaders in government" and that "many of these events should not have been allowed to happen." Photographs that were published in the report show UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson attending at least two of the gatherings.
However, Gray also stated that she is "pleased progress is being made in addressing the issues" she raised in her preliminary January report. "The matter of what disciplinary action should now take place... is for others to consider," she stressed and noted she believes "that these events did not reflect the prevailing culture in Government and the Civil Service at the time."
