Sue Gray has published her final report, which was commissioned by the Prime Minister to establish the full facts and set the record straight. This report identified a number of failings, both official and political - the Prime Minister takes full responsibility for everything that took place on his watch.
In his statement to the House of Commons, the Prime Minister renewed his wholehearted apology to Parliament and to the whole country, for the gathering in the Cabinet Room on the 19th June 2020 for which he received a Fixed Penalty Notice.
In response to the criticisms and recommendations made in Sue Gray’s interim report, the Prime Minister has made significant changes to the way No10 is run. This includes a new Permanent Secretary in No10 charged with applying the highest standards of governance as well as easier ways for staff to voice concerns. In her report, Sue Gray has written that she is ‘reassured’ by these reforms.
The Prime Minister was as surprised and disappointed as we all were as the revelations unfolded. Particularly, the Prime Minister has said he was appalled to learn of reports about the mistreatment of security and cleaning staff in Downing Street. He has apologised to those members of staff and made clear that he expects anyone who behaved in that way to apologise as well.
As well as learning the lessons from Sue Gray’s report, I know that the Prime Minister now feels an even greater weight of responsibility to deliver on the priorities of the British people: to ease the hardship caused by the rising cost of living, to protect our nation from the aftershocks of Covid, to stand firm against Putin’s aggression, and to unite and level up across our United Kingdom. He has my full support in this.
