Downing Street gatherings during U.K. lockdowns ‘difficult to justify,’ report finds

But the version of the highly anticipated report published Monday provided little detail about 16 reported parties at the British prime minister’s residence and office, as well as other government buildings, because at least 12 of the gatherings, on eight different dates, are now the subject of a criminal investigation by London’s Metropolitan Police.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who has been fighting for his political life, told Parliament on Monday, “I get it and I will fix it.” He then made vague promises to reorganize 10 Downing Street.

“I know what the issue is,” Johnson continued. “It’s whether this government can be trusted to deliver. And I say, Mr. Speaker, yes we can be trusted.” He proceeded to review his government’s record on Brexit and its handling of the pandemic.

Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, noted that at least two of the parties being investigated by police were attended by Johnson — one in the garden at Downing Street and another in his apartment.

“There can be no doubt that the prime minister himself is now subject to criminal investigation,” Starmer said.

Johnson faced withering criticism not only from the opposition but from within his own Conservative Party.

Theresa May, Johnson’s predecessor, gave a blistering assessment: “What the Gray report does show is that Number 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public. So either my right honorable friend had not read the rules, or didn’t understand what they meant, and others around him, or they didn’t think the rules applied to Number 10. Which was it?”

Johnson contested that the report had reached such a finding and batted away May’s question. “I suggest she awaits to see the conclusion of the inquiry,” Johnson countered.

On Friday, the police asked had for the Gray report to include “minimal reference” to the events their officers were investigating to “avoid any prejudice to our investigation.” That meant what was released on Monday was narrowed in focus and potentially watered down.

Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party, was dripping with sarcasm. “The long-awaited Sue Gray report — what a farce! It was carefully engineered to be a fact finding exercise with no conclusions. And now we find it’s a fact-finding exercise with no facts.”

Gray was able to say that against the backdrop of the pandemic, “when the government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behavior surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify.”

Gray concluded, “a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.”

A birthday party for the prime minister is one of many alleged gatherings at Downing Street that has come under scrutiny. Two of the parties at Downing Street, on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, prompted the prime minister’s office to apologize to Queen Elizabeth II. Johnson also half apologized for attending a “bring your own booze” garden party, saying he was there only briefly. Otherwise, Downing Street has maintained that gatherings were work-related.

Many Conservative lawmakers had said they were waiting to see the Gray report, presumably the full one with all the juicy details, before deciding whether to attempt to oust Johnson. The key questions: Did the British prime minister break the law? Who was responsible for the gatherings? Did Johnson have advance knowledge of the “bring your own booze” party? Were there get-togethers in the Johnsons’ apartment? What new details about various gatherings has she uncovered?

There are concerns that Downing Street has not committed to publishing the report in full after the police investigation is over.

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, tweeted, “The fact that Number 10 is backpedaling on *ever* releasing the whole Sue Gray report is as disgraceful as it is predictable. This whole shambolic and dishonest government must be brought down.”

To trigger a leadership challenge in the Conservative Party, 54 Conservative members of Parliament would have to submit letters of no confidence to the chair of the 1922 Committee, made up of backbench party members. At least seven lawmakers have publicly said they have submitted letters, but more may have done so privately.

More than 100,000 people have been fined since the start of the pandemic for breaking coronavirus restrictions in England and Wales. Those who held small gatherings were fined £100 or $134; for groups of 30 or more, the penalty was £10,000 or $13,400.

The police have been criticized for failing to launch an investigation earlier into the Downing Street parties.

The whole scandal has been “a terribly damaging episode for trust in the government, the ability of the government to police itself, and more broadly, in the police themselves,” said Will Jennings, a politics expert at the University of Southampton.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick said last week the force would investigate “without fear or favor,” adding, “I absolutely understand that there is deep public concern about the allegations that have been in the media over the past several weeks.”

Being under the cloud of a criminal investigation is hardly good for Johnson.

Johnson, in theory, could be interviewed by the police. If he is, he won’t be the first sitting prime minister to be the subject of a police investigation. Tony Blair, who served as British prime minister from 1997 to 2007, was questioned by police in what became known as the cash for peerages scandal. Blair was never charged but the episode cast a shadow over the final months of his premiership.