A Nightmare on Downing Street: the ‘Partygate’ Saga so far

For almost two months, the Government has been plagued by allegations of rule-breaking parties held at Downing Street and other Government offices. At the time of writing, there have been no less than 18 separate events across Westminster that are said to have broken COVID-19 rules in place when they allegedly occurred.  

This is not the first time the Government has been hit by allegations of flouting COVID-19 rules. In May 2020, senior Government adviser Dominic Cummings was found to have driven his family 260 miles to Durham before he and his wife became ill with COVID-19. This trip also involved Cummings’ infamous visit to Barnard Castle “to test [his] vision”.

However, whilst public outrage surrounding the Cummings scandal quickly dissipated, the sheer number of allegations this time, particularly ones involving the Prime Minister himself, makes ‘Partygate’ considerably more difficult for the Government to recover from.

An unfamiliar face for many, Sue Gray is a senior civil servant working for the Cabinet Office. She has become somewhat of a celebrity in recent weeks due to her imminent report on the Downing Street parties. Originally, the UK’s top civil servant Simon Case presided over the report, but the inquiry was handed over to Gray following allegations of a drinks party held in Case’s office.

According to the Cabinet Office, the "primary purpose" of Ms Gray's inquiry is to "establish swiftly a general understanding of the nature of the gatherings, including attendance, the setting and the purpose, with reference to adherence to the guidance in place at the time".

An indication of the Government’s nervous anticipation of the report, a satirical ‘leaked’ section of the Gray report posted on Twitter by comedian Joe Lycett allegedly caused panic among governmental staff who believed it was genuine. Some of the points contained in Lycett’s parody report include “A number of WhatsApp groups were established to organise gatherings, with titles including ‘Definitely A Meeting’ and ‘Down It Street’” and “Before one of the gatherings [blank] who worked closely with the PM insisted everyone be tested and was subsequently referred to as ‘T**teral Flow’ by advisors.”

Boris Johnson’s allies have been continuing their largely unsuccessful PR campaign to assuage public discontent. Some highlights from this campaign include the widely-mocked claim by MP Conor Burns that the Prime Minister was “ambushed by a cake” during a gathering to mark Mr Johnson’s birthday.

In a blow to Gray’s inquiry, the Metropolitan Police have announced they are conducting an investigation into the gatherings and have asked for the report to make “minimal reference” to events they are looking into. This has been met with outrage by numerous MPs, calling the timing of the Met’s investigation a ‘cover-up’ and a ‘farce’. The Met have said that their investigation will take no more than a year, but did not give an exact timeframe for when it would wrap up. Once updated by Sue Gray in light of the outcomes of the investigation, the full report will be given to Downing Street. No 10 has since confirmed that the full report will be made public.

A heavily redacted summary of Gray’s findings was handed to Downing Street and subsequently made public on Monday the 31st. Whilst brief and only stating the facts of the matter, it finds that there were "failures of leadership and judgement" by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times, and a “serious failure to observe” the standards set by the Government. Looking into 12 separate gatherings, Gray concluded that some of the events “should not have been allowed to take place”, while others “should not have been allowed to develop as they did”. The report also criticises the “excessive consumption of alcohol” across government departments, which is “not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time”. Under the police investigation however, what Sue Gray can say in the report is “very limited”.

Taking on board Sue Gray’s critique, the PM has apologised and pledged a reform of the way that Downing Street and the Cabinet Office operates, as well as to update the civil service code of conduct. In accepting Ms Gray’s verdict and promising change across Government, Johnson said that “I get it and I will fix it”. He quickly moved onto a campaign of distraction, bringing up tensions between Russia and Ukraine, ‘levelling up’ the country and the classic catchphrase of “getting Brexit done”.

In an eventful debate in the Commons, the PM was condemned from both sides of the house. Former Prime Minister Theresa May called on Johnson to “set an example”, asking him: "either my right honourable 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?". SNP Westminster Leader Ian Blackford was removed from the chamber after refusing to retract his statement that Boris Johnson “misled the House”, despite being called on to do so by the Speaker several times.

Whilst we wait for the Met’s investigation to conclude, the fate of Boris Johnson’s premiership remains uncertain. With at least 17 letters of no confidence in the PM submitted and two senior aides resigning from No 10 within hours of each other, one question must be asked: how much support does Johnson have, and when will it run out?