By John Pickard
“I take full responsibility”, said the man who takes responsibility for nothing. Judging by Boris Johnson’s demeanor, one would think that he had been given a mild ticking off by the report of top civil servant, Sue Gray, over Downing Street parties during the Covid lockdown. But as limited as her report was, it was nonetheless a crushing condemnation of Johnson’s leadership at the head of government.
It is clear from the report that during the national lockdown there was a culture of partying and drinking and a perception among ministers and Downing Street staff that the rules did not apply to them. The issues have been so well trailed in the media in the last six months but after this report, there can’t be many people left who don’t believe that partying was a regular feature of Downing Street life while the rest of the country by and large followed the lockdown.
The Gray Report is quite stark in some of its comments.“Many will be dismayed”, it says, “that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of Government. The public have a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour in such places and clearly what happened fell well short of this”. It is not so much “dismay” as outrage that is felt and whatever Johnson does to desperately ‘move on’, his behaviour will not be easily forgotten.
As an example of the Bacchanalian atmosphere in Downing Street, it is worth quoting at length one section of the report dealing with only one particular party:
“A large number of people…15-20 more in the Press Office”
“At approximately 19.45 that evening, a panic alarm button was accidentally triggered by a member of staff. The custodians on duty responded, as did one of the police officers on No 10 door duty. They observed a large number of people in the area outside of the main Press Office and one individual giving a speech. Inside the Press Office a further 15-20 people were present. (emphasis added)
“There was food and alcohol available which had been bought and brought in by staff. Some members of staff drank excessively. The event was crowded and noisy such that some people working elsewhere in the No 10 building that evening heard significant levels of noise coming from what they characterised as a ‘party’ in the Press Office. A cleaner who attended the room the next morning noted that there had been red wine spilled on one wall and on a number of boxes of photocopier paper…”
One of the important questions that needs to asked is why was this not reported to the Metropolitan police immediately? “A large number of people present”, “inside the Press office a further 15-20 people”, “food and alcohol available”, “crowded and noisy”. What kind of pressure was applied to the police officer present not to report this clear breach of Covid lockdown?
Low paid Downing Street workers abused
Another important part of the report speaks volumes about the attitude of the Downing Street revellers towards the hoi polloi. “I found”, Sue Gray wrote, “that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly. I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable.” (emphasis added).
In our opinion it is more than just “unacceptable”, it is a disgrace. But it lifts the veil ever so slightly about how these people look down on the low-paid minions who work for the state, even at the heart of government.
It should not surprise us in the least that this government of millionaires, including a Minister who is personally the richest MP in the Commons, shows such utter contempt to the poorest paid Downing Street staff. It is the mentality of Bullingdon Club, that group of rich and privileged Oxford University toffs who used their wealth to get away with boorish behaviour and vandalism. Boris Johnson was a Bullingdon member, and he has brought the same boorishness and contempt for the ‘peasants’ right into the heart of government. Downing Street partygoers can vomit on the floor and chuck around food and drinks, because it is the minions who clear up the mess.
The general secretary of the United Voices of the World, a small union that organises many low-paid staff in London, commented to the Guardian (May 26) that “These workers face disrespect on a daily basis in offices around London, not just in Downing Street.” Petros Elia added, “Most of the cleaners and security guards out there are ethnic minority workers. Black, brown and migrant people, who are disproportionately impacted by poor working conditions and radicalised inequalities.”
Party to celebrate Cummings departure not investigated
Despite the condemnations in the report, there many questions that remain unanswered, however. Why, for example, did the report not deal with the so-called noisy ‘Abba’ party in the Prime Minister’s private flat celebrating the departure of Dominic Cummings? This was a noisy, drink-fuelled affair that went on late into the night. Why were some participants in social gatherings given Fixed Penalty Notices by the Metropolitan Police while others were not?
Why was Johnson given only one FPN, when he clearly attended several other parties? What was discussed at the private meeting between Sue Gray and Johnson a few days before the report was published and did he ask, as some newspapers have suggested, (like Murdoch’s Times, May 24) that the report be dropped?
And so it goes. Johnson is desperate to move on from Partygate, but it is a sore that will fester for a long time. It will not be forgotten by the millions of people who assiduously stood by the rules and all those who were denied access to loved ones in care homes, in hospitals or even on their deathbeds.
Johnson’s whole journalistic, mayoral and parliamentary career has been based on lies and deception and now some chickens at least are coming home to roost. He has always been a ‘chancer’ and the development of an atmosphere of partying, where the ‘rules don’t apply to us’ is down to him more than anyone. After repeatedly denying in parliament that parties had taken place, the whole country now knows they did.
Johnson might weather this particular storm – he’s good at blagging and bluffing his way through such problems and the ranks of Tory MPs are virtually supine in their support of him. But the poison and corruption at the heart of government is raising a stink that is increasingly difficult to hide. According to a snap YouGov poll, 59% of the population think Johnson should resign. The longer he hangs on, the bigger the crash when he does fall, as he certainly will. It is only a matter of time.
