The staff working for Boris Johnson in Downing Street during the confinement showed little respect for the rules in force during that time, and “at least in some of his meetings he committed a serious breach when it came to observing, not only the ethical rules those who work in the heart of the Government, but those that could be required of the British population in general during this time. The permanent deputy secretary of the Cabinet Office, Sue Gray, has delivered this Monday to Boris Johnson a first “update” of his report on the prohibited parties in Downing Street, because the full report will not yet see the light. Gray has preferred to remove as soon as possible from her an issue that burned in her hands, despite the fact that her decision will not satisfy the Labor opposition.
Gray has met the demand of New Scotland Yard (as the Metropolitan Police is known, for its headquarters) and the text contains “minimal references” to the twelve parties that the police are investigating for alleged criminal offences. Thus, the report is incompletely exposed to public opinion, and is almost more relevant for what it hides than for what it reveals. The famous March 20, 2020 party that Johnson attended, or the surprise birthday that his wife, Carrie Symonds, prepared for him in the Cabinet Room (the room with the oval table where the entire Government meets) are not reflected. in detail, with which the obvious implication will be that there are serious indications that the legal regulations were broken.
Gray, however, has delivered a harsher text than could be expected in recent hours, in which he describes an environment in Downing Street where there was “an excessive consumption of alcohol that is never appropriate in the workplace”, and “failures in the leadership and judgment employed by different departments at 10 Downing Street”. “Some events should never have been allowed, and others should have been allowed in another way,” the report says. In this way, Gray does not directly point to Johnson or attribute personal responsibility, “although there are already lessons that can be drawn from all these events and that must be immediately addressed by the Government, without the need to wait for the investigations of the investigation to conclude.” Police,” warns Gray.
The intervention, in the middle of last week, of the London Metropolitan Police introduced more confusion to the scandal that has paralyzed British political activity in recent weeks. If at first he put Johnson on the ropes, by announcing that he was opening his own investigation and giving the seriousness of an alleged criminal offense to the whole matter of the parties in Downing Street, he paradoxically contributed to releasing the tension faced by the conservative politician. For two reasons. In the first place, because the police authorities demanded that Gray’s report omit references to the parties that Scotland Yard is still investigating, to avoid possible interference. In this way, the prime minister can go to the House of Commons on Monday with a decaffeinated report that allows him to get out of the set. The delay caused by this bureaucratic confrontation has also provided Johnson with extra oxygen, with a weekend in between that has deflated passions and calmed spirits, especially among conservative deputies.
It is virtually certain that the prime minister will announce a serious reshuffle of his current government team. Heads will roll to convey a sense of repentance and punishment, after a scandal that has irritated most of the public and that has plummeted Johnson’s credibility and popularity, according to the latest polls. And there will be announcements to the taste of the hard wing of the conservatives, such as new laws to exploit the consequences of Brexit, whose entry into force marks two years this Monday. Sanctions and a strong hand against Russia, due to the Ukraine crisis. And an extra trick: the decision to eliminate the compulsory nature of the covid-19 vaccine for health personnel, a measure that caused one of the biggest rebellions to date among conservative deputies.
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