extension of the office, which was sensible, but then things changed, the garden was also used for gatherings without clear authorisation or oversight. critically, some staff wanted to raise the alarm, some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but they did not feel they could. those are some of the findings of this limited report from sue gray, limited because the metropolitan police asked her to take out key aspects of the reports. let me read you the conclusion. the gathering, this is the conclusion of a scaled back report, the gatherings within the scope of this investigation are spread over a 20 month period. a period that has been unique in recent times in terms of the complexity and breadth of the demands on public servants and indeed the general public. the whole of the country rose to the challenge, ministers, special advisers and the civil service, of
they have actually removed from the very report. sue they have actually removed from the ve reort. ,, , . they have actually removed from the very report- very report. sue gray mentions a number of very report. sue gray mentions a number of times very report. sue gray mentions a number of times in very report. sue gray mentions a number of times in this - very report. sue gray mentions a number of times in this reports l very report. sue gray mentions a i number of times in this reports how affected everybody across the country was by the pandemic. quote, everyone has made personal sacrifices, some the most profound, having been unable to see loved ones in the last moments or care for vulnerable family or friends. unquote. and she talks about. she doesn t use the word disconnect but that s what it seems like, a disconnect between what was going on here and the behaviour here when it came to covid restrictions, and what by and large the rest of the country were doing, following
no covid rules were broken. how do those statements look now, in the light of sue gray s partial report? i mean, it is obvious, isn t it? none of us have to look very deeply to realise that what he said was not correct, it was a lie. there is no other way of looking at that and we have heard it repeatedly because this story has changed day by day and week by week and now we have got to whatever his latest position is, which is 8 million miles away from the original position that there were no parties at all and he would be curious of any such thing had taken place. he was there at a number of these events that by anybody s estimation, including his own, he has not denied that subsequently, and now sue gray has quite understandably put quite strong language into that report about how very unacceptable this is and how it absolutely should not have happened. and of course, as i said, that is only part of the
high stakes stuff. this is a big political moment and it will be fascinating to see what impact it has on borisjohnson s position as prime minister. has on boris johnson s position as prime minister. has on boris johnson s position as prime minister. thank you. we will be back with prime minister. thank you. we will be back with you prime minister. thank you. we will be back with you as prime minister. thank you. we will be back with you as soon prime minister. thank you. we will be back with you as soon as - prime minister. thank you. we will be back with you as soon as the - be back with you as soon as the report lines. thank you very much. the report lands. so we ve been hearing a lot about sue gray the senior civil servant who s carried out this investigation. bbc northern ireland political correspondent gareth gordon has interviewed her in the past and has this profile of the woman investigating downing street. they used to call sue gray the most powerful civil serva
the last few weeks. absolutely, and one of the reasons this issue blew l one of the reasons this issue blew up one of the reasons this issue blew up the way it did a few weeks ago, when we were talking about the possibility of a confidence vote in borisjohnson, was because so many tory mps were being inundated with e mails and letters from their constituents, furious that they felt the stories they were hearing about what had gone on in downing street were a complete paradox to the way they had been living their own lives during lockdown. i don t think we are going to get conclusions to date on some of the most serious allegations. it seems a fair bet they are the ones the metropolitan police are looking into. maybe sue grayjust police are looking into. maybe sue gray just addresses police are looking into. maybe sue grayjust addresses some of police are looking into. maybe sue gray just addresses some of the broader themes of some of the specifics which the metropolitan police isn t l