The UK government has denied allegations that it pushed for a watering down of senior official Sue Gray’s Partygate report.
The Sunday Times previously reported on Sunday, citing inside sources, that Downing Street’s chief of staff had taken action shortly before publication to ensure that certain names and other details and messages about certain parties should not be published – according to the newspaper in some cases with Success. However, the official is said to have insisted on her version on crucial points.
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“Anyone who has worked at 10 Downing Street knows Sue Gray well enough to know it wouldn’t work,” Minister Brandon Lewis told Sky News on Sunday. He was absolutely certain that no pressure had been exerted on the officer. According to the PA news agency, Downing Street itself had previously rejected this. Opposition politicians called for all communications between Downing Street and Sue Gray to be disclosed.
Gray’s report had examined the parties that had become known months ago and were celebrated in the British seat of government during the corona lockdowns. Gray accused those responsible for Prime Minister Boris Johnson of breaking the rules and serious leadership failure and called for consequences. A number of details such as the poor treatment of cleaning staff and excessive alcohol consumption, including red wine stains on the walls, once again threw a shameful light on the pandemic everyday life that prevailed in Downing Street at the time. (dpa)
