London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Oct 18, 2025

Johnson must act on Gray report’s whistleblower proposals, say Lib Dems

Johnson must act on Gray report’s whistleblower proposals, say Lib Dems

Ed Davey says PM should make it easier for No 10 officials to raise concerns about wrongdoing at work
Boris Johnson should act immediately on Sue Gray’s recommendation to help whistleblowers raise concerns about wrongdoing, the Liberal Democrats have said, arguing the prime minister is “picking and choosing” which parts of her report to implement.

Ed Davey, the party’s leader, has written to Johnson calling for action over what he called “staggering failures” in helping officials to challenge misconduct, and seeking details on how often staff had expressed worries about lockdown gatherings.

The interim report by Gray, a senior civil servant, into alleged breaches of Covid rules inside Downing Street and elsewhere in government withheld most details due to a continuing police investigation into potential lawbreaking.

However, it condemned “failures of leadership and judgment”, and also warned that some staff had “wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so”.

Gray recommended: “There should be easier ways for staff to raise such concerns informally, outside of the line management chain.”

While Johnson has apologised for the failings, and has since significantly shaken up his senior No 10 team, Davey said there was as yet no evidence of action being taken to help would-be whistleblowers.

Boris Johnson stood up in parliament and committed to accepting Sue Gray’s findings in full,” Davey said. “But since then he has been picking and choosing what to implement, focusing on strengthening his position instead of preventing future law-breaking in No 10.”

Using a parliamentary question, the party asked the Cabinet Office, which works closely alongside Downing Street, and which was connected to some claims of social gatherings, what whistleblowing guidance it had in place.

The response said that “if individuals suspect wrongdoing, they have a responsibility to speak up”, stressing that this included potentially illegal actions.

In his letter to Johnson, Davey said: “Reading this guidance, it is quite clear that there have been staggering failures in regards to the whistleblowing policy at the top of government. Either staff simply felt unable to raise concerns about continued social gatherings in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, or their concerns were ignored by senior management.”

Davey said that despite the reorganisation there had been no information on how to assist staff in raising worries: “It is extremely concerning that your response to this highly critical interim report has been to make changes which benefit you, rather than make it easier for your staff to report potentially criminal activity in future.”

He asked Johnson to outline how many concerns about the social gatherings were raised, whether there were any consequences for whistleblowers, and to instruct Samantha Jones, the newly appointed permanent secretary of the new Office of the Prime Minister, to update the whistleblowing policy in Downing Street and the Cabinet Office “as a matter of priority”.

“For the good of the country and for the sake of our national security, we need a culture in No 10 and the Cabinet Office which welcomes staff who blow the whistle – not one in which staff feel unable to speak up,” Davey wrote. “As prime minister, it is incumbent on you to understand the gravity of these concerns and urgently resolve the real problems which Sue Gray has outlined.”

A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We are making immediate changes to No 10 to address the issues identified in the Sue Gray report.

“This week we appointed a permanent secretary to lead the new Office for the Prime Minister. She will be reviewing the structures and operations in place to improve No 10 and ensure the team are supported to deliver on the prime minister’s agenda.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
×