London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 19, 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
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
×