London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Oct 06, 2025

Named and shamed: who are the politicians and aides in Sue Gray report

Named and shamed: who are the politicians and aides in Sue Gray report

Gray decided naming most senior officials involved was in public interest

Several senior politicians and civil servants have been criticised in Sue Gray’s damning report that shone a light on Covid rule-breaking parties in Westminster.

While she said she onlywanted to name only “the most high-ranking individuals” who knew about, attended or organised such gatherings, Gray decided it was in the public interest to confirm their identity.

Boris Johnson


The prime minister was found to have attended eight of the 15 events investigated. He provided cheese and wine from his flat for the infamous garden party on 15 May 2020, and was present at several other gatherings where Gray said alcohol was available.

Though he escaped being criticised by name, Gray said that “the senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility” for the culture of rule-breaking.

She said Johnson was “not aware” of the birthday event he was fined by police for attending, though newly published pictures in her report show him brandishing a can of beer in the cabinet room.

Gray admitted she did not properly investigate a “meeting” with food and booze in the Downing Street flat on the evening of 13 November 2020, which Johnson and five unnamed special advisers attended.

Martin Reynolds


As Johnson’s most senior civil service aide, the man who became known as “party Marty” for organising a “bring your own booze” gathering and still holds a senior post in government was found to have ignored warnings about the event.

Reynolds signed off the invite to the drinks, telling an official who drafted it: “That is great – please issue.” He also sent an individual invite to other senior civil servants.

About 200 people were invited, and up to 40 attended – including Johnson. Reynolds left for a meeting halfway through but then re-joined.

In a WhatsApp message on an unknown date, Reynolds appeared to suggest he knew the gathering was wrong. He told a special adviser No 10 appeared to have “got away with” it.

Reynolds also discussed a leaving event in June 2020 for No 10 official Hannah Young, which he was also warned risked breaking the rules, and approved plans for the Johnson’s birthday gathering.

Stuart Glassborow


Reynolds’ deputy was also present at several events.

After being advised against a leaving do for Young, an unnamed No 10 official said in an email to her that Reynolds and Glassborow “would like to do speeches tomorrow when we have your drinks which aren’t drinks”.

The event took place in No 10 and continued in the Cabinet Office, and Gray said door logs showed Glassborow and Reynolds used the link door between the two buildings.

Simon Case


Having had to recuse himself from leading the Whitehall investigation after being found to have attended a gathering himself that ended up being examined by Gray, Simon Case also bore the brunt of some criticism.

He attended a leaving do in the cabinet room, where alcohol was consumed, and is pictured laughing as Johnson raised a glass at the birthday bash.

Though Gray also did not level criticism directly at him, she appeared to blame him for the attendance of other officials by appearing to legitimise the events. She concluded: “Some of the more junior civil servants believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders.”

Lee Cain


As the director of communications in No 10, Cain was revealed to have had serious concerns about the impression that gatherings being held in defiance of Covid laws would have given.

He wrote in an email to Reynolds ahead of the “bring your own booze” party that “a 200-odd-person invitation for drinks in the garden of No 10 is somewhat of a comms risk in the current environment”.

Cain said he also attended, but just to check who was there.

WhatsApp messages also show he told Reynolds not to hold the leaving do for Young, writing: “I’m not sure it works at all to be honest, which would be a shame. I don’t see how we can have some kind of party.”

However, one of the events investigated by Gray was the leaving drinks for Cain held in November 2020. Johnson attended and drink alcohol there.

Dominic Cummings


Relatively little mention is made of the prime minister’s former most senior aide.

Gray said Cummings raised concerns with Reynolds about the drinks gathering in writing but that she had not been given “any documentary evidence of this”.

Cummings also attended Young’s leaving do.

Helen MacNamara


During the much more raucous second part of the party to mark Young’s departure, the deputy cabinet secretary attended.

MacNamara provided a karaoke machine, and Gray noted that during the evening there was “excessive alcohol consumption”, one person was sick and a fight broke out.

Rishi Sunak


After the chancellor was fined for attending the prime minister’s birthday event, pictures were published by Gray that showed him leaning on a chair next to Johnson.

However, the report said Sunak was only there briefly, had “arrived early” for a meeting and had “no advance knowledge about what had been planned”.

Cleo Watson


A special adviser to Dominic Cummings, Watson said she was asked to organise Johnson’s birthday gathering.

Matt Hancock


He got only a minor mention in the report, but the then health secretary was acknowledged for having attended the 15 May 2020 garden gathering for about 25 minutes.

Gray said it came just after a press conference at which the public were urged to follow all Covid rules, but that the nearly two dozen officials pictured in the Downing Street garden was “actually a number of separate meetings”.

Carrie Johnson


The third person fined for attending Johnson’s birthday event, Johnson’s wife also got a short mention – given she also joined the gathering in the garden on 15 May 2020.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×