London Daily

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

Sue Gray report: Drunken No 10 party culture in lockdown laid bare

Sue Gray report: Drunken No 10 party culture in lockdown laid bare

Staff partied in Downing Street while the rest of the UK was in lockdown with the approval of their bosses, according to Sue Gray's report.

The senior civil servant said many events "should not have been allowed" and the PM and his officials "must bear responsibility for this culture".

The report highlights excessive drinking, with staff being sick, and abuse of cleaning and security staff.

Warnings about parties breaking Covid rules were ignored, it says.

Boris Johnson told MPs he took "full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch", had been "humbled by the whole experience" and had learned lessons.

And, speaking at a Downing Street press conference, he ruled out resigning, saying: "I've got to keep moving forward."

But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer - who is himself being investigated by police over his own lockdown event - called on Tory MPs to tell Mr Johnson "the game is up" and it was "time to pack his bags".

In her 37-page report, Ms Gray found:

*  Political and official leadership must bear responsibility for the culture at No 10

*  Staff partied - some until after 4am - on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral

*  At another party, in June 2020, there was "excessive alcohol consumption by some individuals. One individual was sick. There was a minor altercation between two other individuals"

*  A No 10 official sent a message referring to "drunkenness" and advising staff to leave No 10 via the back exit after a December 2020 Christmas quiz to avoid press photographers

*  "Multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff"

The PM's key aide Martin Reynolds was urged to cancel a "bring-your-own-booze" party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, as it posed "somewhat of a comms risk".

An unnamed special adviser also told Mr Reynolds via WhatsApp that it would be "helpful" if people avoided "walking around waving bottles of wine etc" ahead of the event, as it was taking place immediately after a televised Covid press conference.

Mr Reynolds later told an unnamed adviser "we seem to have got away with" the party. He has since left Downing Street, returning to his job at the Foreign Office.


A dictionary definition of "responsibility" is: "The state or fact of being answerable, or accountable for something within one's power, control, or management."

So when the prime minister declared that he had taken "ultimate responsibility" for the events in Downing Street some of the more sceptical of his MPs will have wondered if his subsequent words lived up to that billing.

He said he had not seen the empty bottle-filled bins, the altercation, the vomiting. And even when he was present and raising a glass at some of the controversial events, he was merely showing ''leadership" - wishing departing staff well.

He had left before any parties had really got started and had "no knowledge of subsequent proceedings because I simply wasn't there".

Voters will not be able to give their verdict on his veracity at a general election for quite some time.

It's his own MPs who will decide the prime minister's future. The judgment they must reach is whether this version of events is credible - or credible enough - to move on from 'Partygate'.

Mr Johnson joined five special advisers in a meeting with "food and alcohol" in his Downing Street flat on the evening of the announcement of Dominic Cummings' departure in November 2020, Ms Gray found.

The senior civil servant conceded that she had collected "limited" information because she had only begun gathering details before the Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry, and had not returned to it.

In the conclusion to her report, Ms Gray said: "Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen.

"It is also the case that some of the more junior civil servants believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders.

"The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture."

In total, 83 people have been fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaking lockdown laws in Downing Street.

These include Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who received Fixed Penalty Notices for attending the PM's birthday party in June 2020, which is among 16 events covered by the Gray report.

Mr Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have been fined over the PM's birthday party


Mr Johnson told MPs he had already brought in the senior management changes Ms Gray recommends.

He denied lying to MPs over lockdown parties but admitted it had not been correct when he told Parliament that the rules had been followed at all times.

The PM is facing an investigation by a committee of MPs into claims he knowingly misled Parliament, a finding of which would normally result in resignation.

He told MPs: "I am happy to set on the record now that when I said - I came to this House and said in all sincerity - the rules and guidance had been followed at all times, it was what I believed to be true.

"It was certainly the case when I was present at gatherings to wish staff farewell, and the House will note that my attendance at these moments - brief as it was - has not been found to be outside the rules."

He added that he had been "shocked" and "appalled" by some of Ms Gray's findings, especially over the treatment of security and cleaning staff, but it was now time to "move on".

Mr Johnson said at the press conference later that he had personally apologised to Downing Street cleaners and custodians for the "utterly unacceptable" behaviour they had been subjected to.

Sir Keir Starmer - who has said he will resign if he is fined by police over a lockdown event - said the Gray report "laid bare the rot" in No 10 and showed how people in No 10 had "treated the sacrifice of the British people with utter contempt".

SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford branded the report "damning" and called the prime minister to resign for "orchestrating" the scenes in Downing Street.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: "Any other PM would be forced to resign by a report as damaging as this, yet still Conservative MPs defend Johnson and allow him to cling on."

Later on Wednesday, the prime minister faced a meeting of Tory MPs who could ultimately decide his fate.

In the Commons, senior backbencher Tobias Ellwood, a prominent critic of the PM, asked fellow Tories: "Are you willing day in and day out to defend this behaviour publicly?"

"Can we win the general election on this current trajectory?" he added.


Prime Minister Boris Johnson: I am humbled and I have learned a lesson

Sir Keir Starmer to Boris Johnson: "You cannot be a law maker and a law breaker"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
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
×