London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Nov 19, 2025

Sue Gray report: 'I wish I'd taken a fine to be with my dying husband'

Sue Gray report: 'I wish I'd taken a fine to be with my dying husband'

"I wish I hadn't followed the rules, I'd have taken the fine," Sara said, adding she would have given anything to spend more time with her dying husband.

She told BBC Radio 5 Live she followed the rules because she thought the government was doing the right thing.

Like many of those bereaved by Covid she is angry at the revelations in the Sue Gray report into Westminster parties during lockdown.

Boris Johnson said he took "full responsibility" and was "humbled".

Sara, who is from Surrey but asked us not to use her full name, said she had been unable to go with her husband Tony, 59, when he was rushed to hospital during the first lockdown, back in 2020.

While she was able to visit him briefly, the rules at the time meant she had to leave after a few hours and he died when she was not with him.

"I'd have taken the fine because that's what [Mr Johnson] appears to be doing," she said. "He didn't follow the rules, his staff didn't follow the rules, they've taken the fine."

Sara, 60, said she had been "distraught" but had listened to the government's messages and followed the rules.

"I did and I wish I hadn't," she said. "Neither of my kids could be there, they had to Facetime their father. Their last memory of their father was to Facetime him and my last memory is him saying to me 'I'll see you tomorrow morning'.

"One of the events - on 20 May when they had the 'bring your own beer' [event] - was the day I buried my husband and I had just my kids with me. And it's just not fair.

"I'd have given anything for extra time to have been with him and it's just not fair."

She added it was not just about a few drinks but about the credibility of the government - and said Downing Street and the office of the prime minister had been brought into disrepute.

Sara is not alone in her anger - the campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice says the prime minister had treated them like "dirt" and as an "inconvenience".

Group spokesman Lobby Akinnola, whose father Olufemi Akinnola died as a result of coronavirus in April 2020 aged 60, said: "When they were texting colleagues about getting away with it, we were having to text our families telling them they couldn't come to their loved ones' funerals.

"The messages in the report show they knew how disrespectful they were being to the families they were failing, but that didn't bother them.

"Not content with partying whilst he failed to protect our loved ones, the prime minister has now spent months ignoring and lying to us."

Safiah Ngah, 29, called for Mr Johnson to resign over the "raucous and savage behaviour" in Downing Street.

She told the PA news agency restrictions in place last February meant she was unable to say a final goodbye in person to her 68-year-old father Zahari Ngah.

Safiah Ngah, whose father died last February, says the prime minister should resign over "raucous and savage behaviour" in Westminster


Her family had to settle for a video call as their last contact while government officials were "cheers-ing", partying and joking about getting away with it, she said.

"It's disgusting. It makes me embarrassed to be British," she said.

Lyndsay Greenwood, who lost her father to Covid in January 2021, described Ms Gray's report as "a bit of a farce", saying it does not hold Mr Johnson to account.

"I didn't expect anything more, didn't expect any resignations," she said. "He's using the energy crisis as a distraction tactic - it's always distractions, but actually this is something that needs looking at too."

"Yes I lost my dad, but it's not just about that. It's the ongoing impacts of the pandemic, especially financially with people having to have gone on furlough."

She said there was "no leadership" and said the prime minister should have stepped down.

But not everyone has put the blame at the prime minister's door.

Mary Smith, whose husband Terry died during the pandemic, said the report was all "what we've heard before" and said she did not have any confidence that Labour would have done better in power.

"He's a buffoon, he did wrong. But personally I think the other issues he's handling well," she said. "I'm pretty fed up of hearing about it."

She added: "I don't bear any grudges about how [husband] Terry died but I am angry about people not wearing masks on the bus that he caught it from."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Caribbean Reparations Commission Seeks ‘Mutually Beneficial’ Justice from UK
EU Insists UK Must Contribute Financially for Access to Electricity Market and Broader Ties
UK to Outlaw Live-Event Ticket Resales Above Face Value
President Donald Trump Hosts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at White House to Seal Major Defence and Investment Deals
German Entertainment Icons Alice and Ellen Kessler Die Together at Age 89
UK Unveils Sweeping Asylum Reforms with 20-Year Settlement Wait and Conditional Status
UK Orders Twitter Hacker to Repay £4.1 Million Following 2020 High-Profile Breach
Popeyes UK Eyes Century Mark as Fried-Chicken Chain Accelerates Roll-out
Two-thirds of UK nurses report working while unwell amid staffing crisis
Britain to Reform Human-Rights Laws in Sweeping Asylum Policy Overhaul
Nearly Half of Job Losses Under Labour Government Affect UK Youth
UK Chancellor Reeves Eyes High-Value Home Levy in Budget to Raise Tens of Billions
UK Urges Poland to Choose Swedish Submarines in Multi-Billion € Defence Bid
US Border Czar Tom Homan Declares UK No Longer a ‘Friend’ Amid Intelligence Rift
UK Announces Reversal of Income Tax Hike Plans Ahead of Budget
Starmer Faces Mounting Turmoil as Leaked Briefings Ignite Leadership Plot Rumours
UK Commentator Sami Hamdi Returns Home After US Visa Revocation and Detention
UK Eyes Denmark-Style Asylum Rules in Major Migration Shift
UK Signals Intelligence Freeze Amid US Maritime Drug-Strike Campaign
TikTok Awards UK & Ireland 2025 Celebrates Top Creators Including Max Klymenko as Creator of the Year
UK Growth Nearly Stalls at 0.1% in Q3 as Cyberattack Halts Car Production
Apple Denied Permission to Appeal UK App Store Ruling, Faces Over £1bn Liability
UK Chooses Wylfa for First Small Modular Reactors, Drawing Sharp U.S. Objection
Starmer Faces Growing Labour Backlash as Briefing Sparks Authority Crisis
Reform UK Withdraws from BBC Documentary Amid Legal Storm Over Trump Speech Edit
UK Prime Minister Attempts to Reassert Authority Amid Internal Labour Leadership Drama
UK Upholds Firm Rules on Stablecoins to Shield Financial System
Brussels Divided as UK-EU Reset Stalls Over Budget Access
Prince Harry’s Remembrance Day Essay Expresses Strong Regret at Leaving Britain
UK Unemployment Hits 5% as Wage Growth Slows, Paving Way for Bank of England Rate Cut
Starmer Warns of Resurgent Racism in UK Politics as He Vows Child-Poverty Reforms
UK Grocery Inflation Slows to 4.7% as Supermarkets Launch Pre-Christmas Promotions
UK Government Backs the BBC amid Editing Scandal and Trump Threat of Legal Action
UK Assessment Mis-Estimated Fallout From Palestine Action Ban, Records Reveal
UK Halts Intelligence Sharing with US Amid Lethal Boat-Strike Concerns
King Charles III Leads Britain in Remembrance Sunday Tribute to War Dead
UK Retail Sales Growth Slows as Households Hold Back Ahead of Black Friday and Budget
Shell Pulls Out of Two UK Floating Wind Projects Amid Renewables Retreat
Viagogo Hit With £15 Million Tax Bill After HMRC Transfer-Pricing Inquiry
Jaguar Land Rover Cyberattack Pinches UK GDP, Bank of England Says
UK and Germany Sound Alarm on Russian-Satellite Threat to Critical Infrastructure
Former Prince Andrew Faces U.S. Congressional Request for Testimony Amid Brexit of Royal Title
BBC Director-General Tim Davie and News CEO Deborah Turness Resign Amid Editing Controversy
Tom Cruise Arrives by Helicopter at UK Scientology Fundraiser Amid Local Protests
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Face Fresh UK Probes Amid Royal Fallout
Mothers Link Teen Suicides to AI Chatbots in Growing Legal Battle
UK Government to Mirror Denmark’s Tough Immigration Framework in Major Policy Shift
UK Government Turns to Denmark-Style Immigration Reforms to Overhaul Border Rules
UK Chancellor Warned Against Cutting Insulation Funding as Budget Looms
UK Tenant Complaints Hit Record Levels as Rental Sector Faces Mounting Pressure
×