London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Nov 05, 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
Massive Spoilers Emerge from MAFS UK 2025: Couple Swaps, Dating App Leaks and Reunion Bombshells
Kurdish-led Crime Network Operates UK Mini-Marts to Exploit Migrants and Sell Illicit Goods
UK Income Tax Hike Could Trigger £1 Billion Cut to Scotland’s Budget, Warns Finance Secretary
Tommy Robinson Acquitted of Terror-related Charge After Phone PIN Dispute
Boris Johnson Condemns Western Support for Hamas at Jewish Community Conference
HII Welcomes UK’s Westley Group to Strengthen AUKUS Submarine Supply Chain
Tragedy in Serbia: Coach Mladen Žižović Collapses During Match and Dies at 44
Diplo Says He Dated Katy Perry — and Justin Trudeau
Dick Cheney, Former U.S. Vice President, Dies at 84
Trump Calls Title Removal of Andrew ‘Tragic Situation’ Amid Royal Fallout
UK Bonds Rally as Chancellor Reeves Briefs Markets Ahead of November Budget
UK Report Backs Generational Smoking Ban Ahead of Tobacco & Vapes Bill Review
UK’s Domino’s Pizza Group Reports Modest Like-for-Like Sales Growth in Q3
UK Supplies Additional Storm Shadow Missiles to Ukraine as Trump Alleges Russian Underground Nuclear Tests
High-Profile Broodmare Puca Sells for Five Million Dollars at Fasig-Tipton ‘Night of the Stars’
Wilt Chamberlain’s One-of-a-Kind ‘Searcher 1’ Supercar Heads to Auction
Erling Haaland’s Remarkable Run: 13 Premier League Goals in 10 Matches and Eyes on History
UK Labour Peer Warns of Emerging ‘Constituency for Hating Jews’ in Britain
UK Home Secretary Admits Loss of Border Control, Warns Public Trust at Risk
President Trump Expresses Sympathy for UK Royal Family After Title Stripping of Prince Andrew
Former Prince Andrew to Lose His Last Military Title as King Charles Moves to End His Public Role
King Charles Relocates Andrew to Sandringham Estate and Strips Titles Amid Epstein Fallout
Two Arrested After Mass Stabbing on UK Train Leaves Ten Hospitalised
Glamour UK Says ‘Stay Mad Jo x’ After Really Big Rowling Backlash
Former Prince Prince Andrew Faces Possible U.S. Congressional Appearance Over Jeffrey Epstein Inquiry
UK Faces £20 Billion Productivity Shortfall as Brexit’s Impact Deepens
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Eyes New Council-Tax Bands for High-Value Homes
UK Braces for Major Storm with Snow, Heavy Rain and Winds as High as 769 Miles Wide
U.S. Secures Key Southeast Asia Agreements to Reshape Rare Earth Supply Chains
US and China Agree One-Year Trade Truce After Trump-Xi Talks
BYD Profit Falls 33 % as Chinese EV Maker Doubles Down on Overseas Markets
US Philanthropists Shift Hundreds of Millions to UK to Evade Regulatory Uncertainty in Trump Era
Israeli Energy Minister Delays $35 Billion Gas Export Agreement with Egypt
King Charles Strips Prince Andrew of Titles and Royal Residence
Trump–Putin Budapest Summit Cancelled After Moscow Memo Raises Conditions for Ukraine Talks
Amazon Shares Soar 11% as Cloud Business Hits Fastest Growth Since 2022
Credit Markets Flooded with More Than $200 Billion of AI-Linked Debt Issuance
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Says China Made 'a Real Mistake' by Threatening Rare-Earth Exports
Report Claims Nearly Two Billion Dollars in Foreign Charity Funds Flowed into U.S. Advocacy Groups
White House Refutes Reports That US Targeting Military Sites in Venezuela
Meta Seeks Dismissal of Strike 3’s $350 Million Copyright Lawsuit
Apple Exceeds Forecasts With $102.5 Billion Q3 Revenue Despite iPhone Miss
Israel's IDF Major General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi Admits to Act Amounting to Aiding Hamas During Wartime (Treason)
Shawbrook IPO Marks London’s Biggest UK Listing in Two Years
UK Government Split Over Backing Brazil’s $125 Billion Tropical Forest Fund Ahead of COP30
J.K. Rowling Condemns Glamour UK Feature of Nine Trans Women as 'Men Better at Being Women'
King Charles III Removes Prince Andrew’s Titles and Orders His Departure from Royal Lodge
UK Finance Minister Reeves Releases Email Correspondence to Clarify Rental-Licence Breach
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
×