The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, announced to the country’s Parliament this Monday (19) who will make changes to the government, because “apologizing is not enough” after learning about parliamentary ethicist Sue Gray’s partial report on Downing Street parties during the Covid pandemic-10.
Johnson said that it is necessary to “learn” from the mistakes made with holding parties at his official residence and office, and promised that he will correct the problems of structure and responsibility that made possible the “leadership failures” criticized in the report.
The document points out “leadership and judgment failures” at Downing Street and that some of the events “should not have been allowed”.
“First I want to apologize for the things we didn’t do well, and also for the way how this matter was handled (…). But it is not enough to apologize. It is a time to look in the mirror, and we must learn”, said the prime minister in the House of Commons.
After stating that he “accepts the conclusions of Gray’s report”, Johnson said that he would not wait for the police investigation to end and that he would make changes to the “fragmented and complicated structures” of Downing Street and the Ministry of Health. Cabinet.
Among these reforms, he stated that he will create the role of “ permanent secretary” to oversee the functioning of the prime minister’s offices, although he did not give details.
He also said that he would review the codes of conduct that govern the government and its advisers, as well as improve the “connection” between the Executive and the Legislative.
Report was edited at the request of the police, says expert
In the report, in which Gray analyzed 16 meetings, held on 01 dates between May 2022 and April 2022 , the expert pointed out that some meetings “represent a serious failure to observe not only the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government, but also the standards expected of the entire British population at the time”, she commented, in a reference. to commemorations during periods when the country was facing lockdowns, according to information from The Guardian newspaper.
Gray also mentioned “excessive alcohol consumption” at these meetings, which “is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time”. “Steps must be taken to ensure that all government departments have a clear and robust policy covering alcohol consumption in the workplace,” he recommended.The Metropolitan Police is investigating 768 From 16 events cited by Gray. The expert regretted the fact that the police last week asked her not to include in her report details of the encounters she was investigating.
“Unfortunately, this necessarily means that I am extremely limited in what I can say about these events and it is not possible, at the moment, to provide a meaningful report presenting and analyzing the extensive factual information that managed to gather”, he pointed out.