Sue Gray: Downing Street Lockdown Parties Were A Failure Of Leadership.

Sue Gray has blamed a "lack of leadership" for allowing parties to take place in Downing Street during a state of emergency.

The top civil servant says some incidents "should not have been allowed to take place" in his long-awaited findings.

Ms Gray looked into 16 different gatherings, including three that were previously unknown.

As he faced questions and criticism from MPs, Boris Johnson stated that he fully accepted the results.

According to Ms Gray's findings, the Metropolitan Police is examining 12 instances over eight dates for alleged Covid rule violations.

The PM has apologized for attending the "bring your own booze" reception in the Downing Street garden on May 20, 2020, and the PM's birthday celebration on June 19, 2020.

A party at Mr Johnson's Downing Street flat on November 13, 2020 is also being investigated by the police.

Mr Johnson said he would not give a "running commentary" on something that was being probed by the police when asked by Labour MPs if he was at that party.

Ms Gray claims that the Met's inquiries have "seriously constrained" how much she can say and that she is unable to issue a "meaningful" report at this time.

She does, however, make pointed criticisms of the culture among senior civil servants and staff in Downing Street, claiming that some of the gatherings did not meet the high standards "expected of the entire British population at the time" and that too little thought was given to how they might appear to the public.

"At various moments, different components of No 10 and the Cabinet Office failed in their leadership and judgment," she says.

"Some of the events should never have happened in the first place. Other events should not have been permitted to unfold in the manner that they did."

She goes on to say that "excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time," presumably in response to stories of drunken behavior in the Number 10 garden and workers loading a suitcase with bottles of wine, and she suggests a "strong" alcohol policy.

Mr Johnson's premiership has been rocked by weeks of damaging news about parties in Downing Street and other government facilities, therefore the study is critical.

Many Conservative MPs stated they would wait for the report's conclusions before deciding whether or not to try to remove him from power.

They can force a vote on his status if at least 54 of them send letters of no confidence to the 1922 Committee, which represents backbench Tory MPs.

On Monday evening, Mr Johnson spoke to the committee, and cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg said the "feeling was upbeat."

One Conservative MP, a long-time critic of the prime minister, said opponents' chances of gathering the signatures needed to force a vote were slim, but he termed the party "deluded."