The now infamous Sue Gray report has finally been published after a week of ‘will they – won’t they?’ from the government. Even in its heavily-redacted state, it confirms the Prime Minister showed complete disregard for the laws that he imposed on the rest of the country, and then lied about it in Parliament. The report is clear in its condemnation, describing “failures of leadership” and that “the excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate” in a work setting.
Here is a twitter thread, looking at the legal implications of the report by professor of law and human rights barrister Adam Wagner. We’re sharing this Twitter thread to get it to a wider audience.
Damning – but only in the generality. No detail of any particular event. pic.twitter.com/hGNjBnXcfu
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
The most important new information in the report is that the police are investigating all of the gatherings she was investigating except four pic.twitter.com/jJfrhjZ5qR
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
So this confirms that the police are investigating the Prime Minister’s birthday gathering, the event he attended on 20 May 2020 in the Downing St garden, but not the Christmas Quiz which the PM compered
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
Here are my takeaways from this:
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
1. It’s not a full report – an “update”. Think of it as interim findings. She accepts not “meaningful”
2. Exposes tension between this being an internal report and also of constitutional significance – she is going to lock it away from the govt! pic.twitter.com/1feAPmofVz
3. She is “extremely limited” by the police investigation and cannot provide a “meaningful report”. pic.twitter.com/zhXbWTmp6s
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
4. Only 4 of the 16 events she was investigating are *not* being investigated by the Metropolitan Police. This is the most significant new information. Remember, the Met’s threshold for investigating was very high (https://t.co/OUIWZD2m89) pic.twitter.com/Fn8FD4vtfE
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
5. The key (perhaps only) defence of the government will have been that these were unique circumstances, people working incredibly hard, practically living together etc. Sue Gray has dismissed that handily pic.twitter.com/xWIMMUPHN5
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
6. The “general findings” section of the report is very short, basically a page long. Don’t forget this is an interim not final report.
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
But they are damning and offer no mitigation
6a. “Difficult to justify” is the only line in the report where a punch appears to have been pulled and that could be more about avoiding language which could suggest a criminal offence has been committed – such as “impossible to justify”, as that would infer no reasonable excuse pic.twitter.com/PcL0VXR99x
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
She said she has “not made comment on whether individual gatherings were in line with the relevant guidance and regulations in place at the time” as it would not be “appropriate”. Her lawyer (Daniel Stilitz QC) will have helped her avoid using criminal liability language pic.twitter.com/7fjKBEXhF8
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
6b “At least some of the gatherings… represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at heart of Govt but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time.”
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
Again, avoiding language of rules and guidance pic.twitter.com/z1zGE8MEXe
6c “failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No. 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times”.
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
Again, vague – neither exonerates or directly accuses anyone
“too little thought”, “appropriateness” – careful language pic.twitter.com/NxFmOG8nYB
6d One fact which Sue Gray has found – and has therefore snuck out of the general vagueness – is that there was “excessive” consumption of alcohol in the workplace.
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
6e. Another factual finding which has snuck out of the no-factual-findings report is that the Downing Street garden was “used for gatherings without authorisation or oversight”. Nb. this is the garden of the building where the Prime Minister lives! pic.twitter.com/D3UwQlTKil
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
6f. Another damning factual finding –
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
“Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so”
What does this mean? Who/when/why?
Extraordinary that this information will not be shared with government yet! pic.twitter.com/CDNkS2xhUo
6g. In other words, 10 Downing Street is a mess in terms of leadership, responsibility and accountability. pic.twitter.com/BgYpwKnXX9
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
7. Sue Gray’s interim conclusions are again damning – and barely conceal her obvious conclusion that the gatherings didn’t comply with the rules
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
“a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.” pic.twitter.com/r9ZfFn50vz
8. Ultimately, this is an odd report as it is not doing the job which Gray was set – see terms of reference. But it is obvious that Gray has decided to say as much as she possibly can now (which has to be vague on particular events and breaches of rules) https://t.co/xIBd6ws3wY pic.twitter.com/11VBE9vU0m
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
9. The tone of the report is – for a civil service report – angry and dismayed. Aside from the one phrase I mentioned above, there is little vague or Sir Humphrey-esque language, it is clear and damning for the officials and government.
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
10. To my lawyer’s ears, the two most interesting “next steps” point are (a) knowing which gatherings are being investigated by the police – 12! – including I think 3 attended by the PM, possibly one in his own flat!
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
I have highlighted the gatherings *not* being investigated* pic.twitter.com/zxtxxGNvco
Just to pause there: there is a reasonably possibility a criminal investigation is taking place into an event which took place in the Prime Minister’s flat.
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
The 2nd point (b) which sets my lawyer’s senses tingling is that Gray is keeping her investigation’s documents securely *away from the government”. This is a constitutional mess and a half and shows problem of using an internal report to do job of an independent investigation
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
Actually, I have reread this para and it is not as ambiguous as I thought it was “the events on the date set out above*. Obvious enough that the gathering in the Prime Minister’s flat is being investigated by the police. pic.twitter.com/W6NlrtQKWV
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
Questions to ask the PM:
— Adam Wagner (@AdamWagner1) January 31, 2022
1. Do you accept the findings
2. If you accept the findings, which events should not have taken place
3. Are you under direct police investigation
4. Will you make public any fixed penalty notices you are given
This afternoon, Met Commander Catherine Roper confirmed, “We had a bundle of material provided to us just Friday which is well over 500 pieces of paper, about a ream and a half, and over 300 photographs.” This ‘material’ refers to the package handed to the Met by Sue Gray last Friday.
Johnson is now caught between a rock and a hard place. He either continues to refuse to publish the full report – which lawyers suggest there is no reason not to once the police investigation is concluded – and so face mounting criticism that overshadows everything else. Or publish it with 300 potentially damning photos.
Meanwhile, during questions in Parliament today, the PM confirmed the event in his flat on 13 November 2020 is being investigated by police – an event he denied to the house had taken place. If this event is confirmed by the police, then according to the ministerial code, Johnson will have to resign.
