STARK new pics of rule-breaking in Downing Street are laid bare today as Sue Gray finally publishes her damning Partygate probe.
The raucous bashes in No10 and Whitehall are laid bare in the 37 page bombshell which also included nine photos of boozy bashes – with Gray ruling “many of these event should not have happened.”
The snaps show the PM toasting colleagues with a small can of beer, while shop-bought sandwiches are strewn across the Cabinet desk.
Top senior civil servant Simon Case can be seen laughing, while in another pic, Chancellor Rishi Sunak lingers close to the PM as he holds a pot of salad.
Later the PM will tell MPs: “I commissioned this report to set the record straight and allow us all to move on.
“I accept full responsibility for my failings.
“I am humbled by the whole experience and have learned our lesson.”
Cabinet enforcer Gray took aim at the PM and top officials in the report.
She said: “I have already commented in my update on what I found to be failures of leadership and judgment in No 10 and the Cabinet Office.
“The events that I investigated were attended by leaders in government.
Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen.
“It is also the case that some of the more junior civil servants believed that their involvement in some of these events was permitted given the attendance of senior leaders.
“The senior leadership at the centre, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture.”
Downing Street staff were worried about the lockdown rule breaking they witnessed at work – but felt unable to raise the alarm, the Gray report found.
While other No10 insiders showed a “lack of respect” towards cleaners and security staff, she added.
The report states: “I found that some staff had witnessed or been subjected to behaviours at work which they had felt concerned about but at times felt unable to raise properly.
“I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable.”
She added: “I hope that this will truly embed a culture that welcomes and creates opportunities for challenge and speaking up at all levels.”
Gray said the blame for the lockdown breaking lay squarely with the those at the top of government,
She said: “I do offer a reflection: while there is no excuse for some of the behaviour set out here it is important to acknowledge that those in the most junior positions attended gatherings at which their seniors were present, or indeed organised.”
Brits will be sickened and appalled at the illegal lockdown breaking, the report found.
It states: “Many will be dismayed that behaviour of this kind took place on this scale at the heart of Government.
“The public have a right to expect the very highest standards of behaviour in such places and clearly what happened fell well short of this.”
The report includes three pictures that show the PM’s birthday bash in the Cabinet office for which he was fined, along with Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Mr Case was in the room – heaping more pressure on the Met Police to explain why the most senior civil servant was not slapped with a £50 fixed penalty notice.
There are six other pictures – all from spin doctor Lee Cain’s leaving do – four of which had already been leaked to ITV.
The PM will now face a punishing day of awkward questions over the Sue Gray report into Downing Street lockdown breaking – with an apology at PMQs expected, followed by a public address at a press conference later today.
His weekly audience with the Queen is also pencilled in for tonight as BoJo faces the music over dozens of rule-breaking breaking gatherings at the heart of government at the height of Covid.
Mr Johnson will also try to soothe baying Tory critics with a closed-door meeting of Conservative MPs later – in a packed day of Partygate pressure.
The 37 page Gray report was emailed over to Downing Street this morning and was printed off by staffer before being handed to the PM.
Read more on Partygate
Just two days ago, bombshell pics showing Boris raising a toast while surrounded by bottles of booze were leaked.
The photos show the PM lifting a glass while surrounded by staff at a leaving do for his comms chief Lee Cain on November 13, 2020.
At the time meetings between people from separate households were prohibited – unless they were in an “exclusive support bubble”.
Cops did NOT fine Mr Johnson over the event and only stung him for a single birthday bash in the Cabinet Room.
This afternoon, the embattled leader is expected to grovel for forgiveness in the Commons as the full extent of Partygate is finally laid bare.
He will then seek to see off a leadership challenge with a private apology session to Tory MPs before seeing the Queen, possibly on Zoom.
Ms Gray was still tweaking the “hefty” report just a week after the Met finally finished their Partygate investigation with more than 126 fines dished out to 83 people.
As it was being finalised, tensions between Ms Gray and No10 exploded into an open briefing war – including toxic claims the PM suggested the report never see the light of day after the cops concluded their own investigation.
The accusation in The Times surfaced after a number of hostile attacks online and in newspapers against Ms Gray and the political neutrality of her team and Labour links of her family.
Downing Street formally denied putting pressure on Gray to bin her report, saying: “The Prime Minister wants the report to be published.
Read More on HOAR
“He’s looking forward to the conclusion of the report and it being put in the public domain.”
Mr Johnson’s official spokesman added: “The PM did not ask for that report to be not proceeded with or to be dropped.”
