Heads need to roll

Due to constraints of the police investigation, the long awaited Sue Gray report turned out to be less explosive than many expected. Her report into lockdown parties in Downing Street delves into 16 events – 12 of which are currently under investigation by the Metropolitan Police, and restrictions have been placed on what could be said about these parties.

However, despite the obvious watering-down of the document, there are still many damning conclusions in Ms Gray’s report. From a failure of leadership and judgment at No 10, to serious failures to observe standards expected by the public in lockdown.

One of the most concerning points raised in the report is the drinking culture which seems to permeate throughout Downing Street. Ms Gray notes, “The excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time”, and she recommends that every government department should have a ‘clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol’.

The idea that anyone needs to be told that excessive consumption of alcohol is not appropriate in a workplace seems inconceivable to most right-thinking people. Every day most of us get up and go to work with a clear head to try and do our job to the best of our ability – not so in Downing Street. It’s not just coming to work having had one too many the night before, staff are actually drinking in their work place. Imagine going in to hospital to be operated on by a surgeon who had been drinking, or getting on a bus where the driver couldn’t pass a breath test.

These aren’t flippant comparisons – the people in Downing Street were making laws and imposing restrictions which impacted on every part of our lives, and apparently they were doing so while under the influence.

If it wasn’t so serious it would be laughable.

Sue Gray has promised a more comprehensive report once the police investigation is complete. But do we even need it? It’s clear the current administration is rotten, heads need to roll, and they need to do so from the top down.