The former Prime Minister and his closest advisors’ actions with Partygate and other rule breaks have been found to have directly distressed Brits who observed the rules while caring for loved ones
Partygate: Image shows Boris Johnson at leaving party in November 2020
Boris Johnson, his ministers and advisors – including Dominic Cummings – caused “huge distress” when they flouted the rules during the Covid pandemic and massively undermined their own messaging, the inquiry into its handling as concluded.
The Covid Inquiry, chaired by Heather Hallett, Baroness Hallett, handed down a damning verdict on the ex-PM’s handling of the pandemic, branding inaction after the devastating disease reached British shores “inexcusable”. It was concluded today that ministers had repeatedly failed to bring in restrictions at speed, decisions which cost thousands of lives and required additional full lockdowns that the inquiry found would have been otherwise unnecessary.
Pandemic parties and gatherings repeatedly held in Downing Street and later exposed by the Daily Mirror were particularly damaging to the government’s attempts to quash the virus, not only leaving members of the public in “distress” but also increasing the risk that people would not comply with existing rules designed to protect their lives.
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The government’s messaging first suffered a heavy blow in 2020 after Dominic Cummings – then Mr Johnson’s closest advisor – was found to have violated the first lockdown by driving from his London home to a property in County Durham despite his family experiencing symptoms of the killer virus. Matt Hancock, the then Health Secretary, was also forced to resign for breaking restrictions after being filmed in a romantic embrace with a co-worker.
Baroness Hallett’s report found blatant flouting by ministers had caused “huge distress”, especially for those who had “endured huge personal costs” to follow the rules. It stated: “The pandemic response also exposed wider cultural issues. The very least the public should be entitled to expect is that those making the rules will abide by them.
“Instances where ministers and advisers appeared to break Covid-19 rules caused huge distress to the public. This was especially the case for people who had endured huge personal costs to stick to the rules, with many bereaved people unable to be with their loved ones when they died.”
“Instances where rule-breaking was not swiftly addressed also undermined public confidence and increased the risk of people not complying with the rules designed to protect them,” the report added. The report acknowledged “public outcry” when the Daily Mirror exposed Partygate in 2021, resulting in penalty notices being issued for more than 100 people who took part in prohibited social events at 10 Downing Street.
Mr Johnson and his Chancellor Rishi Sunak were both fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending gatherings or parties that broke the Covid rules their government had imposed. The report said: “Events that have become known as ‘partygate’ were first reported in the media in November 2021. The Metropolitan Police Service confirmed that it had made 126 referrals for fixed penalty notices in respect of social events taking place within 10 Downing Street, in breach of the regulations at the time, but did not specify to whom they were issued.”
“Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak both confirmed that they had received a fixed penalty notice for their attendance at an event at 10 Downing Street on 19 June 2020. The events resulted in public outcry.”
The Partygate scandal caused a fall in people who were willing to comply with pandemic rules. A YouGov survey found that, of the 46% of people who reported that they were unlikely to follow restrictions over Christmas 2021, 21% stated that this was because “Government don’t stick to rules/Downing Street parties”
After eighteen months of acrimony and scandal, Mr Johnson was found by the House of Commons ‘ Privileges Committee to have deliberately misled parliament when he insisted to MPs that all rules had been followed.