In Full: Boris Johnson makes statement on Sue Gray report in House of Commons

before we move on to the first attempt i would like to assure the house following the comments made the start of questions that there will be an opportunity to pay tribute to our friend and colleague the late jack drummy and that will take place on wednesday i'm sure honourable and writerable members will welcome the opportunity to pay tribute at that point i should inform the house that given the brief period of time available to review the report i shall be allowing the leaders the opposition a little longer to question the prime minister than is usually the case and i'm sure the prime minister will wish a little longer as well at the beginning i now come to the statement prime minister thank you very much mr speaker mr speaker with your permission i would like to make a statement and first i want to express my deepest gratitude to sue gray and all the people who have contributed to this report which i've placed in the library of this house and which the government has published in full today for everyone to read i will address its findings in this statement but firstly i want to say sorry and i'm sorry for the things we simply didn't get right and also sorry for the way that this matter has been handled and it's no use saying that this or that was within the rules and it's no use saying that people were working hard [Applause] this pandemic was hard for everyone we asked people across this country to make the most extraordinary sacrifices not to meet loved ones not to visit relatives before they died and i understand the anger that people feel but mr speaker it isn't enough to say sorry this is a moment when let's look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn and while the metropolitan police must yet complete their investigation and that means there are no details of specific events in sue grey's report i of course accept sue gray's general findings in full and above all her recommendation that we must learn from these events and act now with respect to the events under police investigation she says and i quote no conclusions should be drawn or inferences made from this other than it is now for the police to consider the relevant material in relation to those incidents but more broadly she finds that there is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government this does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded that is why we are making changes now to the way downing street and the cabinet office run so that we can get on with the job the job i was elected to do mr speaker and the job that this government was elected to do [Applause] first it is time to sort out what sue grey rightly calls the fragmented and complicated leadership structures of downing street which she says have not evolved sufficiently to meet the demands of the expansion of number 10 and we will do that including by creating an office of the prime minister with a permanent secretary to lead number 10. second mr speaker it is clear from sue gray's report that it is time not just to review the civil service and special advisor codes of conduct wherever necessary to ensure that they take account of sue gray's recommendations but also to make sure that those codes are properly enforced and third i will be saying more in the coming days about the steps we will take to improve the number 10 operation and the work of the cabinet office to strengthen cabinet government and to improve the vital connection between number 10 and parliament mr speaker i get it and i will fix it and i want to say [Applause] and i want to say to the people of this country i know what the issue is yes mr speaker yes yes it's whether this government can be trusted to deliver and i say mr speaker yes we can be trusted yes we can be trusted to deliver we said that we would get brexit done mr speaker and we did and we're setting up free ports around the whole united kingdom i've been to one of them today which is creating tens of thousands of new jobs mr speaker we said we would get this country through covet and we did we delivered the fastest vaccine rollout in europe and the fastest booster program of any major economy so that we've been able to restore people's freedoms faster than any comparable economy and at the same time we've been cutting crime by 14 percent building for 40 new hospitals and rolling out gigabit broadband mr speaker and delivering all the promises of our 2019 agenda so that we have the fastest economic growth of the g7 we have shown that we have done things that people thought were impossible mr speaker and and that we can deliver for the british people mr speaker i just i remind the adventures opposite the reason we're coming out of covid so fast is at least partly because we doubled the speed of the booster rollout and i can tell the house and this country that we are going to bring the same energy and commitment to getting on with the job to delivering for the british people and to our mission to unite and level up across this country mr speaker and i commend this statement to the house i don't call kirsten the leader of the opposition uh thank you mr speaker i'd like to thank sue gray for the diligence and professionalism with which she's carried out her work it's no fault of hers that she's only been able to produce an update today not the full report the prime minister repeatedly assured the house that the guidance was followed and the rules were followed but we now know that 12 cases have reached the threshold for criminal investigation which i remind the house means that there is evidence of serious and flagrant breaches of lockdown including including the party on the 20th of may 2020 which we know the prime minister attended and the party on the 13th of november 2020 in the prime minister's flat there can be no doubt that the prime minister himself is now subject to criminal investigation the prime minister must keep his promise to publish sue grey's report in full when it is available but it is already clear that the report discloses the most damning conclusion possible over the last two years the british public have been asked to make the most heart-wrenching sacrifices a collective trauma endured by all enjoyed by none funerals have been missed dying relatives unvisited every family has been marked by what we've been through and revelations about the promised behavior have forced us all to rethink and relive those darkest moments many have been overcome by rage by grief and even guilt guilt that because they stuck to the law they did not see their parents one last time guilt that because they didn't bend the rules their children went months without seeing friends guilt that because they did as they were asked they didn't go and visit lonely relatives but people shouldn't feel guilty they should feel pride in themselves and their country because by abiding by those rules they've saved the lives of people they will probably never meet they have shown the deep public spirit and the love and respect for others that has always characterized this nation at its best our national story about covert is one of the people that stood up when they were tested but that will be forever tainted by the behavior of this conservative prime minister by routinely breaking the rules he set the prime minister took us all for fools he held people sacrificing contempt he showed himself unfit for office his desperate denial since he was exposed have only made matters worse rather than come clean every step of the way he's insulted the public's intelligence and now he's finally fallen back on his usual excuse it's everybody's fault but they go he stays even now he is hiding behind a police investigation into criminality into his home and his office mr speaker he gleefully treats what should be a mark of shame as a welcome shield but prime minister the british public aren't fools they never believed a word of it they think the prime minister should do the decent thing and resign of course he won't because he is a man without shame and just as he has done throughout his life he's damaged everyone and everything around him along the way his colleagues have spent weeks defending the indefensible touring the tv studios parroting his absurd denials degrading themselves and their offices fraying the bond of trust between the government the member of south ripple is my neighbor i expect better from my neighbours fraying the bond of trust between the government and the public eroding our democracy and the rule of law margaret thatcher once said the first duty of government is to uphold the law if it tries to bob and weave and duck around that duty when it's inconvenient then so will the governed mr speaker to govern this country is an honor not a birthright it is an act of service to the british people not the keys to a court to parade to your friends it requires honesty integrity a moral authority i can't tell you how many times people have said to me that this prime minister's lack of integrity is somehow priced in that his behavior and character don't matter i have never accepted that and i never will accept that whatever your politics whichever party you vote for honesty and decency matters our great democracy depends on it and cherishing and nurturing british democracy is what it means to be patriotic there are members opposite who know that and they know the prime minister is incapable of it the question they must now ask themselves is what are they going to do about it they can heap their reputations the reputation of their party the reputation of this country on the bonfire that is his leadership or they can spare the country from a prime minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities it is their duty to do so they know better than anyone how unsuitable he is for high office many of them knew in their hearts that we would inevitably come to this one day and they know that as night follows day continuing his leadership will mean further misconduct cover up and deceit it is only they that can end this pass the eyes of the country are upon them they will be judged by the decisions they take now [Applause] [Music] well mr speaker there's a reason why he said absolutely nothing about the report that was presented uh by this government and later put in the library of the house earlier on saying that is because mr speaker the report does absolutely nothing to substantiate the tissue of nonsense uh he has just spoken absolutely absolutely instead mr speaker this this leader of the opposition a former director of public prosecutions mr speaker he spent most of his time prosecuting journalists and failing to prosecute jimmy savile as far as i can make up mrs speaker he mr speaker chose to use it chose to use this moment to use this moment mr speaker continually to pre-judge a police inquiry that's what he chose to do he's reached his conclusions about it i'm not going to reach any conclusions and he would be entirely and entirely wrong to do so and and i direct him again mr speaker to what uh sue gray says in her in her report about the conclusions that can be drawn uh from uh her inquiry about what the police may or may not do now mr speaker i have complete confidence in the police and i hope that they will uh they will be allowed simply to get on with their job and i don't propose to offer any more commentary about it and i don't believe that he should either and i must say to him uh that what i think the car and well i think the country with greatest respect to the benches opposite what i think the country wants us all in this house to focus on is the issues that matter to them i'm getting on getting on mr speaker we're taking this country forward and and mr speaker uh today we have delivered yet more brexit freedom for the new freeport uh in tilbury as i said when he voted 48 times to take this country back into the uh to the eu mr speaker we have the most open society most open economy it's mr speaker this is i think what people want us to focus on we are the most open society most open economy in europe because of the vaccine rollout because of the booster relate and never forget mr speaker that he voted uh he voted to keep us in the european medicine agency which would make that impossible and today mr speaker we are standing together with our nato allies against the potential aggression of vladimir putin when he wanted not so long ago to install a prime minister as prime minister a labour leader who would actually have abolished nato mr speaker that's what he believes in those are his priorities well i can say to him he can continue with his political opportunism we are going to get on and i am going to get on with the job wyatt theresa may thank you mr speaker the covet regulations imposed significant restrictions on the freedoms of members of the public they had a right to expect their prime minister to have read the rules to understand the meaning of the rules and indeed those around them to have done around him to have done so too and to set an example in following those rules what the grey report does show is that number 10 downing street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public so either my right honourable friend had not read the rules or didn't understand what they meant and others around him or they didn't think the rules applied to number 10. which was it [Music] [Applause] it's a very important question i want to hear the answer even if other people don't prime minister uh no mr speaker that is not what the uh grey report says [Applause] uh but if she i i suggest that she waits to see uh the conclusion of the inquiry i now come to the leader of the snp in blackfoot thank you mr speaker can i say it's a pleasure to follow the former prime minister and perhaps her behavior in office like many that went before her was about dignity about the importance of the office of respect of truthfulness and the prime minister would be well advised to focus on those that have not dishonored the office like he has done mr speaker we stand here today faced with the systematic decimation of public trust in government and the institutions of the state and at its heart a prime minister a prime minister being investigated by the police so here we have it the long-awaited sue grey report what a farce it was carefully engineered to be a fact-finding exercise with no conclusions now we find it's a fact-finding exercise with no facts so let's talk facts the prime minister has told the house that all guidance was completely followed there was no party covered rules were followed in that i believed it was a work event nobody nobody believed them then and nobody nobody believes you're now prime minister that is the crux no fs no buts he has willfully willfully misled parliament it's bad enough order in a burden misled your house would be acceptable misled the house is squad [Applause] withdrawal the prime minister inadvertently told the house in the 8th of december that no parties had taken place and then had to admit that they had it's bad enough mr speaker that the prime minister's personal integrity is in the ditch but this murky business is tainting everything around it it is our intention to submit a motion instructing the prime minister to publish the great report in full well the prime minister obeying instruction by this house to publish as required mr speaker amidst allegations of blackmail by tony whips the members opposite have been defending the indefensible wait for the report we were told well here it is and it tells us very little except it does state that there were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of number 10. it states that some events should not have been allowed to take place that is the prime minister's responsibility if there is any honor any honor in public life then he would resign where is this and he'll ask and the prime minister laughs we ought to remind ourselves in this house and 150 000 plus of our citizens have lost their lives family members that couldn't be with them and that is the site that people will remember a prime minister laughing at our public i extend the hand of friendship to all those that have sacrificed i certainly do not extend the hand of friendship to the prime minister who is no friend of mine [Music] where is the shame where is the dignity meanwhile the police investigation will drag on and on every moment the prime minister stays trust in government and the rule of law is ebbing away the litany of rule breaking the culture of contempt the utter disdain for the anguish felt by the public who have sacrificed so much what the public see is a man who has debased the office of prime minister shrinked responsibility dogged accountability and blamed his staff at every turn presiding over slaves and corruption and tainted the very institutions of the state in short mr speaker this is a man [Applause] well they can laugh they can laugh but the public know the public know this is a man they can no longer trust he has been investigated by the police he misled the house he must now resign honor you'll have to withdraw that last comment mr speaker i gave the evidence of the 8th of december you're going to have to withdraw misled mr speaker the prime minister has misled the house [Applause] unless you withdraw i will have to stop and that's not good just withdraw the words i am standing up for my constituents that know that this prime minister has lied and misled the house [Applause] [Music] give me the paper i'll give you one more chance as leader of the snp i don't want to have to throw you out i'm going to give you this chance please please the power that man has left out the house shut up i'm sorry it's come to this and i'm sorry the leader of the party has not got the decentred just withdraw those words in order that this debate could be represented by all political leaders would you like to inadvertently if the prime minister has inadvertently misled the house then i will state that right we're going to leave it at that prime minister mr speaker i'm grateful to the uh right honourable general of withdrawing uh what he just said because he was wrong then and uh he i'm afraid is wrong in the in in his analysis and i i've i apologize as i've said for uh all the suffering that people have had throughout this pandemic and and for the anger that people feel uh about uh what has taken place in in number 10 down the street but i've got i've got to tell the uh the right honourable gentleman that for much of what he said uh his best course is simply to wait for the uh for the inquiry to be completed can i just say i take it the honourable member that's withdrawn the right honourable member that the prime minister may have inadvertently misled the house but should or order to help me to help the house you withdraw on your early comments and replace it with inadvertently it's not my fault if the prime minister can't be trusted [Applause] under the power given to me by standing order number 43 i ordered the honourable member to withdraw immediately from the house it's all right we don't need to bother right let us move on andrew mitchell does my right honourable friend recall that ever since he joined the party's candidates list 30 years ago until we got him into number 10 he has enjoyed my full-throated support but i am deeply concerned by these events and i'm very concerned indeed by some of the things he has said from that dispatch bot and has said to the british public and our constituents when he kindly invited me to see him 10 days ago i told him that i thought he should think very carefully about what was now in the best interests of our country and of the conservative party and i have to tell him he no longer enjoys my support well uh mr speaker i i must tell respectfully uh my right honourable friend great though the admiration is that i have of him i i simply think that he's uh mistaken in his views and uh i i urge him to i urge him to to reconsider upon full consideration of the of the inquiry demands thank you very much uh mr speaker the prime minister told us and i'm quoting him i have repeatedly been assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no covert rules were broken we now know that 12 of the 16 parties are subject to a police investigation and that of the remaining four the grey report says this that she's seen a serious failure to observe the high standards at number 10. she's seen failures of leadership failures of judgment and the prime minister thinks this is fine so just how bad do things have to be before he takes personal responsibility does what everybody in this country wants him to do and resign mr speaker what we are doing is taking the action that i've described uh to set up a prime minister's department to improve the operation of number 10 and we will be taking further steps mr speaker in uh in the days ahead remember speaker the uh inquiry has found there have been serious failings and has suggested there'll be changes in the uh the way that uh number 10 is run and there's a real opportunity now to take forward this new office of the prime minister and ensure further improvements are made so that we can carry on delivering of course what the party's opposite hate is the fact that this government will carry on delivering on the things that matter most to people while also making sure that the government's within number 10 is improved i thank my right on my friend very very much i think he's completely right i do think that uh the opposition uh of course uh want to keep the uh their focus trained on this that's the that's their decision i think mr speaker i think mr speaker what the people in this country want us to do is to get on with the job that they want us to do and that is to serve them mr speaker and to stop talking frankly about ourselves mr speaker there is no word in the english language for a parent who has lost a child no equivalent of widow or orphan for that particular horror it is a loss that is literally beyond words a loss that hundreds and thousands of parents have tragically experienced during this pandemic many had to bury their children alone many couldn't be there with them at the end meanwhile number 10 parted does the prime minister understand does he care about the enormous hurt his actions have caused to bereave families across our country will he finally accept that the only decent thing that he can do now is to resign mr speaker i do care deeply about the hurt that is felt across the country about the suggestion that uh things were going on in number 10 that were in contravention of the of the copied rules and i understand how deeply people feel about this and how angry that they are and i and i've apologized uh several times mr speaker but i must say that i think we should wait for the outcome of the inquiry by before jumping to the conclusions uh that he has and in the meantime we should focus on the issues that matter to the british people line note speaker the public and this house have been frustrated by having to wait for sugray wait for the metropolitan police and today the prime minister has announced his new office at number 10. please can you let this house know what specific structures are going to be put in place so that this house can hold it accountable uh well mr speaker we will make sure that there's a new permanent secretary uh to who will be accountable uh to me uh and we will make sure that the codes of conduct that are applied both to spads and to uh civil servants are properly enforced and of course uh all of that will be properly communicated to that to the house mr speaker and what i want to see is much better uh communication and uh and links between a number 10 and the entirety of the house of commons and we will do that so george howard yeah yeah thank you mr speaker yesterday at the local tesco store in my constituency a constituent asked me and it was in a tone more in sorrow than in anger why doesn't the prime minister realize that as every day goes by he damages the reputation of our country and abroad and around the world why he said doesn't the prime minister realize that how would he respond to that constituent uh mr speaker i think the reputation of our country around the world is built on the fastest vaccine rollout in europe economies uh it is built on having the fastest growth therefore in the g7 and it is built on our ability to bring bring our allies together to stand up against vladimir putin that is what the world is focused on that is what i'm focused on and that frankly is what he should be focused on thank you uh mr speaker can my right honourable friend first of all uh remind the leader of the opposition and the labour party that the backbenchers of the conservative party need no reminders about how to dispose of a failing leader [Music] and can he can he can he also can he also when he is restructuring number 10 concentrate on the fact that the country wants results the country we can't see the point of such a large number 10 superstructure that it needs to be slimmed down and streamlined and can i commend his determination to restore to restore cabinet to restore cabinet government and it is on results over the next few months on which he will be judged uh well mr speaker i thank uh my ronald friend very much for that and i i think he's entirely right and i'm uh more than content to be judged mr speaker on the results that we've already delivered in the results that we will deliver i'm sure that we will be greatly assisted by the reforms of number 10 at the live outline diane abbott thank you mr speaker anybody who's actually read the su grey report can only wonder what she was made to leave out will the prime minister give the house an undertaking that as soon as he is able he will release the full unredacted report to this house mr speaker sue gray has published uh everything uh that she can and i propose that we wait until the conclusion of the of the inquiry uh but in the meantime mr speaker i think it uh i think it peculiar that the report is being simultaneously uh hailed as utterly damning uh but also uh condemned for not uh having enough in it um is it the econ it can't be both vital fabric president truman had on his desk the buck stops here so the prime minister was right to apologize for the events that happened in number 10 downing street two weeks ago i reminded tom harwood that tony blair suggested that there should be an office of prime minister so that it could be governed not from 70 whitehall but from the building itself could the prime minister tell me how he envisions the office will work will the permanent secretary be based in number 10 controlling what civil servants do in number 10. i i'm grateful to to my my honourable friend uh very grateful i think the house does understand even if many people outside uh don't the number 10 actually uh hosts about more than 400 officials uh on a on a busy day they have a huge amount uh to do and and we need to make sure we need to make sure no mr speaker they're working very hard that's what they're doing and and we need to make sure uh that there are proper lines of authority and that we sort out the the command structures and that's what we're doing overlams thank you mr speaker whatever the police decide this uh update severely limited as it is would be enough to persuade any other prime minister to resign this prime minister could resign and salvage salvage for himself a or two of honor or he may try to dismay to delay and take his party down with him so mr speaker is it not clear that's with notable exceptions his back benchers should discover their backbones and sackin mr speaker i've i've answered several questions like that and i just i must really ask him to look at the uh report properly and also to wait uh for the inquiry when it comes i'm karpa thank you very much mr speaker we've been asked to keep some sense of perspective and i think that's right the question here is whether those who make the law obey the law that's pretty fundamental um many have questioned including some of my constituents the prime minister's honesty and integrity and fitness to hold that office now in judging him he rightly asked us to wait for all the facts sue gray has made it clear in her update today that she couldn't produce a meaningful report with the fans so can i ask the prime minister the question that the honourable lady the member for hackney north and stoke newington asked him to which he didn't give an answer when sue gray produces all of the facts in her full report after the police investigation will he commit to publish it immediately and in full mr speaker what we've got to do that's who great is wait for the wait for the wait wait for the police to conclude their inquiries mr speaker that is the proper thing to do people have given uh all sorts of evidence of the expectation that it would not necessarily be published mr speaker at that stage i will take a decision about what to publish mr speaker thank you mr speaker um i imagine that i'm going to be asked to wait for something else um but can i just simply ask the prime minister was the prime minister present at the event in his flat on the 13th of november i assume he doesn't need other people to tell him whether he was there or not um was he at the flat event listed in the report on the 13th of november mr speaker i'm very grateful to the uh honorable lady for inviting me to to comment on something that is being investigated uh but i i i with great respect to her i am simply not going to indulge in running comedy she will have to wait mr speaker sir mr speaker saying sorry is very important but my right honourable friend will be judged by the deeds that he undertakes as a result i heard today a proper acknowledgement that he needs to look in the mirror and i'm glad to hear about reforms to the center of government that i think are timely in fact they're over due as he knows from previous conversations i've had with him but will he give me and the house this undertaking today that in cooperating with the metropolitan police inquiry he will show the appropriate tone and approach that i think the british public demand of him as a person of serious purpose who is up to the level of events that's what we expect from him now and that's what i'll be expecting him to do i i thank my writer friend very much and i just want to stress mr speaker that i i have great admiration for the metropolitan police and full confidence in the police and i i i just suggest that they'd be allowed now to get on with their job culture thank you mr speaker we now know that there's a criminal investigation into the party that took place on the 13th of november 2020 in his flat to celebrate the exit of mr cummings on the 8th of december last year he came to that dispatch box and flatly denied the very idea that any such party had taken place is shaking his head in answer to my honorable friend the member for halsey and wood green he said it had not happened now is inadvertently mr speaker misled the house so the very least he should do is get to that dispatch box and correct the record no mr speaker i stand by what i said and i would urge and i would simply urge him i would simply urge him to wait for the outcome of the of the inquiry that's what he needs to do dr julian lewis thank you mr speaker may i advise my right honourable friend publicly what i have said to emissaries from his campaign team privately that it is truly in his interest in the government's interest and in the national interest that he should insist on receiving the full unredacted report immediately as i believe he can and that he should then publish the uncensored version without any further delay i'm very grateful to my right honourable friend but i think extensive legal advice has been taken uh on this point and uh sue gray has published everything that she thinks she can that is consistent with that advice mr speaker um if the police investigation were to result in serious criminal charges necessitating a criminal trial such as i don't know for example misconduct in public office or conspiracy to pervert the course of justice how would the prime minister feel about having to give evidence on oath this is seriously i'm not going to speculate about hypothetical uh uh uh questions which which frankly i reject well blood job mr speaker you all know that it's a very rare event for any prime minister to come to this house and apologize a difficult thing for any prime minister to do but on the issue of the police investigation does my right honourable friend agree with me that there should be due process that there should be free and unfettered access to all at number 10 but most of all there should be no prejudging or undermining of the police inquiry before it's concluded [Music] yes i i completely agree and i must say i'm shocked by some of the commentary that i've heard from the benches opposite about that matter today mr speaker chris brown thank you mr speaker the thing is this is who the prime minister is [Music] a serious failure to observe high standards failures of leadership and judgment excessive consumption of alcohol in a professional workplace gatherings that shouldn't not have been able to take place staff too frightened to raise concerns parties in his own private flat a leopard doesn't change its spots does it every single one who defends this will face this again and again and again because he still won't even admit to the house that when he came to us on the 13th of november and said the guidance and the rules were followed at all times and on the 1st of december that all the guidelines were observed that those things simply were not true if you won't correct the record today there's nothing accidental about this is there it's deliberate [Music] [Applause] uh i don't know what he's trying to say mr speaker but look look i i direct him again to the uh point made by sue gray that no conclusions should be drawn or inferences made uh from this other than it is now time for the police to consider the relevant material and that is what the house should allow them frankly to do speaker it is absolutely right that over the past few weeks our constituents across the house have been writing to us on this hugely important issue and i don't in any way wish to minimize its importance but in my constituency i have military bases and i am receiving emails from families who are concerned about their loved ones and the potential role they may end up playing given the conflict on the russian ukrainian border members opposite may treat this lightly but for the families but families who have those serving the military do not treat it lightly would my right honourable friend give me an assurance that notwithstanding the importance of the issue that we are discussing at present his government will start addressing other important matters that concern my constituents and the constituents of people across this house thank him very much indeed and i think he's completely right that the of course these matters are important we've got to wait for the uh for the inquiry but in the meantime the uk has got to play uh the leading role that we are mr speaker in bringing the west together to make a united front against vladimir putin particularly with the economic sanctions that we need mr speaker that is uh the priority of the government right now colin macewan mr speaker while the prime minister was eating birthday cake with his pals people were standing outside nursing home windows looking in at their loved ones dying and contrary to what the prime minister has said from that very dispatch spots multiple times any objective reading of sue gray's update makes it absolutely clear that the rules were broken multiple times in downing street will the prime minister continue a habit of a lifetime and keep blaming everybody else or will he finally stand up take responsibility and just go [Music] mr speaker he's really got to read the report and he's got it he's got to look at the report and he's gonna he's gotta wait this is all everything he said i'm afraid he's not substantiated by the report uh he should look uh and wait for the uh for the police inquiry steve baker thank you mr speaker millions of people millions of people took seriously a communications campaign apparently designed by behavioral psychologists to bully to shame and to terrify them into compliance with minute restrictions on their freedom what is my right honorable friends central message to those people who meticulously complied with all of the rules and suffered terribly for it including i might say those people whose mental health will have suffered appallingly as a result of the messages his government was sending out mr speaker i i want to thank all those people uh for everything that they did because together uh they have helped us to control uh coronavirus and i think thanks to their amazing actions in coming forward to get vaccinated we're now in a far better position than many other countries around the world so i have a massive debt of gratitude to all the people that he describes then diana johnson asked by my honorable friend and member for birmingham yardley i'm not asking for a running commentary but i would like to know whether the prime minister was present in his flat at the event on the 13th of november 2020. i i'm really grateful to her mr speaker i understand why people want me to elaborate on all sorts of points but i am not going to make a running commentary on a matter that is now being uh considered by the authorities i got to wait for them to conclude andrew jones mr speaker the update that we have from sue grey today is that she says herself extremely limited and that it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report so will my righteous friend confirm that at the earliest opportunity he will have the report published in fall oh mr speaker what we will do is uh wait until the police have concluded uh their enquiries and then see what more we can publish that is what we are going to do catherine west thank you very much mr speaker as the prime minister will recall on the 8th of december prime minister's questions i asked him was there a party in downing street on the 13th of november and now the report says in the bullet point on the first page that there was a gathering in the number 10 downing street flat a gathering in the number 10 downing street on the departure of a special adviser did he inadvertently mislead this house put us all out of our agony and stop dragging democracy through the mud yeah mr speaker i i stick by what i said to her and she should wait uh if she cares about democracy and due process she should wait until until the inquiry has been concluded mark jenkins thank you mr speaker as a non-drinker who long ago realized that sobriety delivers everything that alcohol promised i've noticed with interest that a drinking culture exists in downing street and in fact pre-dates my right honourable friend's tenure by some decades does he like me welcome sue grey's report and will he commit to fixing that culture yes mr speaker i thank you very much and uh we're certainly mr speaker going to take up uh the relevant parts of her recommendations and see that they're properly enforced within the civil service and this bad code thank you very much mr speaker the shocking incompetence of the met police has meant that we have a report that has been gutted but frankly we didn't need sue gray to tell us about the level of dishonor and deception that is infected not only downing street but so many in the party opposite it has been excruciating to watch so many tory mps and ministers willing to defend the indefensible calculating what's in their own party political interests rather than what's right for our country complicit in the same decaying system where the pursuit of power trumps integrity the prime minister is certainly a bad apple but the whole tree is rotten and the whole country wants reform couldn't we make a start with a major overhaul of the ministerial code given that its founding assumption that it could be policed by a prime minister of the day because they would be a person of honesty and integrity that founding assumption has been so widely and comprehensively and utterly discredited uh mr speaker uh of all the things that she just we are reforming the ministerial code but of all the things that i disagree with her about and what she's just said i disagree with her most passionately in what she's just said about the police i think they do an outstanding job i think we should allow them to get on with that job and i will await their conclusions okay doyle price thank you mr speaker if i just uh draw attention to uh finding number seven uh in this report which documents that actually number ten downstream has more from a small team in support of the prime minister to a self-indulgent bureaucracy all its own and i personally am tired of reading sunday newspapers which read officials briefing against ministers delays by things being stuck in number 10 as i speak to ministers who are getting frustrated so could i ask my out-humble friend that as he institutes this review call me old-fashioned but ministers are accountable for decisions and that they're taking taken in their name not flunk is in number 10 and will he ensure that reforms properly restore ministerial accountability yes i i thank her very much and i very much enjoyed our joint trip to uh tilbury uh this morning and i can tell her that yes i do think that it's vital as sue grace says that we learn from this and that we strengthen a cabinet government and the principle of ministerial uh responsibility thank you mr speaker i have spoken about my own experience of loss during the pandemic many times i do not claim that my experience are special indeed they were all too common but as a member of parliament i have a responsibility to provide a voice for the briefed families make no mistake this report is utterly damning and suggests that the prime ministers and the government's actions were a risk to public health how on earth can the prime minister stand there and justify this does he now accept that his actions were a complete and absolute failure of leadership and judgment mr speaker i thank him very much i repeat what i've said that i am deeply sorry for all the suffering there's been uh throughout this pandemic whether of his constituents or anyone uh in the in the country as to his his points about uh what is in the report i don't think his views are substantiated by the uh by what the report says but i think he should wait he should wait to see uh where the inquiry goes and that's what i propose to do sir thank you mr speaker does my right hand agree with me that those opposites have used far too much time too far too much parliamentary time debating this and i can assure my right and my friends that the residents of salvage the residents established they want the prime minister to focus on the matters that really they care about just in just a moment in furnace the prime minister has to come and make the statement no i'm not going to attack the prime minister we're making a step i certainly wouldn't expect from his own side prime minister thank you mr speaker i think possibly what my and i want to say how strongly i agree with my uh nonetheless with my my honourable friend because uh because yes of course uh it's it's vital that we make this statement yes of course it's vital that we uh learn from sue gray's report vital that we take action uh mr speaker which is what the government is doing but it's also vital frankly that we get on with the people's priorities and that is what this government is also doing christian matherson thank you mr speaker so just to summarize we've had i didn't know there was a party um there wasn't the party but it was a work meeting um and um there was a party but um i wasn't there um why is it the prime minister mentioned um international negotiations why should anybody any country any government with whom we enter into negotiations deals at all and take take um any kind of uh word from a government that clearly acts with mendacity of foresaw their forethought from start to beginning uh well mr speaker uh this is the government that took this country out of the eu and did what was necessary and this is the government uh that is bringing uh the west together to stand up against vladimir putin and those those are the those are the important considerations as for the rest of what he said mr speaker it's nonsense but he should wait for the police inquiry only bobby croft speaker my constituents in scotland are very keen to see the industrial energy prices fixed will the prime minister reassure me that he will not be distracted by any of this and that he will get on with the job and comforted a solution to that issue yes i think my honourable friend is completely right we not only need to address uh consumer energy costs we need to address uh address business and industrial energy costs as well and i know that uh my rather friend uh the chancellor uh is will be bringing forward a package of measures uh as soon as he can christian mr speaker mr speaker during his statement the prime minister kept referring to we when he talks about the sorry saga that sue green has reported but mr speaker it's his rules it's his rule breaking it's his inability to tell the truth about it that's the issue he's the prime minister does he not take any personal responsibility at all for this disgraceful fiasco mr speaker i've taken full responsibility throughout the pandemic richard fuller speaker as with the report on owen patterson i felt it was important to support the process and read the report and that's because i think it's important to separate fact from allegation and to know what the report actually says rather than what i would wish it to say two lessons that the leader of the opposition needs to learn i promised my constituents that i would ask the prime minister to say that he would support the recommendations in the report there are four that every government department has a clear and robust policy in place covering the consumption of alcohol in the workplace that access to the garden including for meetings should be invitation only and a controlled environment that there should be easier ways for staff to raise such concerns basically whistleblowing and that too much responsibility and expectation is placed on the senior official whose principal function is the direct support of the prime minister those are the facts and the findings of the report will the prime minister accept him in full yeah yes yes mr speaker i i do and as i said to the house earlier on i accept the findings of the report in full uh the general findings and uh we we are immediately taking steps to implement the changes the prime minister's just said he accepts the findings of the report one of them says that there were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of number 10 the cabinet office at different times he provides the political leadership and the political judgment and number 10 does he accept his own personal wrongdoing and failings in this regard mr speaker not only have i accepted full responsibility uh throughout uh but i i have apologized repeatedly to the house for any misjudgments that i may have made myself uh but again i must urge her to wait for the conclusion of the inquiry erin bell it seems a lot of people attended events in may 2020 the one i recall attending was my grandmother's funeral she was a wonderful woman as well as a love for her family she served her community as a counsellor and she served art for conservative association loyally for many years i drove for three hours from staffordshire to kent only 10 people at the funeral many people who loved her had to watch online i didn't hug my siblings i didn't hug my parents i gave a eulogy and then afterwards i didn't even go to her house for a cup of tea i drove back three hours from kent to staffordshire does the prime minister think i'm a fool no mr speaker i want to thank my honourable friend and i want to i i want to say how deeply i sympathize with him uh and his family uh for their loss uh and all i can say is again that uh i'm very very sorry for this judgment that may be made in uh by me or anybody else in number 10 and the cabinet office and i i can only ask him respectfully uh mr speaker to look at what sue gray has said but also to look at the to wait for the conclusion of the inquiry i've advert thank you mr speaker it's important that this house can trust what ministers tell us from that dispatch box and on the 8th of december and regarding events at number 10 downey street the minister the prime minister said i repeat that i've been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no coveted rules were broken that is what i've been repeatedly assured now the people who gave him those assurances led to him inadvertently misleading the house so have those people faced any disciplinary proceedings mr speaker first of all he needs to to i'm afraid to await the conclusions of the police inquiry uh because uh he i'm afraid the uh he the premise of his question may not or may or may not be uh substantiated but what i can tell the house is yes as i've said before there's certainly there certainly uh will be changes in the way we do things and changes in number 10. duncan baker speaker north north that consistently had some of the lowest levels of infection in the country we followed the rules so many of my constituents have been incensed the damage that this is doing to the government is enormous it is about integrity and trust can i ask again because people want to know how can the prime minister now satisfy my constituents and assure me that full accountability and transparency on the findings of the final grey report will swiftly follow yeah well mr speaker i will do whatever i can to ensure that this house has as much clarity as possible there are legal issues that that we face uh mr speaker about some of the some of the testimony that has been uh that has been given uh but in the meantime uh what i think sue gray wants us to do is to wait for the conclusion of the uh of the investigation of the inquiry and to see where that goes and to support the police in their work thank you mr speaker that's the prime minister need somebody else to tell him whether he was there or he is there now i i refer the honor to the answer i've already given you same bones speaker we all recognize that number 10 downing street is an unusual amalgam of workplace office space and private home what steps will the prime minister take um to ensure that the lines between each of them are made clearer in the future mr speaker that's you will see that there are a reference to that a very problem in sue gray's report and we're going to take steps and mr speaker to uh clarify things and to make sure uh there are there is greater transparency in the lines of of command stephen james thank you mr speaker does the prime minister recognize that repeatedly making statements including from that dispatch box which turn out subsequently to be untrue is a serious problem or does he not recognize that mr speaker i really think he's prejudging things and he should wait for the conclusion of the of the inquiries paul holmes thank you mr speaker uh i welcome the fact that my writing boyfriend has come to this house as a first step in responding to this report he's also rightly outlined that the relationship between number 10 and this house needs to improve so will he reassure me that he'll continue to come to this house to update us on the implementation of the recommendations in sue gray's report and how that will happen mr speaker i i will of course i'm only too happy to assure the house that we intend to make changes starting from now and uh i will keep the house updated paula barker thank you mr speaker when there's a failure of leadership and an inappropriate culture in an organisation the person at the top should go this outrageous debacle hasn't happened in spite of the prime minister this has happened because of the prime minister will the prime minister now do the right thing and resign mr speaker the answer is no because i'm going to wait for the conclusions of the the conclusions of the inquiry uh before before all any of the assertions that she's made can be established greg schmidt mr speaker i thank the prime minister for his statement particularly the acknowledgement of the enormous sacrifice that so many british people went through and as somebody who was unable to say goodbye to my grandparents this time last year can i welcome his sincere apology but as we laugh again as we wait as we wait for the metropolitan police findings can my right on my friend give me a categoric assurance that it will be full speed ahead on fixing the northern ireland protocol standing up for our friends in ukraine and fixing the cost of living crisis yes mr speaker that is exactly what this government is going to do and normal will be distracted for one minute when david thank you mr speaker in the general findings to secure sue gray's report there's a reference to the failure of leadership and judgment by number 10. does the prime minister accept that sue gray was largely referring to him mr speaker i really think that he should uh recite the whole report but i have told him that i accept the findings i've set the findings that sue gray has given in full and we are acting on them today speaker i am i welcome my right honourable friend's apology he's taken responsibility he's apologized and it's right that he should do so can i write an order from the prime minister confirmed that tackling the small boats crisis will remain top of the new office of the prime minister because that's what the country wants to see he wants to see this prime minister getting on with the jobs yes that's right mr speaker and that's why we brought forward the nationalities and borders bill which i'm delighted to say that she supports that this government is getting through which that party voted against stephen thank you the frequency of some of the answers today and they don't answer solar questions don't suggest the prime minister is generally that sorry does he recognize the long-term damage he risks doing to historic norms of democracy is it right that they are sacrificing interests of one man who refused to do what the country knows needs to happen and can he point to one single example where he personally has improved standards in public life how about mr speaker uh deciding to uh honor the wishes of the people and deliver brexit in spite of their attempts mr speaker to subvert democracy rob roberts mr speaker delivery is key the prime minister delivers he delivered on brexit he delivered with furlough and with the self-employed scheme that ensured businesses were able to survive they can shout it down because they don't like it mr speaker that's fine he delivered with one of the best vaccination programs in the world he delivered a country that is coming out of a pandemic and an economy that is thriving with people who sadly lost their jobs in the last two years having more vacancies than ever to choose from but nobody talks about those things mr speaker because all sides of those things i think the price who may have just got a grip of what you've had to say prime minister uh well mr speaker we're going to deliver on the people's priorities and we're going to deliver and keep delivering for wales florence session though mate thank you mr speaker mr speaker one of the hardest things i had to do as an mp is speak to the family of ishmael muhammad abdulli he was 13 years old when he died on the 30th of march he was one of the youngest people to lose his life to covert i will admit mr speaker when i spoke to his mother i broke down on that call ishmael's family like so many other constituents up and down in vauxhall followed the rule many of them were scared to go out many of them had to bury their loved ones without being there many of them walked past the covered memorial wall in my constituency with that heart showing their loss does the prime minister now understand and does he not feel ashamed that his actions have what distribute to the office that he holds mr speaker of course i uh share the honorable ladies grief for ishmael uh i sympathize with ishmael's family and i understand the pain and loss of the everybody's experience throughout this country but mr speaker all i can say is that i will continue to do my best to fight kobe as i have done uh throughout this pandemic and and to deliver for the british people and i can't say more than that welcome thank you mr speaker mr speaker running an office and having the required management expertise of running literally dozens and dozens of offices with hundreds and hundreds of people within is one thing running the country and getting the big decisions right are quite another so can i welcome the prime minister's commitment to have a look at what is happening at number 10 and those management structures so that we can deliver on the promises and the brexit promises we gave the people of this country i i thank him very much and that's why we're taking up the findings of the uh the supreme report we want to make sure that number 10 uh works better that the whole of the government works better it's been focused very much on on covid but we now need to deliver exclusively on the on the great priorities of the people i know baldur last summer my team and i said goodbye to our colleague through the window of her hospice as she died of cancer we didn't get to hug her and we were just like many millions of people across the uk we followed the rules while he and his colleagues didn't and it makes me sick to my stomach that we are not going to get the findings of this report because the police were so late to the party the same met police who were happy to arrest women who were protesting the murder of sarah everard and it makes me sick to my stomach that he does not understand the anger and fury and upset of millions of people across the uk because sometimes mr speaker an apology won't cut it it's time for action it's time for a clear-out it's time for him to resign yeah mr speaker i i again i i sympathize very much with the experience of uh her constituents uh and all the pain that people have gone through throughout this pandemic i must say to her though that she is prejudging uh the issue that the issue in question today i don't think that's the right thing to do i have a great deal of respect for the police and i think they should be allowed to get on with their job thank you mr speaker um i think we've got to remember that we're all talking about the breaking of the rules and the rules clearly are under question here as to what's happened but the rules themselves that were put out by this government have got this country to where it is and we've got to remember that those rules did the right thing so yes there's got to be consequences in number 10 for any roles that have been broken but please remember the right thing was done by the instigation of the rules in the first place and i have to say when i'm talking to my constituents out there they're saying yes we need to ask the question about what's happened there but can we stop being that as the only soul subject and can the opposition talk about something else as well please do we need to move on and level up this country i i thank my honourable friend very much and i think i think he's right the the rules are important and it was very it was it was it was amazing and remains amazing uh to see the way people pull together throughout the the pandemic and i i thank people very much uh but what we need to do if we possibly can and mr speaker if the if the opposition would uh i think would would agree we now need to focus on the issues that matter above all to the british people fixing the cost of living rebuilding our economy clearing the kobe backlogs that's what this government is doing very sherman mr speaker i have known the prime minister a long time um and we've always got on quite well he's not a wicked man but he's a man that for years in every job has got by flying on the seat of his pants he has a chaotic management style and that is a question of character and can i ask him really to look in the mirror as he said this morning and say am i the man at this challenging time for our country abroad at home in every sense has he the character to carry on and do that job problem no yes mr speaker because quite frankly i think it was absolutely indispensable that we had a strong number 10 that was able to take us out of the eu in spite of all the efforts of the party opposite uh to block it and not only that mr speaker a booster and a vaccine campaign that were led by number 10 that had made a dramatic difference not just to the health of this country but to the economic fortunes of this country and whatever he says about me and my leadership that is what we have delivered in the last year alone scott benson you mr speaker when knocking in dolls in blackpool at the weekend i spoke to julie who said this this prime minister has had the most difficult job in living history he's been dealing with a pandemic in which he nearly died he's been dealing with the media who haven't forgiven him for delivering brexit and yet let's he's been dealing with the media who haven't forgiven him yet for dealing with brexit and he hasn't had a chance to crack on and deliver yet for british people on their priorities report today has come out the prime minister has apologized let's allow him to get on and deal [Applause] i want to say how passionately vehemently and emphatically i agree uh with the remarks which i couldn't quite hear of my of my honorable friend he is completely right mr speaker and i think that is the priority of the british people that's the priority of the government brahms thank you mr speaker mr speaker as limited as the grey report was we know that that the findings are still incredibly damning multiple issues around uh failures of leadership and judgment now given that the nolan principles and standards of public life describe the centrality of integrity honesty and leadership how can the prime minister continue i really think that she needs to read the report carefully mr speaker and and and and i'm afraid that the conclusions that she's drawing are not ones that i support but what we are doing mr speaker is is following sue gray's advice and we are changing the way number 10 runs and we are going to uh to do things differently mr speaker but i i can't agree uh with what she says catherine fletcher mr speaker on saturday i was out about enjoying ice cream in lancashire which i know you and your family do in some of the finest ice cream parlors in the north of england and they said to me he's a wally but a hundred thousand russians have just turned up well and what the bloody hell are we doing talking about cake does the prime minister agree with that statement i thank her very much uh i thank her very much and i think that what the country what the country needs and what the west needs sorry can i just say if you don't want to go on the question i'm not happy to pull stumps now but if we are going to have questions i'm going to hear the answers as well as the questions prime minister standing up you're going to sit down for a bit what the country needs now mr speaker is a uk government uh working with our friends and partners to stand up to vladimir putin and to make sure that we have a strong package of sanctions and that's what we're doing thank you mr speaker the prime minister sets the culture at number 10. why does he think that staff members there felt unable to raise their concerns about the bad behaviors reported in today oh mr speaker that is one of the recommendations of the uh the sugray inquiry that we are going to take up to make sure that nobody should feel that in number 10 and that's why we're going to review the code to ensure that nobody feels that they have any inhibition on coming forward with any complaint that they may have uracil mr speaker the prime minister and his allies are trying to distract and deflect from the truth but here are the indisputable facts the prime minister attended downing street parties he told this house and the people that we represent that he attended no parties and in fact that there were no parties the rules were clearly broken the ministerial code has been violated so when will he stop stop insulting the intelligence of the british people and do the right thing and resign mr speaker i i really think she's going to let the metropolitan police get on and do their job no brendan o'hara mr speaker does the prime minister not recognize that the public are rapidly losing faith in the institutions that they must be able to trust if your democracy is to survive because it appears that there is no individual no organization no group or no force whose reputation won't be sacrificed on the altar of saving this prime minister so can i ask the prime minister does he consider the erosion of public trust in the foundations of our democracy a price worth paying to ensure his personal survival yeah speaker i believe that the foundations of amongst the foundations of our democracy our due process and the rule of law and allowing the police to get on with their job and that's what we're going to do luke pollard thank you mr speaker part 4 of sue gray's report says that there is a culture of excessive consumption of alcohol which is not appropriate is there also a culture of excessive drug taking in downward streets right so prime minister uh mr speaker any drug taking would be excessive and perhaps he should direct that question at the labor front bench [Music] mr speaker mr speaker mr speaker we've heard all about pre-judging things today you only have to look at paragraph three of the general findings which talks about things of leadership judgement in different parts of number ten in the cabinet office and it says some events should never have been allowed to take place another event should not have been allowed to develop as it did other than that's prejudging anything it's very clear it's only one person in charge of number ten in totality that's the prime minister so let me just remind the prime minister why this matters about this real break in the way number 10 behave that'd be quote a constituent one of a number of emails i had constituents who lost loved ones she said to me we received a call at 11 15 pm on the 29th of may 2020 saying mum was deteriorating both my sister and i drove to the home and spent the night sat on a chair outside her bedroom window watching her die all i could do was sub and shout to her and tell her that i loved her i couldn't even hold her hand that's why you should go prime minister prime minister mr speaker i totally understand uh the feelings of his uh his constituents and uh i accept that uh things could have been done better in uh in number ten as i've told the house before but uh really i i must ask him to uh study what uh sue gray has said and and and and we are acting on all her recommendations thank you mr speaker can the prime minister explain how changing the civil service hierarchy will prevent him from breaching the covet regulations as he has admitted in this house when will he take responsibility for his own actions stop hiding behind other people my constituents don't want another government department they want him to resign prime minister mr speaker uh she's wrong in what she said and i directed what i've said earlier thank you very much mr speaker it's been further revealed that in april 2021 as the prime minister partied he also swiftly rejected the idea of bereavement bubbles for those who'd lost loved ones suffered miscarriages stillbirth or a child neonatal death far from getting it he's deflected laughed and smirked his way through this statement he's a disingenuous man isn't he [Music] prime minister uh mr speaker i know uh this has been uh a harrowing and tragic experience for the entire country we've done our best to uh to deal with it and uh i i as for what she says about what's been going on in number 10 i ask her to look at the report but also to wait for the uh the police inquiry owen johnson yeah thank you mr speaker now this afternoon we've heard the distraction the deflection there's confusion and we can't even get the answers to the most simplest of questions about whether we can actually get the full report published when it's available so mr speaker could ask the prime minister is it the case now that we're looking at a situation of hubble hubble quite quick [Music] mr speaker i i nothing would uh give me greater pleasure than to publish everything that we currently have but the fact is mr speaker that there are legal impediments and we have to wait until uh the police inquiry is concluded so william cash thank you mr speaker um i i accept entirely what the prime minister has just said it is absolutely essential that we wait it's absolutely essential that we wait until we hear the next stage in this these proceedings in relation to any future investigations i'd also like to draw attention to the historic achievements of this prime minister in relation in the nation to not only delivering brexit but in relation to delivering the vaccine rollout and in relation to his dealings with mr putin and i believe that everybody should take that most firmly into account i thank you very much and i think he's completely right uh and uh he might have added by the way that we have the fastest economic growth in the g7 uh mr speaker thanks to the steps this government uh has been taking care of insurance thank you mr speaker we've established that there were parties we are just really arguing about who is responsible and as the honourable member for thorax said earlier that's a minister so if it's not him is it the member for surrey heath or north east cambridgeshire who should be facing the sack prime minister i remind the honourable lady what sue gray says in her paragraph well no such conclusion can be drawn uh so far mr speaker she must wait uh she must wait for uh the conclusion of the inquiry mr speaker the prime minister announced at the weekend that he would be calling president putin to urge de-escalation of the situation in ukraine the mirror have just reported uh that today the call has been cancelled because he's been dealing with the sue grey report so can the prime minister confirm that on a matter of such grave importance that this report is correct and it will be speaking to vladimir putin as soon as he leaves the chamber prime minister mr speaker i'll be speaking to president putin as soon as i can lay lumber out thank you mr speaker there i have read the report in full and i think the most striking sentence was the one that there were failures of leadership and judgment in different parts of number 10 and the cabinet office at different times my constituents have been writing to me whilst the prime minister has been speaking say that he should resign but they also want to know the full facts once the met has concluded why could he not then publish the full unredacted report prime minister mr speaker we have to see where the police get to have to see the conclusion of their inquiry we'll have to see what the legal position is then mr speaker mohammed jason thank you very much mr speaker why the students are deeply troubled and angry by the frequent scandals engulfing the prime minister's administration because it's not just the party gate and ongoing cover-up but but all the other things the program of parliament the treatment of the queen the three point five billion a chronicle with contracts the writing of 4.3 billion carbon loan fraud and the russia report to name but a few sussex university researchers have warned that boris jones's administration is more corrupt than any other administration since second world war does the prime minister knows this doesn't he prime minister well i i think the honorable gentleman's point is completely ridiculous he mentions uh he mentions what we did uh for instance to get brexit done which was absolutely crucial to restore public trust in democracy [Music] richard holden thank you very much mr speaker like me many of my constituents have been appalled by the reports of what's been happening in number 10 and will welcome the fact that my writer for an old friend has come to the house today and has apologized in a first step to responding to this will he assure me that he will continue to keep the house updated on the implementation the measures he's taking in the report and also will he ensure that there's full cooperation from the whole of the number 10 team to the enquiries from the met so they conclude as swiftly as possible prime minister yes mr speaker of course i will keep the house updated and of course uh everybody now in number 10 will cooperate uh to the full uh with the mayor thank you speaker this is surely now a new low a prime minister of our country forced to come here to the mother of parliament and plead the fifth in a criminal investigation because he knows if the truth is told it will incriminate himself so let me just ask the prime minister a simple question if he cannot get his facts straight about whether or not he was at a party in his own flat how will anyone in this house ever believe a word he says again and how will our partners around the world ever put their trust in him mr speaker i'm not going to dignify that question with an answer except to say uh it's said to say that he's got to wait everything he said is completely prejudicial alan brown yeah mr speaker i thought people are lancashire were supposed to be straight speaking because i i can assure sure people that my constituents are calling the prime minister a lot more than a wally once i can't repeat reality is here we've got staff were too frightened to raise concerns about behavior than you were ongoing half the staff invited to bring your own blues party didn't turn up because they knew it was wrong but yeah the prime minister said he thought it was a work event and within the rules his lack of leadership and judgment is also shown by the elected bodies pile high comment about a second lockdown the one thing that leader scottish torres has said that it's true is this prime minister is not fit for office now given he'll do anything to save his own skin does that mean the leader of scottish torres is going to get banned as well prime minister uh mr speaker i direct him to i've said earlier on mick whitley i think you know no one said in this house here this afternoon 155 000 people died of covet that's why we introduced the rules but this is simply not the comprehensive report that the british republic were promised for so long but at least it's clear in its findings that there were serious failures and i quote to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the house of governments but also the standards expected of the entire business population at the heist of the pandemic does the prime minister accept responsibility for his failure to live up to the standards which the vegetables would expect its uphold mr speaker i i've definitely missed i take responsibility for everything that happened in number 10 and the government did throughout the pending harry gardner the great report is clear that there should be no excessive consumption of alcohol in a workplace can the prime minister therefore assure the house that his own consumption of alcohol was not excessive and in particular that his judgment was at no time so clouded that he was in danger of telling the truth prime minister uh mr speaker i i couldn't quite hear the end of the uh gentleman's question uh but the answer is no if he thinks i was i i've drunk too much no coach norris thank you mr deputy speaker the prime minister wants my constituents to suspend their disbelief and wait for the met police to report in which case will at least give them clarity that should the metropolitan police issue him with a fixed penalty notice for participation at his party he will resign he really needs to wait and see what the what the met uh decide andrew thank you we've had excessive water boundary bluster and bravado from the prime minister i suggest to him politely that we need a lot more humility from him given that whilst the grey report might be paper thin it's very clear in the serious failings at number 10 fish rots from its head can i suggest to the prime minister it's not a new prime minister's office we need it's a new prime minister i i i hear him and i simply repeat what i've said earlier on uh i'm grateful to sue gray for taking action uh following her report but he needs to wait for the conclusion of the inquiry patricia gibson thank you mr deputy speaker soo gray has made it clear that this is not a report but it's an update on the investigation into covered breaches and downing street indeed her in her update ms gray says she is extremely limited in what she can say and quote it is not possible at present to provide a meaningful report if it is the case that there's nothing to see here move on as the prime minister today is desperately trying to convince us why has he repeatedly refused to commit to publish the full report even after the police investigation has completed and what does it say about the benches opposite those populating them if they still left them genuinely think that he is the best amongst them to be prime minister because that's not what i've said neil coyle thank you mr debbie speaker the prime minister told parliament and told the british people that there were no parties we now know he attended several including one at which he was ambushed with cake in his most pathetic excuse yet given his previous statements which we know to be patently false how does he explain why this report says at least 12 parties in his home a warrant police investigation he's proved several times in that question that he hasn't got the faintest idea what he's talking about and he should wait for the outcome of the inquiry [Music] mr speaker the prime minister and his apologies up to now had explained these things away as one-offs you know a work do uh ambushed by a cake all those kind of things but this report makes clear that it was a repeated pattern of behavior the booze-ups after work that nobody else was having all our constituents who followed the rules so can i ask him as well it also says that there was there's an investigation of a downing street party on the 13th of november 2020. why did he tell my honourable friend for haunting wood green on the 8th of december that no such gathering took place and subsequently he's told my right honourable friend our leader that anyone who from that dispatch books tells mr truth should resign is he a man of his words this is because she needs to to look at what i said and she's look at the outcome she needs to look at the outcome of the inquiry christine jardine thank you very much mr deputy speaker um the prime minister said in a statement earlier that he understands the anger of people in this country but does he also understand that while they've been watching this for many people in this country their greatest fears about how this would be handled have been realized they've seen an apology yes but obfuscation delay tinkering rather than an acceptance of responsibility the prime minister says he wants to go on and deal with the important issues facing this country perhaps the only way we will be able to do that is for the prime minister to accept that he has become an obstacle to it and resign no mr speaker we're going to get on with the job jeff smith thank you mr deputy speaker the prime minister was wrong in something he said earlier the sugree update can be both damning and incomplete and most of us can only guess how much more damning the full report is going to be and his colleagues should worry about that i think he knows how bad it's going to be because he knows what's going on so isn't that the real reason why i won't commit to publishing the report in full when the police have completed their investigation prime minister no mr speaker he's totally pre-judging the whole thing he needs to contain himself no he needs to contain himself and wait for the police to complete their inquiries drew hendry thank you mr deputy speaker the su-grey update is not the report that this house deserves it is not the transparency that the public were expecting but it does make it very clear that were there were failures of leadership at number 10. the prime minister is the leader at number 10. so will he now pack his suitcase or will he leave it to his officials to carry his cans mr speaker he just needs to to look at the uh report again and he needs to wait for the conclusions of the inquiry matt weston thank you mr deputy speaker look her in the eyes and tell her you never bend the rules a lot of us remember that campaign cost tens of millions of taxpayers money on the 13th of november in 2020 he bent the rules didn't he mr speaker i refer him to what i've said earlier on in this house and uh frankly mr speaker he needs to wait until the conclusion of the police inquiry even flynn thank you mr deputy speaker this morning the conservative party in scotland issued a press release and it stated and i quote the pandemic sees rise in criminals getting away with crimes were they talking about the prime let's minister mr speaker what we're actually doing is cutting crime uh by 14 putting uh 20 000 more police 20 000 more police on the streets [Music] thank you mr deputy speaker week in week out throughout this pandemic i like many of my colleagues had to deal with constituents who couldn't see their dying relatives or grieve with them and some of us were directly affected when we lost family members and loved ones the prime minister's actions have made a mockery of the british people's sacrifices during the pandemic and now he's the subject of a criminal investigation it's a new low for our country and our democracy and it makes a mockery of our democracy to the rest of the world if the prime minister takes responsibility for everything that he's that has happened as he has said isn't it time that he put his party this parliament and the country out of their misery and steps down so that we can move on and focus on the national interest because at the moment it is not possible because of the crisis that he had and number 10 have created prime minister no mr deputy speaker carol monaghan yeah yeah thank you mr victor speaker it's clear that the prime minister has used these parties like many an under par manager to buy popularity and favor can the prime minister tell us if he's using the same techniques when negotiating treaties and trade deals with international prime leaders uh no mr deputy speaker rachel maskel thank you mr deputy speaker today should have been about contrition and remorse but it seems that the prime minister doesn't understand the meaning of sorry instead it has insulted the people that have suffered and sacrificed for the last two years one question that many people want to know is who is paying for these investigations the police and uh sue grey's report and who is paying for his legal advice is it the taxpayer prime minister um i must say i think that uh she's wrong in what she says uh as as for who is covering the police costs uh the police are covering uh the police costs jc cooper so as far as the front cover he would see it was called an update it is because it is an update that it makes public trust in the mets investigation even more important the public must know that the met will investigate without fear or favor so can the prime minister confirm that not at any single stage anybody in number 10 or the cabinet office has sought to influence the mets decision on delaying its initial investigation or was the delay a result of its own incompetence no mr deputy speaker and uh the only people calling into question the uh the mets independence uh i think the the side opposite on our adventures thank you the prime minister seriously misjudged the mood of the country and indeed he has misjudged the mood of his own backbenchers my constituent wrote to me devastated and upset he couldn't see his disabled son his elderly mother with dementia and his newborn child putting a serious toll on his mental health like millions across the country he followed the rules but the prime minister thinks he's above the rules instead he blames his civil service and he restructures will he do the decent thing and resign mr speaker i disagree with her profoundly because i i i do understand uh people's feelings and i do understand why this is so important for people but i i must say that i think the best thing now is for the inquiry to be concluded and in the meantime for us all to get on with the work that i think everybody wants us to do marion fellows thank you mr deputy speaker and i have enjoyed the exercise this afternoon i've also like wanted to enjoy the prime minister's answers to questions but unfortunately he's duck dived he's done everything but answer questions about a party on the 13th of november about whether he'll put out the final report okay i'll ask him one more asked already if you get a fine a fixed penalty fine from the metropolitan police after all this is over will you pay it yourself and ask a tory donor to [Music] thank you mr deputy speaker among those who are the most isolated during the pandemic were people with learning disabilities cut off from visits from their families not even allowed an advocate if they were admitted to hospital for too many restrictions to services in the awful isolation without visitors that the pm's rules expected them to follow were a matter of life and death the mortality rate for people with learning disabilities from kobed was eight times that of the general population when he thinks about the damage done to all those groups who are so isolated and their families and the serious failings of leadership and judgment in number 10 found by this independent investigation how can he think his position is terrible prime minister mr deputies because she's entirely right about the suffering of people with learning disabilities and indeed all vulnerable groups who are exposed to uh to lock downs for for long periods and that's why actually uh we worked so hard to make sure that we could get this country out of lockdown and keep it out of lockdown and that was our objective steer housing mr deputy speaker i don't need to wait for the full sued ray report because this one tells me one important fact that we're a heck of a lot of parties so can i ask the there were a heck of a lot of party's prime minister so let me ask the prime minister at which point during this catalogue of frivolity while he was clearing last night's empty wine bottles off his desk before settling down to work the following afternoon did he conclude that having one rule for him and another one for the general public was undermining his own health messaging and costing people's lives [Music] uh mr speaker i remember mr deputy speaker the honourable gentleman is misrepresenting uh what sue gray says he's also uh perhaps inadvertently uh but he's also completely misrepresenting what happened kim johnson thank you mr deputy speaker this report confirms what we already know the abject failure in leadership at number 10. so will the prime minister take responsibility and do what the constituents and liverpool riverside are asking for your resignation so that we can get on and deal with the crisis facing this country thank you no mr deputy i refer to what i've said earlier on justin matters thank you mr deputy speaker on the 8th of december the prime minister told this house and i quote i have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged there was no party and that no covered rules were broken well just who gave him those assurances because given he was at some of the parties and at least one of them was in his own flat he shouldn't need anyone else to tell him what happened so it looks like when the prime minister spoke those words he was either fooling himself or was he just trying to fool everyone else he needs to wait and see he needs to wait and see what the inquiry concludes and he and that is what due process tomorrow and i stick mr speaker by what i say i can see eight people standing and that is the last date i'm going to take just to let you know rachel hopkins thank you mr deputy speaker section 5.1 of the ministerial code says ministers must uphold the political impartiality of the civil service and not our civil servants to act in any way which would conflict with the civil service code and finding six of segregate's report which i have read says some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviors they witnessed at work but that felt unable to do so so does the prime minister agree with me that if his staff and in fact civil servants and workers everywhere feel afraid to raise concerns regarding inappropriate behavior at work that they should contact their trade junior rep or join a trade union deputy speaker that's why i've accepted the conclusions of the uh sue gray findings in full and we will implement the changes i assume that everybody standing has also been here for the opening statement and throughout caroline johnson thank you mr deputy speaker mr deputy speaker i've listened carefully to the statement the questions the answers and indeed to my constituents many of whom have been devastated to hear that there may have been parties and some of whom have suffered great hardship i'm very glad that the prime minister has come here to apologize and to take on board the recommendations but i am concerned that this is taking time and attention away from key issues this statement alone has been going on for nearly two hours the prime minister has achieved great things with brexit and vaccines but because great things with respect in vaccines can he assure this house and me and my constituents that this ongoing investigation and the re organization of number 10 is not going to take his laser-like focus away from the issues that matter to them yes i can give my honourable friend that uh absolute assurance hillary ben thank you very much indeed mr deputy speaker has a date yet been set for the prime minister to be interviewed by the metropolitan police in connection with their inquiry the police are independent and they must get on with their inquiry hey dugan thank you mr deputy speaker this reads like a dreadful poorly written soap opera and unbelievable soap opera here members opposites saying how important it is for their constituents to go onto the day job my constituents are incandescent at the behavior of this prime minister will he accept the damage he's doing to the office of elected representatives all of us and will he do the right thing and clear out yeah that made them feel uneasy perhaps even unsafe prime minister and they also felt that they were unable to say something people exposed their potentially deadly virus unable to say something in the workplace where parties were raging on around about them at least some says mrs gray represent a serious failure to observe the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government who is responsible for that prime minister mr speaker he's completely represented misrepresenting uh what took place gavin newlands [Music] come on yes thank you much mr deputy because despite the emissions from sugary's update it makes crystal clear that the office he occupies and the government he leads behaved in a despicable and disrespectful way when the public faced the greatest of threats does not accept this personal conduct before becoming prime minister and since is completely unacceptable and if we had any respect for his own office the public and did even a cintilla of integrity it would announce his resignation to a 1922 committee tonight no mr deputy speaker stuart mcdonald clearly thank you mr deputy speaker can i ask when will the various statements made by the prime minister from that dispatch box about the subject of parties and gatherings at downing street be investigated under the ministerial code and isn't it absolutely fascicle that's a question for the prime minister at all yeah alright mr speaker we have we have an investigation going on uh i think it's very i think that's the one people should focus on and they should allow the police to get on with their job richard thompson thank you mr deputy speaker and his statement the prime minister said sorry for the things we did not get right sorry for the way this has been handled a generic non-apology that will mean absolutely nothing to anyone that's heard it but what i and millions of others want to hear is apart from getting caught out in all of this what is it that the prime minister is personally sorry for and genuinely regretful for in terms of his own conduct and if he just resorts back to that entire hackneyed form of words that he used to begin with doesn't it just show that it's not a new office of the prime minister that we need it's a new prime minister in office prime minister uh mr speaker i i've repeated several times uh sorry i am for any misjudgments that that i made uh and i continue to apologize uh for them uh and all i can say mr deputy speaker is that we need to get on and uh and await the outcome of the inquiry but allow the government uh and to deliver on the priorities of this uh country and that is uh to unite and level up uh to continue to cut crime uh to make colossal investments across our whole country and that is what we are going to do i'd like to thank the prime minister's statement today and answering questions for just short of two hours i'm just going to pause as people leave and others take their places for the next statement see so i'm a very good we now come to the second of the three statements today and we have the secretary of state for foreign commonwealth and development affairs liz trust mr deputy speaker with permission i would like to make a statement on what we are doing to tackle russia's aggression against ukraine

Channel: The Telegraph

Views: 146,067

Keywords: Telegraph, News, tories, parliament, covid, coronavirus, politics, prime minister, nicola sturgeon, sturgeon, scotland, scottish government, lockdown

Id: iIjre5y1q_k

Length: 112min 11sec (6731 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 31 2022