Thank you for contacting me about the Sue Gray enquiry and the revelations in the press.
When the pandemic started no one knew what was to come and decisions had to be made quickly in order to keep the general public safe and help avoid the NHS being overwhelmed. Both my constituents and I followed the guidance set out. I obeyed the law, isolating at my home in Giltbrook, like many people this came at personal cost which I willingly paid to do my bit and save lives.
So when the details of the events at Downing Street started to be revealed I was shocked, disappointed and surprised but prepared to wait for the release of the Sue Gray report. My position has not changed.
What has been released so far is an update, the final report and the result of the Metropolitan Police investigation are not yet known, and I will again scrutinise these carefully when they arrive.
What has been revealed though is that events took place which, if not illegal (that is being investigated) certainly went against the spirit of the regulations, and the Prime Minister has rightly apologised for this. It has also revealed a culture of work that is frankly not to a standard one would expect of the highest office in the land. Again, the Prime Minister acknowledged that in his address to the Commons on the 31st of January and steps are already being taken to adjust the way business is conducted at Number 10, and I will be keeping a very close eye on this and monitoring progress as it is absolutely essential that these changes are made as soon as possible.
I am not making light of what has been released so far but I am prepared to let steps be taken to see if things change in response to the issues found, and I will take the same approach when the Metropolitan Police report and the final Sue Gray report is published. I feel it would not be responsible to give an opinion without all of the information in front of me; particular on such a serious issue and due to the scale of information withheld from the Sue Gray update.
Again, thank you for your email, I do understand your upset, disquiet and concern. I share some of them. However, I will continue to wait for the full report from Sue Gray and the result of the Metropolitan Police enquiry before making any final decisions and concluding on this issue. In order to keep you informed, when the Metropolitan Police report is released, I will be contacting all constituents who have written to me on this issue.
If there are any other issues I can assist you with then please do not hesitate to contact me.
