May takes aim at PM as MPs debate ‘partygate’
Maidenhead: Johnson asked if he ‘didn’t think rules applied to Number 10’
Theresa May blasted Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the House of Commons following the release of the initial findings of the Sue Gray report on Monday afternoon.
The Maidenhead MP and former PM questioned why Number 10 had not observed the ‘regulations they had imposed on members of the public’ over revelations of partying in Downing Street during lockdown.
It comes after senior civil servant Sue Gray presented an ‘update’ on her longawaited report into the allegations in Downing Street, which has been held back due to a separate criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police.
Last week, in an email seen by the Advertiser, the MP for Maidenhead told constituents she was ‘angry’ to hear reports of partying in Number 10.
The story made national newspapers, as well as featuring on radio stations and television broadcasts across the country.
On Monday, the preliminary findings of Sue Gray’s report were made public, with the Prime Minister once again issuing an apology in front of MPs.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mrs May said:
“The COVID 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 him to have done so too, and to set an example in following those rules.
“What the Gray report does show is that Number 10 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?”
In response, the Prime Minister retorted that was ‘not what the Gray report says’, and added: “I suggest she waits to see the conclusion of the inquiry.”