Boris Johnson rocked Operation 10 in response to criticism of her oversight in Sue Gray’s interim report, giving new powers to civil service chief Samantha Jones.
With Gray’s report expected next week, the prime minister is among about 30 people who have received criticism, and those contacted by the investigation team have been given a few days to respond.
Gray is said to want to name senior government officials, but no decision has been made on how many or who will be identified, or whether the report will include photos.
Johnson denied number 10 was trying to block the release of names, saying it was entirely up to Gray to identify in his report.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what she has to say and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this will happen soon enough next week,” Johnson told Sky News.
Prior to the report, Johnson sought to respond to criticism of his operation with a new structure that puts Jones, interim permanent secretary at number 10, in charge of key national security and law enforcement agencies, in addition to her existing portfolio.
Johnson’s deputy spokesman said the reorganization was carried out after Gray’s initial report identified failures that were critical of the culture that allowed parties to be held at number 10 during the blockade.
An interim report released in January said there had been “failures of leadership and judgment” that allowed violating rallies to be held at No. 10. A full report is expected in about a week.
This comes a day after Operation Hillman in Scotland Yard ended, after imposing 126 fixed sentences on 83 people. № 10 confirmed that only one fine had been awarded to the Prime Minister for attending a party in honor of his birthday in June 2020, when indoor mixing was banned.
As part of the shake-up, the government announced changes that “will improve the support offered to the prime minister and the cabinet.” The cabinet will be split in two, with oversight of domestic policy, national security and the legislature at number 10 under Jones. Other cabinet functions, including changes in Whitehall and the civil service administration, will remain under Cabinet Permanent Secretary Alex Chisholm.
A government spokesman said: “As we set out earlier this year, steps are being taken to further strengthen the work of both №10 and the cabinet so that they are best provided to the public now and in the future. . Work on the implementation of these plans continues. “
Tory MP Ian Duncan Smith, a former party leader, said Johnson “lost control of what was happening on Downing Street” during the pandemic after “an awful lot of government officials” were “caught” in the Met investigation.
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He told BBC Radio 4’s PM program: “They have very clearly blurred the line between what is work and what is not work and they should not have done it and have been fined, a large number of them and that is quite right.”
There is anger in the civil service over how the Partygate saga ended with many junior employees receiving fines, and senior officials seem to have avoided guilt.
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