Kia ora and welcome to the third part of my tiny blog, looking at the 10 Downing St shenanigans, covered in the Sue Gray report. Today is the final chapter in a trilogy that nobody asked for, because nobody realised how incompetent Boris Johnson’s government truly were.

Actually, I feel that’s a falsehood. I think millions of people realised that, before the report.

This final nugget of haughtiness is quite special, because it’s a 2-for-1 deal; or maybe it’s buy 1, get 1 free. Take your pick of egotism, narcissism, and irresponsible behaviour, from the Tories finest.

Part Three: Double Trouble

On 16th April 2021, 10 Downing St did not just have one gathering, but two! The United Kingdom had moved to Step 2, of lifting restrictions of the second national lockdown. There was still to be no indoor social gathering at people’s homes, but also social distancing needed to be maintained at the work place.

Here we go…

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For the third time, I’ll let the report explain the situation:

Two leaving events took place on 16 April 2021. One, the event for James Slack
and the other, an event to mark the departure of a No 10 official. This latter event
was organised on the day, by email which sent at 16.26 by a No 10 official to the
No 10 Digital team, No 10 Press Office, Events & Visits and others.

There was no scheduled time for the event on the invitation. This email invitation included a Microsoft Teams link so that individuals could attend virtually and was called ‘[No 10 official] Leaving Presentation’. The location was the No 10 Digital Team office
which is situated in the basement of No 10.

The Digital team is part of the No 10 Press Office team and there was considerable
overlap in attendance at the two events. The first, for James Slack, began at
approximately 18.30, with speeches in the Press Office. He wished to thank his
team members individually and to set out future direction for the team. It lasted for
around an hour and there were approximately 45 people in total in attendance both
in the office and with a small number online.

Those present in person came from across No 10, including senior officials. Some joined the event virtually. Wine and beer had been bought by staff and was consumed by some during the speeches. Following the speeches, some staff returned to work but others continued chatting and drinking. They remained for some time and were present when the building 35 was being locked down for the evening. Those still present were asked to leave the building by a No 10 custodian.

The group then moved into the No 10 garden. The second event, for the other No 10 official, was held in the offices of the Digital Team in the basement of No 10. It began at approximately the same time as the event for the Director of Communications, at around 18.00, but was smaller in scale, with 15-20 people present, including a special adviser and more junior officials. There were leaving speeches and a presentation.

Wine was available and music was played from a laptop on top of a printer. A number of those present drank excessively. There was mingling between the two events, with some staff moving up and down the stairs in between the basement and the Press Office.

The two groups eventually joined together in the Downing Street garden. Shortly before 21.30, there were over 20 people present in the garden, with a number of bottles of
alcohol.

A number of individuals gathered near a child’s swing/slide in the garden,
damaging it by leaning on and playing with it. This was noticed the next morning
and reported to No 10 staff.

At this time, the custodian staff at No 10 continued to lock down the building. They
noted that groups of individuals had gone into the garden. The group began to
break up and return into the main building at around 21.30.

The No 10 entry logs show that a number of people left No 10 at this point. They
were encouraged by the custodian to use the rear exit of No 10. Some individuals
remained in the building and carried on drinking alcohol until the early hours. Exit
logs indicate that some left after midnight and others between 01.45-02.45. Two
members of staff stayed later still, with one leaving at 03.11 and the last leaving at
04:20.

Wow. Utter madness. Two leaving parties occurred on the same day at 10 Downing St, with alcohol and speeches, which left a child’s playground equipment damaged. My questions about these amateurish and botched social events are as follows:

• Did Jacob Rees-Mogg attend any of the gatherings? Was he emailed an invitation by accident?
• How bad were the speeches that alcohol was needed to help people survive them?
• Did any of the speeches mention that The Batman, was pushed back to October 2021? What were people’s thoughts about this?
• How many arses did the custodian(s) have to kick that night?
• How many £3 bottles of wine were consumed from the local off license?
• Who played DJ for the evening or was it a team effort?
• What was the most popular song of the evening? Was it The Gambler, by Kenny Rogers?
• When the two groups joined together, was it a turf war, like the Sharks and the Jets, in West Side Story?
• Has the person that damaged the swing/slide in the garden, ever been identified? Has Scotland Yard, MI5, James Bond, or Sherlock Holmes opened an investigation yet?
• Who were the two staff members that stayed until 3.11 am and 4.20 am? Was Tinder involved?

When thousands of children across the country were unable to attend birthday parties, or invite their friends to their own parties; because they were following the rules, the Tories threw two parties on the same night, at 10 Downing St!

I would say this would be disgraceful behaviour, but that’s an understatement about this shameful mess.

Boris Johnson and the Tories have only apologised to the public, because they were caught. They did not apologise straight after the events. Please remember that at the next general election.

Two things to close with:

1.) Thank you to the photographer(s) for taking the photos on 19th June 2020, and 13th November 2020, during those social events. The Tories look dishonest and hilarious at the same time. The photos are priceless and beautiful.

2.) Boris Johnson will be facing a no-confidence vote by Tory MPs, on 6th June, between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. (UK time). To remove him as leader, over 180 Tory MPs have to vote against him. Here’s hoping those Tory MPs will sack him. We’ll have to wait for the result, but whatever happens, I’ll let you know, because, like I have nothing else to do.

Stay tuned for the result. Until then, thanks for reading, wash your hands, and I’ll see you soon.

PS: I couldn’t resist adding this. I’m very childish.

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