By Gavin Mackintosh-
The Metropolitan Police has said it will not investigate a Christmas party held at the Department for Education in December 2020.
The Sue Gray investigation report published today excluded findings about the Sanctuary Buildings event, said to have been instigated by former education secretary Gavin Williamson, who wanted to “thank staff together for the work that they had done”.
The active hosting of a party by a senior member of government has always been a damning aspect of the investigation, which in many ways made nonsense of covid lockdown restrictions.
Williamson had many run ins with academic staff and education unions over lockdown restrictions, on some occasions threatening staff with legal action if they didn’t stay open, only for schools to be forced to shut down in the end. Locking schools down at the expense of children’s education was the agreed best option, given questionable scientific advice, only for him to headline a party celebration of others being on lockdown.
Williamson was fired in the end, but not for hosting what could have been a celebration party of being in a privileged position to party while others were on lockdown. Although Gray stated that 12 of the 16 events in the investigation’s scope are now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police, she was clear that the D£E gathering on December 10, 2020, was “not considered to have reached the threshold for criminal investigation”.
However, the absence of any criminal charges arising from the party held at the Department Of Education , did not change Ms Gray’s opinion that they should have been stopped and there was a lack of leadership and accountability in the party.
The Met has not requested that “any limitations” be placed on the description of events, it is not investigating, Gray has “decided not to publish factual accounts in relation to those four dates”.
“I do not feel that I am able to do so without detriment to the overall balance of the findings.”
The party attended by just over 20 staff at the canteen had reportedly been instigated by Williamson, bringing disrepute to the government, and the fact nobody stopped him.
She said Williamson said a “few words” at the event, attended by around “two dozen” staff “principally” from ministers’ private offices.