The Sue Gray Report may be many things but it is not going to end the Johnson premiership. There was precious little in it that we didn’t know before, and so far as I can see, very little that will provoke Conservative MPs to send letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister to Sir Graham Brady. The ‘greased piglet’ escapes once again. Until the next time.
Perhaps the most damning section of the Gray report was this: "I was made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff. This was unacceptable." Too damn right it was. While no one is accusing the Prime Minister himself of behaving in this reprehensible manner [and nor should they – he doesn’t], no one in Downing Street would have behaved in this way under Margaret Thatcher. They wouldn’t have dared. However, let’s be honest and admit that this behaviour is sadly commonplace in workplaces up and down the country.
As Sue Gray points out steps have been taken to change the culture in Downing Street since these events happened. However, too many people who were responsible for the bad behaviour remain.
The appointment of David Canzini as deputy chief of staff will have done much to change the culture inside Number 10. He’s a total professional and won’t stand for the kind of behaviour we read about in Sue Gray’s report.
The country won’t stand for any more of it, either.