No 10 officials ‘frightened into silence’

Sue Gray report could be published as soon as this Wednesday

Sue Gray report could be published as soon as this Wednesday. image: creative commons

The sources have told The Independent that officials working at No 10 have withheld information from the investigation into the partygate scandal, having been frightened into silence by the culture of fear that surrounds the probe.
According to the report in The Independent, these sources say they have neither revealed messages nor pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations. A WhatsApp group is said to contain photographs of people drinking and dancing, as well as references to how hung-over people were the next day.
Two parties were held on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, the first to mark the departure of a No 10 photographer and the second the departure of James Slack, Downing Street’s director of communications. Mr Slack has since made a public apology.
Staff are now fearful that having obeyed the request and deleted material, they could face censure. One said: “I did the wrong thing and actually deleted stuff.”
Another said: “Everyone’s terrified. It’s a witch-hunt. There’s been a culture of fear [in the office] every day since the first party story broke.”
A third added: “I’ve held back from sharing evidence, it’s too risky. And I’d have to explain why I’d deleted some stuff, which would mean saying I’d felt intimidated.”
Asked if they had shared their claims with Ms Gray, as part of her investigation, all three sources said they did not consider the Cabinet Office as truly separate from Downing Street or political interests.

Downing Street police

A report yesterday in the mail said that police officers from the Metropolitan’s Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command had provided damming evidence to Sue Gray, the official conducting the investigation into the parties.

Frightened into silence

Elements of the line of questioning and what the report is likely to contain have already been leaked, increasing the belief that staff face considerable risk to their careers from sharing allegations with her team. Some have said that when staff were called for interviews with Ms Gray to offer their accounts of any gatherings in Downing Street or the Cabinet Office, it seemed staff in No 10 had pieced together who was contacted and when.
A No 10 spokesperson said allegations about pressure on individuals were “categorically untrue” and staff have been instructed to comply fully with the inquiry. This has however been disputed by a number of sources.
Staff in No 10 have been under considerable pressure to stem the tide of reports on parties, with claims that senior figures in Downing Street were loudly told by the prime minister to stop the flow of party news last week.
The Information Commissioner’s Office issued a warning after allegations of pressure to delete material were first reported. “Relevant information that exists in the private correspondence channels of public authorities should be available and included in responses to information requests received,” a spokesperson added.
“Erasing, destroying or concealing information within scope of a Freedom of Information request, with the intention of preventing its disclosure is a criminal offence under section 77 of the Freedom of Information Act.”
Last week, Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, wrote to cabinet secretary Simon Case asking him to probe allegations of staff coming under pressure to remove material.
A spokesperson for No 10 said: “Staff were given clear guidance to retain any relevant information. As set out in the terms of reference, all staff are expected to fully cooperate with the investigation.
“Any suggestion otherwise is entirely false.”
The claims of being frightened into silence are not new within No 10, with reports of pressure being placed on staff by senior politicians to toe the party line.


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Written by

Peter McLaren-Kennedy

Originally from South Africa, Peter is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for the Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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