Nigel Adams is the only Harrogate district MP to comment so far on the publication of the long-awaited Sue Gray report.
The senior civil servant found that many of the parties in Downing Street “should not have been allowed to happen”.
The report included details of vomiting and parties lasting until 4am whilst the UK was under covid restrictions.
Mr Adams, whose Selby and Ainsty constituency includes several Harrogate district villages, is a member of the cabinet and a key ally of Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He tweeted this afternoon:
“The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report and has apologised again.
“He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges including the cost of living and Ukraine crisis and delivering for the country and for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.”
Other cabinet ministers including Rishi Sunak, Dominic Raab and Nadine Dorries all tweeted similar messages of support for the Prime Minister at the same time.
The Prime Minister welcomes Sue Gray’s report & has apologised again.
He now needs to get on with the job, levelling up the country, tackling global challenges inc cost of living & Ukraine crisis & delivering for the country & for the people who put their faith in him in 2019.
— Nigel Adams (@nadams) May 25, 2022
What have Andrew Jones and Julian Smith said?
The Stray Ferret asked the two other Tory MPs in the district, Harrogate and Knaresborough’s Andrew Jones and Skipton and Ripon’s Julian Smith for their response to the report but we did not get a reply.
In January during a Commons debate, Mr Jones said the Sue Gray report should be published in full.
In the same month, an email to a constituent revealed Mr Jones thoughts on ‘partygate’ scandal. The MP said: “I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.”
Mr Jones said if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.
“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”
Julian Smith is yet to comment publicly on the report.
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Downing Street parties: Harrogate MP says ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’
Harrogate MP Andrew Jones has told a constituent that “lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers” after Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted attending a party during the first coronavirus lockdown.
In the letter to a constituent, who shared the contents with the Stray Ferret but did not want to be named, Mr Jones said he had received a lot of letters and emails about the issue.
The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones multiple times for his response to reports of the Downing Street parties since the story broke in December. He has never responded.
The Conservative backbencher called in Parliament for Sue Gray to complete her investigation and share the results as soon as possible. But this is the first time he has criticised Boris Johnson’s handling of the matter.
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He said in his letter:
“I followed coronavirus restrictions. I take the maxim ‘lawmakers can’t be lawbreakers’ seriously.
“Like most I could not see my family, I could not meet with colleagues and I most certainly could not socialise with friends.
“My office team were all working from home and there was no mixing between us at all during work, let alone after work with alcohol.
“It is therefore frustrating to have been put in a position of waiting for the Prime Minister to account for exactly what occurred.”
Mr Jones said he could not understand “why it took so long and was so difficult to answer the direct question: ‘Were you at an event on such-and-such a date?'”
However, he said he felt the Prime Minister’s statement on the May 20 party was “clear”. But, he goes on to add:
“His [The Prime Minister’s] apology was necessary and welcome, but I do not think this closes the matter. There are many more questions, some as a consequence of his statement.
“In respect of the investigation announced by the Prime Minister in December, if this finds wrongdoing, and the police find that these actions were criminal, then consequences must flow from that.”
Mr Jones also added that he has discussed the matter with the party whips and the chair of the government’s backbench committee, also known as the 1922 Committee.
