, Leader of the Labour
Party, statement in the House of Commons,responding to
the Prime Minister’s words on the report, said:
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
I would like to thank for the diligence and professionalism with which she has
carried out her work.
It is no fault of hers that she only been able to provide an
update. And not yet the full report.
The Prime Minister repeatedly told the House that all guidance
were followed at all time.
We now know that 12 cases, 12 cases, have reached the threshold
for criminal investigation – which I remind the House means that
there is evidence of serious and flagrant breaches of lockdown,
including:
The party on 20 May 2020, which we know the PM attended, and the
party on the 13 November 2020 in the PM’s flat. There can be no
doubt the Prime Minister is now under criminal investigation.
The PM must keep his promise to publish Sue Gray’s report in full
when it is available, but it is already clear that the report
discloses the most damning conclusion possible.
Over the last two years the British public have been asked to
make the most heart wrenching sacrifices.
A terrible collective trauma. Endured by all, enjoyed by none.
Funerals have been missed. Dying relatives unvisited.
Every family has been marked by what we’ve been through.
And revelations about the Prime Minister’s behaviour have forced
us all to relive and rethink those darkest moments.
Many have been overcome by rage, grief, and even guilt.
Guilt - that because they stuck to the law they did not see their
parents one last time.
Guilt - that because they didn’t bend the rules their children
went months without seeing friends.
Guilt - that because they did as they were asked they didn’t go
and visit lonely relatives.
But people shouldn’t feel guilty. They should feel pride in
themselves and in their country. Because by abiding by those
rules. They have saved the lives of people they will probably
never meet.
They have shown the deep public spirit. And the love and respect
for others that has always characterised this nation at its best.
Our national story about Covid is one of a people that stood up
when it was tested. But that will forever be tainted by the
behaviour of this Conservative Prime Minister.
By routinely breaking the rules he set, the Prime Minister took
us all for fools. He held people’s sacrifice in contempt. He
showed himself unfit for office.
His desperate denials since he was exposed have only made matters
worse.
First, the Prime Minister said there were no parties. Then he
said he was sickened and furious about the parties.
Then it turned out he was there. Rather than come clean, every
step of the way he has offended the public’s intelligence.
Finally, he’s fallen back on his usual excuse - it’s everybody’s
fault but his. They go, he stays.
Even now, he is hiding behind a police investigation into
criminality in his home, and in his office. He gleefully treats
what should be a mark of shame as a welcome shield.
But, Prime Minister, the British public aren’t fools.
They never believed a word of it. They think the Prime Minister
should do the decent thing and resign.
Of course, he won’t. Because he is a man without shame.
And just as he has done throughout his life. He is damaging
everyone and everything around him along the way.
His colleagues have spent weeks defending the indefensible.
Touring the TV studios parroting his absurd denials. Degrading
themselves and their offices.
Fraying the bond of trust between the Government and the public,
eroding our democracy and the rule of law.
Margaret Thatcher once said:
“The first duty of Government is to uphold the law. If it tries
to bob and weave and duck around that duty when it is
inconvenient, then so will the governed.”
To govern this country is an honour. Not a birth-right. It’s an
act of service to the British people. Not the keys to a court to
parade to your friends.
It requires honesty. Integrity. And moral authority.
I cannot tell you how many times people have said to me that this
Prime Minister’s lack of integrity is somehow “priced in”.
That his behaviour and character don’t matter. I have never
accepted that. And I never will accept that.
Whatever your politics. Whatever party you vote for. Honesty and
decency matter. Our great democracy depends on it. And cherishing
and nurturing British democracy is what it means to be patriotic.
There are members opposite who know that. And they know the Prime
Minister is incapable of it.
The question they must ask themselves is what are they going to
do about it?
They can go on degrading themselves. Eroding trust in politics.
And insulting the sacrifice of the British public.
They can heap their reputations, the reputation of their party,
and the reputation of this country, on the bonfire that is his
leadership.
Or they can spare the country from a Prime Minister totally
unworthy of his responsibilities.
It is their duty to do so.
They know better than anyone how unsuitable he is for high
office.
Many of them knew in their hearts that we would inevitably come
to this moment.
And they know that as night follows day, continuing his
leadership will mean further misconduct, cover-up, and deceit.
It is only they who can end this farce. The eyes of the country
are upon them. They will be judged on the decisions they take
now.
