Andrew Jones MP tells constituent he feels ‘anger’ over partygate

Harrogate & Knaresborough Conservative MP Andrew Jones has told a constituent that he feels “anger” over partygate — but would not say whether he has submitted a vote of no confidence in Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

The long-awaited Sue Gray report was published last week and 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 while the UK was under covid restrictions.

Following the publication of the report, a constituent wrote to Mr Jones. The MP responded in a letter on May 27 with his thoughts on the subject.

The constituent asked not to be named, but shared the letter with the Stray Ferret.

Mr Jones wrote:

“I understand the anger people feel. I feel it too. Most of all I feel intensely depressed that senior people in our political system have pretended, or somehow genuinely believed, that tables groaning with bottles of wine, as we have now seen pictured, were in some way allowed work practices.”

Mr Jones has previously been outspoken over partygate and said in the letter that his “anger is not going to lessen”.

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In January, the MP wrote to a different constituent to say if criminal actions were found then “consequences must flow from that”.

In April, the Prime Minister was given a fixed penalty notice for attending a birthday gathering on June 20, 2020. It made him the first Prime Minister to have been found to have broken the law while in office.

However, the letter suggests that Mr Jones now considers the case closed.

He wrote:

“My anger isn’t going to lessen and I am not going to forget this episode in the story of Covid-19. But I won’t be commenting again unless something substantially new comes to light having already responded to hundreds and hundreds of emails and letters on every aspect of this matter.”

The BBC has reported at least 20 Tory MPs have written to the 1922 committee of backbenchers with letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister.

Fifty-four letters are needed to trigger a leadership vote, but Mr Jones would not reveal if he has submitted one, writing:

“This is a matter that will remain between myself and the chair of the 1922 committee.”

The Stray Ferret has asked Mr Jones for his views following the publication of the Sue Gray report, but has not received a response.

Harrogate district MP: ‘Time for Boris to get on with the job’

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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Andrew Jones MP calls for Sue Gray report to be published in full

Andrew Jones, the Conservative MP for Harrogate and Knaresborough, asked Boris Johnson whether the Sue Gray report will be published in full during a heated debate in Parliament today.

Mr Jones asked a question after the Prime Minister’s statement on the report this afternoon.

The report lists 16 gatherings over a 20-month period. Of those, four did not reach the threshold for the police to investigate.

Mr Jones — sitting next to former Prime Minister Theresa May — asked:

“The update that we have from Sue Gray is, as she says herself, extremely limited.

“So will (Boris Johnson) confirm that at the earliest opportunity he will have the report published in full?”

Mr Johnson did not commit to that request. He replied:

“What we will do is wait until the police have concluded their enquiries and then see what more we can publish. That is what we are going to do.”

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The Stray Ferret asked all three Harrogate district MPs, which besides Mr Jones include Skipton and Ripon MP Julian Smith and Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams for their reaction to Sue Gray’s report and whether they would call on the PM to resign.

None replied by the time of publication.

You can read the report here. Ms Gray concluded:

“The whole of the country rose to the challenge. Ministers, special advisers and the Civil Service, of which I am proud to be a part, were a key and dedicated part of that national effort.

“However, as I have noted, a number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did.

“There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across government.”

The PM said today he is making changes to how Downing Street and the Cabinet Office is run so they can get on with the job of government. He said:

“I get it and I will fix it.”