were taped, as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and there's. -- and theirs. >> you also hear some blunt talk. >> if i can't ever go to the bathroom, i don't go. i just stay right behind these gates. announcer: presidential recordings, find it on the c-span now mobile app or wherever you get your podcasts. ♪ >> next, the british house of commons meeting, the perimeter delivers a statement after multiple parties were in violation of the country's covid-19 lockdown restrictions on downing street. the runs an hour and five minutes.

>> i know they will want to join me -- >> the whole house will want to join me in expressing our outrage and deep sorrow -- our thoughts and prayers with those affected and all of the families who lost loved ones. before we come to prime minister's questions, i want to welcome nick and his family to the gallery, nick has worked in parliament for 30 years, as a -- for over 30 years, as a sous chef, but also associate sergeant at arms. unfortunately, nick has had to leave his role because of ill health. he is much missed by his colleagues and all members, constituents will wish to join me in thanking nick for his long service and sending good wishes to nick and his family. i would also like to point out the british sign language interpretation of the proceedings is available to watch on parliament live tv.

we have now come -- we have now come to questions. question number one for you. >> i want to begin by echoing what you just said about reports of the fatal shooting in a texas primary school. our thoughts are with those affected by this horrific attack. i welcome the emir of qatar, qatar announced it would invest 10 billion pounds in the uk through our new strategic investment partnership.

not only will it boost the local economy and support jobs, it will also support our green economy and decarbonization. mr. speaker, i meeting with minister your colleagues and others in addition to my duties in this house i will have further such meetings later today. >> thank you, mister speaker, cambridge is one of the most extensive places to live in the country. and like many cheaper places, nhs workers get to know the high cost of living. nhs workers in cambridge pay higher rent than workers in other areas. but get paid 15% less. this is difficult, and recruit. will my right honorable friend work with me to make sure nhs workers get paid fairly? prime minister. >> my honorable friend is a champion of his constituents and we are proud of our nhs and that is why we are putting record investment in and hope the independent nhs pay review body is as happy as my honorable friend is adjusting. >> we have now come to the leader of the opposition. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my thoughts and the thoughts of the whole house are with the families of the victims of yesterday's school shooting in texas.

19 children have died, some as young as seven, and two adults, believed to be teachers. it is an unspeakable tragedy and our hearts are with the american people. last weekend marked the anniversary of the manchester bombing and the murder of lee rigby, we remember them this year as we do every year. today is also the anniversary of the killing of george floyd, a reminder that we must all tackle the racism that is still experienced by so many in our country and beyond. the report was published this morning and i look forward to discussing that during this afternoon's statement with the prime minister. for now, i want to focus on the cost of living affecting the whole country. since we stood here last week, and i asked the prime minister yet again to back labor plans for a windfall tax to reduce energy bills, hundreds of millions of pounds have been added to bills across the

country, but hundreds of millions of pounds in bank accounts of energy companies. it sounds like he has finally seen sense and the inevitable u-turn may finally have arrived. so when can people across the country expect him to use those oil and gas profits to bring down their bills? there's nothing original about a labor plan for tax, they want to do that every day, and they are -- and what we are doing is helping people, we are helping people now. mr. speaker, we are putting 22 billion pounds in people's pockets, cutting the text by 155, cutting compositions by an average of 330, people who pay

-- 330 pounds for people who pay this. mr. speaker, how can we afford that? because we have a strong economy, we came out of covid fast, which would not have been possible if we listened to the party opposite. with tax rises and he believes it is a low tax government. mr. speaker, it has been 4.5 months since windfall tax on oil and gas profits. week in and week out, every week he has a new reason for not doing it. the business sector said it is bad. the justice sector called it disastrous, the health secretary opposed it. the northern ireland secretary opposed it. he ordered all his mps to vote against it last week and he is now -- surprise, surprise --

backing it. prime minister, i'm told hindsight is a wonderful thing. [laughter] but mr. speaker, households across the country suffered, when they didn't need to. what? [laughter] mr. speaker -- [indiscernible] a man who always catches my eyes. not always the best way to do so. households across the country suffered, when they didn't need to. what is it about the report that first attracted him into a u-turn this week?

mr. speaker, there is no surprise, no surprise neighbors love to put up taxes. there is nothing original, they get off on it, to confiscate other people's assets. what we prefer to do mr. speaker is make sure, make sure measures are in place to drive investment in our country and drive jobs and that is thanks to the steps we took and the fact we came out of covid which would not have been possible that we had listened to him, -- if we had listened to him, that we now have unemployment at the lowest level since 1974. put that in your pipe. mr. speaker, i thought he was

getting his head out of the sand, but obviously not, the reality is every day appears do the ring on his delay 53 million pounds were added to britain's household bill while he is distracted, trying to save his own job, the country has been touting the cost. complacency is nothing new for this government. back in october, the chancellor delivered a budget that has to be reread to be believed with inflation already climbing, he said that he understood and the government was ready to act. people were concerned about it. since then, inflation has risen to a 40 year high, the highest rate of any g-7 country. if the government was ready to act 6 months ago, why hasn't it? mr. speaker, the government has acted, and the chancellor continues to act. this is a government that not

only put in a living wage, conservative institution, but we raised it by a record amount, raised it by a thousand pounds, a record amount, and helped families on universal credit with another 1000 pounds, thanks to the measures we have already put into support people's cost of heating, abating the cost of fuel for people up and down the country, and we will do more, we will put our arms around the people of this country, as we did through the covid pandemic, but the reason we can do that is because we took tough decisions to do the fastest vaccine rollout in europe, which wouldn't have been possible with him, and that is why we have another certificate, youth unemployment, they used to care about it, at or near a record low. mr. speaker, it wasn't just the chancellor in september.

the prime minister called fears about inflation unfounded. he was the last person to stop the cost of living crisis, the last person to back the labor plan to help people through it. mr. speaker, it wasn't just inflation that they got wrong, in the same speech, the chancellor boasted about growth, about how we were going to do better with major competitors. it was obvious he was being complacent, and britain is set to have the lowest growth of any major country, except russia. despite our brilliant businesses, and all you have to offer, why has his government inflicted in britain, the twin headed hydra of the highest inflation and lowest growth? he loves running this country. -- running this country down. how many times? how many times did he come to

the plate and said the united kingdom had the highest covid death rate in europe? how many times? he was proved completely wrong. he never apologized. absolutely not. he never took it back. absolutely not. absolutely, the steps we took, last year we had the smartest -- the fastest growth in the g7 and we will return. we will return to the fastest growth by 2024 or 2025 thanks to the decision is government took. mr. speaker, they don't care about getting people into jobs. we care about the working people of this country. making sure we have a high wage. i employment -- a high employment economy. he is running the country down. it wasn't just complacency on labor's windfall tax, which is -- which he is now backing, it wasn't just complacency which is through the roof.

it wasn't complacency on growth, which is now spluttering along at the back of the pack, because his chancellor also claimed that people should make more efforts. and then he put their taxes up. does the prime minister want to explain to hard-working people whose wages are running out sooner and sooner each month, with astronomical bills, just how his 15 tax rises since taking office could help them -- have helped them to keep more of their rewards in their pocket? >> mr. speaker, what we are doing is making sure after a huge pandemic, we are funding vital public services which we can. because of the steps what we did. what we are also doing is put more money into people's pockets by the measures i have outlined today, whether through cutting national insurance contributions or lifting the living wage or

universal credit, mr. speaker, but all this is made possible because we took the responsible and sensible steps to protect our economy throughout covid, he is completely wrong about the country's performance. he runs it down, he was proved wrong about covid, he will be proved wrong again. >> just delusional. >> mr. speaker, last week i raised the case of phoenix -- of felix honeywell, daily dialysis, and his energy bill has gone through the roof as a result. i'm glad government officials got in touch with phoenix yesterday and i hope that will result in more support for people who are vulnerable. but shouldn't be less for labor to turn up week after week to make him aware of the consequences of his delay.

so i want to raise another issue where the sleepwalking -- where the government is sleepwalking into disaster, there are reports the home office already has a back log of 500,000 passports to issue, that is potentially more than half a million people worrying about whether they will get away this summer. so can the prime minister reassure people they won't miss out on their holidays due to the failures of his home office? >> thank you very much for that. i can tell you actually what we are doing is increasing the speed with which the passport office delivers. to the best of my knowledge everybody is getting their passport within 4 to 6 weeks, mr. speaker, that is because, that is because driving the leadership of this country.

and we are getting things done that would never have been possible. mr. speaker, we got brexit done, he voted 48 times to answer to the will of the people, we gotta vaccine rollout with european nation agencies. we were the first european country to help the ukrainians. against vladimir putin. does anybody seriously believe for a second that they would have done it? we are trying to cheer, i can't hear the prime minister. does anybody seriously think for a second the labour party would have done that, mr. speaker, with the shadow fronts, including the shadow foreign secretary who is not in his place, to get rid of his

country's independent nuclear deterrence. he campaigned, jeremy corbin, in downing street. we do the difficult things. we do the difficult things. we make the smart decisions, mr. speaker. social care. social care. >> prime minister, i'm trying to help you, you've got to help me, as well, and -- thank you, mr. speaker. >> thank you, mr. speaker. when the prime minister gets passionate, things get done. brexit is done. the vaccine -- the vaccine

rollout is done. the vaccine rollout, done. will my right honorable friend personally intervene so the immunocompromised like my constituent, scott, can get access to british wonder drugs on the shelves and then they, not next winter, not next year -- but now, so that they can enjoy the summer and enjoy their freedom like the rest of us? >> mr. speaker, my honorable friend has taken a keen interest in this for a while to reduce the risk of infection as he says. we've got to look at available evidence, before we make a decision whether it should be available, but i will make sure the department of health and social care updated the

progress. >> we have now come to the leader of the s&p, ian blackburn. >> thank you, mr. speaker, i want to express my deepest sorrow for the horrific events in texas yesterday. 19 children and two teachers needlessly lost their lives. many of us in scotland will be remembering the tragic events that took place 26 years ago, the thoughts and prayers of the s&p are with the families suffering today and we hope lawmakers will act on gun violence. the report the prime minister downing street, with offices, rooms crowd, and security force, -- so many bottles, rooms crowded, and security forced to intervene because the parties were so enraged. at the center was the prime minister orchestrating it.

a collapse for himself. for eight months, we have held every excuse under the sun. but now, now, we've seen the damning photo evidence. people stayed at home to protect the nhs. but the prime minister was engaging in drinking and debauchery that makes a mockery of sacrifices each and every person made. will the prime minister take the opportunity and resign? >> mr. speaker, i can tell the right honorable gentlemen much as i appreciate his advice he will have a further opportunity to take customary length to debate that matter in the course of the statement that will follow. directly after. >> ian blackburn.

>> mr. speaker, it is all a joke to the prime minister. the prime minister has lost the trust of the public. he has lost what little moral authority he had left. the prime minister has apologized many times not because he feels any genuine remorse, he refuses to admit there were parties that he presided over them. he apologized for one simple reason, he got caught. the reality is no apology will ever be enough for the families of people who lost loved ones, the families who followed the rules, people who stayed at home. and are now forced to look at photographs of the prime minister surrounded by drink, toasting to a party in the middle of a lockdown. if the prime minister will not expect that he must resign, then

the tory benches must act. this prime minister who has broken the law cannot be allowed to remain in office. prime minister, time is up. resign, resign, resign, before this house is forced to remove him. >> i thank him very much. i would just direct him again, it would be to his advantage. to look through the reporting. i think we should return afterwards. >> have -- >> we have now come to jonathan gillis. >> thank you, mr. speaker.

>> [indiscernible] >> mr. speaker, i want to thank him by the way, i think he is entirely right. this is what we have adopted the measures he proposes in the bill unreasonably could face an unlimited fine. >> i was pleased to meet the prime minister last week and royal hillsborough. in my constituency. we welcome his commitment to introduce legislation to deal with the protocol on the irish border and protect the belfast food friday agreement. that will take some time. in the meantime, the rest of the united kingdom hard-pressed households in northern ireland are suffering the cost of living

crisis. while the prime minister give me an assurance any measures brought forward by the chancellor in the near future to help hard-pressed households will apply to northern ireland and the protocol will not be allowed to prevent northern ireland, citizens receiving the support they need from the government at this time? >> i thank the right honorable gentlemen, he knows we have a package to support families across the whole of the uk i detailed already to the house. i may say that i also think it would to be an advantage to the people of northern ireland in tackling issues we all face across the uk, if it was restored. recent report on leveling up the -- >> recent report on leveling up the economy highlights many areas where more work is needed in small, rural, coastal communities to ensure they benefit from the agenda.

does the prime minister agree with me that we need to ensure leveling up for the regions? how we can progress? >> prime minister. my honorable friend is a fantastic advocate for rural communities. i will make sure both she and helen get a meeting to discuss her ideas further. >> rising fuel costs are serious problems for workers in rural areas. for carers and district nurses, the crisis has reached its point. one often has to travel 29 miles just to reach 1700 miles each month. with the prime minister therefore consider extending the rural fuel relief scheme, two

areas to have my constituent and many like her to continue their valuable work? >> i thank you for his excellent question and i can tell him does -- i can tell him that compensate motorists by helping retailers in remote rural areas where prices can be higher. it currently operates on a geographical basis. i'm happy to ensure the honorable gentlemen gets meeting with the minister as fast as possible. >> labor and socialism failed this country because they followed policies that interfered in people's lives, overregulates at too much taxpayer money, borrowed too much and raised taxes, can you tell the house the policies that are going to be followed to ensure we don't follow a similar fate? >> i can. i am grateful to my honorable

friend and he is right, putting up tax, that is what they are breaking about. -- bragging about. it is ludicrous. what we are doing is not only cutting people's contributions but also cutting the -- helping businesses to invest in 130% super deductions. what that is doing is helping us to have a high wage, high skilled economy, the lowest since 1974. >> thank you, mr. speaker. days before the election, the [indiscernible] big signal in the conservative party. >> sit down.

sorry. >> [indiscernible] >> be careful how you word the question. >> shockingly, they failed to act on this report or explain why. some would have a call for an independent investigation into the failure warning the conservative party. will the prime minister launch an independent investigation into failure to act so victims can have confidence his party will never turn a blind eye? >> mr. speaker, i hear what she says. the sensitivity of these issues, given the legal proceedings that are currently going on, i don't think it would be right to comment any further. >> thank you mr. speaker,

politics often get all the attention in the real world, millions of parents being held back by issues with childcare has been a model over government support. [indiscernible] [laughter] taxpayers are spending 5 to 6 million quid a year, the highest costs in the world. educated parents are stuck with the bureaucracy. i know my right honorable friend ministers to investigate options to reduce the cost of childcare. will he tell us more about what to do urgently and work with me with the think tanks? >> yes. i thanked her very much. this is a subject i take a direct personal interest and i think, mr. speaker, there are things we can do to make childcare more affordable, one of the issues is not enough people take up tax-free childcare.

we need to have more take-up of what is offered. what we could also look at, mr. speaker, is ways to reform and improve the system. >> thank you, mr. speaker, next month marks five years since the fire that killed 72 people. my constituency has many buildings. similar to that. in 2019, the prime minister rightly told the house where the government recommends response ability for fire safety we will legislate accordingly. but they dropped the recommendation personal evacuation plans, claiming basic safety would be too expensive and that cutting costs is more important than the value of human life. will the prime minister reverse the deeply inhumane decision at not breaking a promise to this house? >> mr. speaker, if there's an

issue with fire safety in the building, then extra steps should be taken and remediation should be made. when it comes to self evacuation, the home office launched a new consultation to support fire safety of residents who are unable to self evacuate, but with further representation on that point, i would be happy she gets the meeting with the minister in duluth. >> mr. speaker, i'm not a cynical sort, but i was slightly perplexed this week, when the cabinet secretary and the director of government propriety and ethics were banned from attending the committee to get evidence that has been scheduled for two months. i cannot possibly think why, mr. speaker, i wonder which particular subjects my right honorable friend the prime minister was most concerned being raised by the committee,

was it the case of undeclared loans and donations, security insights and appointments to the house of lords or the consultation for the minister of appointments? >> mr. speaker, i can assure you, i will make sure all relevant ministers and civil servants appear before the committee. >> the prime minister's leading a long queue of conservative mps showing how out of touch they are, people are struggling, they don't need to be told how to learn to buy value foods. they already are. when will the prime minister get a grip on this crisis and bring in the windfall tax? >> mr. speaker, what we are

doing throughout the country is making sure we invest now in protecting them, as i said to the house and said repeatedly not just with the increases in universal credit or living wage, in the warm homes discount, and cutting fuel bills, but also with the 330 pounds cut. the reason we can do this is because we have a robust economic position in which we have strong employment giving us the revenue to pay a debt cushion in this difficult time. it would not be possible if we sent to the labour party during covid. >> thank you, mr. speaker, tens of thousands of fans coming down to london. saturday, the rugby league challenge cup final. on sunday it is the championship playoff final in the premier league.

will the prime minister as well as wishing the best of luck to the teams agree with me that the best way to honor the sporting tradition is following through with their pledge to house the new national rugby league museum and the birthplace, the george hotel, and not pull out of the deal as they indicated they want to do so? >> is that the labor? pulling out of the deal? mr. speaker, i am not surprised. all i can say is i congratulate him on his campaign and i urge him to take it up with the arts counselor or other relevant bodies. >> thank you, mr. speaker, under the cover of the pandemic we seen a shift in wealth from the poorest of the richest.

a reckless, lawbreaking chancellor, lined the pockets of -- 175,000 of fellow citizens have died from covid and they are sitting on their hands laughing in our faces, as the cost of living crisis could leave thousands more to drive cold in their own homes. dash diet of -- to die of cold in their own homes. when we saw pictures of rpm partying in the middle of the pandemic, was he toasting his assault on the working-class? and i ask him, how on earth does he sleep at night with so much blood on his filthy, privileged hands? >> mr. speaker, everything we've done since the pandemic began, has been to get money into the pockets of the working people of the country. those are the people we have prioritized, i don't doubt

for a moment things are tough. i don't doubt it for a moment, but it is our intention to get the country through it by putting our arms around people, as we can, because of the fiscal firepower we have but also by making sure we continue with a high wage, high skill and employment economy we have, and the best thing is to have a job. >> does the prime minister agree with me, when the right honorable member spins the myth of a low tax labor party, he needs a memory jog because can i just remind you all that in 2019, you all stood on a manifesto that would have inflicted the highest tax burden on the people of this country,

i'm wondering why there are so few of you over there. >> mr. speaker, they campaigned to put taxes on business to the highest level the country has ever seen, that was his ambition and that is what they would do, again -- what they would love to do, you can feel the lust for tax rising off the benches opposite. that's why there is nothing the office with unemployment, lower unemployment than when they came in. >> thank you, mr. speaker. yesterday, the energy cup is due to increase to 2800 pounds in the autumn, more than double from last year. i know the prime minister has been busy directing and redirecting his half-assed apologies, the work events.

[indiscernible] >> what work events, considering, last week, just the same. >> [indiscernible] >> i couldn't hear the question or the advice that was given. it might help if i could hear both. >> i heard enough to have a rough idea of the nonsense he was talking, what we are doing is not only supporting people now, but we will continue to put our arms around the people of this country, as we did during the pandemic and beyond. >> can i just say, moderate language is what we normally use. [laughter] -- [indiscernible] john baron. >> the prime minister will recall the plight of 170 british

council contractors who remain in afghanistan in fear of their lives, 85 of whom are at high risk. i met the refugee minister at a positive meeting, but face the bureaucracy presenting the fcvo from cutting through the bureaucracy -- will he help us cut through the red tape and help these people? time is running out. >> i thank him very much, i will see what we can do to help those particular people. i remind the house we've not only evacuated 15,000 people, great credit to the country, we have supported since then 4600 more have come to this country and we will do what we can. >> my constituency is working

after we visited the school to hear about the low pay campaign, they are tired of people in the community working hard, but living in poverty and bills are rising, inflation, and the government seems incapable and disinterested in doing anything to help out. mr. speaker, our children see the need for emergency action, why can't we? why can't our government? >> mr. speaker, everybody, 30 million workers will get a tax cut in july, that's not the end of what the government will do to look after people. i told the house before this afternoon that we will continue to use fiscal fire power to look after the british people through the covid aftershocks and beyond. >> thank you, mr. speaker, on monday at 3:25, a school bus crashed into a group of schoolchildren, three children were airlifted to hospitals, the bus driver taken by ambulance at

a -- and a fifth child discharged. at the same. everyone in stable condition, this is a tragic accident. will the prime minister join me and the house in sending love and prayers to those in hospitals, and also, the teaching staff for the heroic response and continuing response? >> i thank my honorable friend, for raising this sad incident. i am sure the whole house, with those who have been affected and i want to join him in particular in paying tribute to the emergency services, teachers, and staff of the school. who did so much to help. >> thank you, mr. speaker. prime minister, our constituent, robert walker, died last year.

as such disclosing confidence that he was a gay man. the confidence was breached by the hr department at the commonwealth office. recently, paperwork showed the breach largely a candidate for his well-being and forced early retirement. will the prime minister offer stephen honeyman a posthumous apology to the commonwealth office for a formal response to his treatment while he worked there? >> prime minister. >> i want to begin by saying how grateful i am to the honorable member, for raising this case, but i am afraid i don't know directly about the events she describes, it is very concerning, and i will make sure she gets a meeting with the relevant minister as soon as possible. >> those are prime minister's questions, for those who wish to

leave. [laughter] we now -- can i say to the house that i expect moderate and temperate language? as we come to the statement, prime minister. >> thank you, mr. speaker. with permission, i will make a statement. i am grateful to sue gray, for her report, and the work that she has done, and the metropolitan police for completing their investigation, and i want to begin by renewing my apology to the house and the whole country, for the short lunch time gathering on june 19, 2020, in the cabinet room, in which i stood at the cabinet table and received a penalty notice. mr. speaker, and i want to say above all i take full response ability -- full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch.

sue gray's reports emphasized it is up to the political leadership in number 10 to take ultimate responsibility, and of course, i do. but since these investigations have come to a end, this is my first opportunity to set out some of the content and explain both my understanding of what happened, and also to explain what i previously said to this house. and it is important to set out, over a period of 600 days, gatherings on a total of eight dates were found to be in breach of the regulation, including the building floors, excluding the flats, it is important, the first time i had the chance to set up the context. hundreds of staff are entitled to work, and in the cabinet

office, which has thousands of officials, the biggest it has been in any point in its 100 year history, a reason the government is looking for change and reform. those staff working in downing street continued to attend their office for the purpose of work, and the exemption of regulations applied to their work, because of the nature of their jobs reporting directly to the prime minister. these people were working extremely long hours. doing their best to give this country the ability to fight the pandemic. mr. speaker, i appreciate this is no mitigation. but it's important to set out. >> it is important -- please just one second. i expect it to be heard and i want everybody to hear it and i want the same respect to be of the leader of the opposition afterwards. so please, this is a very, very important statement the country wants to hear as well. prime minister. >> i'm trying to set out the

context, not to mitigate myself in any way. -- mitigate or absolve myself in any way. the exemption includes those circumstances, where officials and advisers were leaving the government, and it was appropriate to recognize them, to thank them for the work that they have done. let me come to that. mr. speaker, i briefly attended such gatherings to thank them, for their service, which i believe is one of the essential duties of leadership. and particularly important when people need to feel that their contributions have been appreciated and to keep morale as high as possible. i'm trying to explain the reasons i was out. it is clear from what sue gray has had to say, that some of these gatherings went on far

longer than was necessary, and they were clearly in breach of the rules. i have to tell the house, because the house will need to know this, not to mitigate or attenuate, i had no knowledge of subsequent proceedings, because i simply wasn't there. i have been as surprised and disappointed as anybody in this house, as the revelations have unfolded, and frankly, mr. speaker, i have been appalled by some of the behaviors in the treatment particularly of the security and cleaning staff. and i would like to apologize to those members of staff and i expect anyone who behaved in that way to apologize to them, as well. and i am happy to set on the record now, when i said i came to this house, and said in all sincerity the rules and guidance

are to be followed at all times, it was what i believed to be true. it was certainly the case, when i was present at gatherings, to which staff farewell, and the house will note my attendance at these moments, brief as it was, was not found to be outside the rules. but clearly this was not the case for gatherings after i had left, and other gatherings when i was not even in the building, so i would like to correct for the record, to take this opportunity, not in any sense to absolve myself of responsibility which i take and have always taken, but to simply explain what i spoke as i did in this house. mr. speaker, in response to the interim report, sue gray

acknowledges very significant changes have already been enacted. she writes, and i quote, "i am pleased progress is being made in addressing the issues i raised," she adds, "since my update, there have been changes with the claim of creating lines of leadership and accountability and these need a chance and time to fit in." the permanent secretary, charged with applying high standards of governance, there are easier ways to voice any worries and to welcome steps taken to introduce more easily accessible means to raise concerns electronically, in person, or online the -- more online, including directly with the permanent secretary. the entire senior management has

changed. there is a new chief of staff, a new elected member of the house who also hold the status of a cabinet minister, a new director of communications and private secretary and key appointments in my office. i am confident, with the changes and new structures that are in place, that we are humbled by the experience and we have learned our lesson. and i want to conclude by saying that i am humbled and i have learned -- and i want to conclude by saying whatever the failings, whatever the failings

-- we will come to that. whatever the failings of number 10 in the cabinet office, it is difficult, which i take full responsibility and i continue to believe the civil servants and advisors in question, hundreds of them, thousands of them, some of whom are the very people who received fines, are good hard-working people, motivated by the highest calling to do the very best for our country, and i will always be proud of what they achieved, including procuring essential lifesaving ppe, creating the biggest testing program in europe and helping with development and distribution of the vaccine, which got this country through the worst pandemic of the century. mr. speaker, now we must get our country through the aftershocks of covid with every ounce of ingenuity and compassion and hard work. so i hope that today, as well as

learning the lessons from sue gray's report, which i am glad i commissioned and i am grateful to her. i hope very much that now that she has reported, we will be able to move on and focus on the priorities of the british people. standing firm against russian aggression, even the hardship caused by rising costs people are facing, fulfilling pledges to generate a high wage, high employment, an economy that will level up across the whole of the united kingdom. that is the mission of the whole of the government and we will work day and night for delivery and i commend this statement to the house. >> we now come to the leader of the opposition. >> thank you, mr. speaker, the

door of number 10 downing st. is a great symbol of our democracy. those who lived behind it exercise great power, but do so knowing their stay is temporary. long after they have gone, that door of the democracy it represents will remain firm and unyielding, but britain's constitution is fragile. it relies on members of this house and the custodians of number 10 behaving responsibly, honestly, and in the interests of the british people. when our leaders fall short of these standards, this house has to doubt. for months, members across the country were asked to wait, first for the police investigation, which concluded this prime minister is the first in our country's history to have broken the law in office. then they asked to the country to wait for the sue gray report.

they need wait no longer. that report lays bare the rot this prime minister has spread and number 10 and it provides definitive proof of how those within the building treated the sacrifices of the british people with utter contempt. when the dust settles and anger subsides, this report will stand as a monument to the hubris and arrogance of a government. that believed it was a role for them and another role for everyone else. the details are stark. 5 months ago, the prime minister told the house all guidance was completely followed in number 10. yet we now know he attended events on the 17th of december. at least one of those attending has received a fine for it, deeming it illegal, we know on the 18th of december, an event

was held in which excessively others in the building described as a party, and cleaners were left to mop up the red wine the next day. on the 20th of may, at a covid press conference, one of his senior officials was told the mindful, cameras are leaving, don't walk about waving duffels. -- waving bottles. it is now impossible to defend the prime minister's words to this house. this is about trust, because during the may 20th press conference, the british public were told, normal life as we know it is a long way off, but that wasn't the case in number 10. even now, after 126 fines, they think it is everyone else's fault but theirs. they expect others to take the blame while they cling on. they pretend the prime minister

has been exonerated, as if the fact he only broke the law once is worthy of praise. the truth is, they set the bar for his conduct lower than a snake's belly, and now, they expect the rest of us to congratulate him. as he stumbles over it. number 10 symbolizes the printable's of public life in this country -- selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty, leadership. but who could read this report and honestly believe the prime minister has upheld those standards? the reason the british public has had to endure this farce was his refusal to admit the truth or do the decent thing, when he was found to have broken the law. this report was necessary because of what sue gray describes as failure of leadership and judgment for

which senior political leadership must bear responsibility. it is that failure of leadership that has left his government paralyzed in the middle of a cost of living crisis, the government has turned the focus of government to saving his own skin. it is utterly shameful. it is precisely because he cannot lead that it falls to others to do so. i have been clear what leadership looks like. i haven't broken any rules. sorry. >> can i just calm it down? i expect the same of the leader of the opposition, those who

don't wish to hear, please, go have a cup of tea or something. >> i have been clear what leadership looks like. i haven't broken any rules, and any attempt to compare illegal take away while working to this catalog of criminality looks even more ridiculous today, but mr. speaker, if the police decide otherwise, i will do the decent thing and step down. the public need to know not all politicians are the same. not all politicians put themselves above their country, but honesty, integrity, and accountability matter. members on the opposite benches also need to show leadership. this prime minister is steering the country in the wrong direction.

they can hide in the backseat, i discovered, -- eyes covered, praying for a miracle or they can act, stop this out of touch, out of control prime minister from driving britain towards disaster. we waited for the sue gray report. the country can't wait any the country can't wait any longer, the values symbolized by the door number 10 must be restored. members opposite must do their bit, they must tell the current inhabitants their leader, that this has gone on too long, the game is up. you cannot be a lawmaker and a lawbreaker. it is time to pack his bags. only then can the government function again. only then can the rot be carved out. only then can we restore the dignity of that great office and the democracy that it represents.

>> prime minister, the right honorable gentlemen talks about what went on on number 10 downing street and the events behind that and the number of events. what i want to say to him is throughout the pandemic was not leading many thousands in the fight against coronavirus and he was sniping from the sidelines, and veering from one position to the next. and today, he has done it again. week after week, he comes to this house and talks about the economy, about ukraine, about the cost of living. no, mr. speaker. time after time he chose to focus on these issues. he could have shown some common sense and recognized that when

people are working very hard together day in, day out, that it can be difficult to draw the boundaries, mr. speaker, between work and socializing. and yet after months of his frankly sanctimonious obsession, mr. speaker, the great gaseous zeppelin of his pomposity has been permanently punctured and irretrievably by the revelation that he himself is under investigation by the police, by the police, mr. speaker. and yet, i'm not going to mince my words. i'm going to say this. currently failing told himself to the same high standards that he demanded of me. it's true. he called for me to resign, mr. speaker, when the investigation began.

why is he in his place? [shouting] >> mr. holden, it's the second time, please, help me to help you because i'm sure you want to hear the rest of this. prime minister. >> mr. speaker, mr. speaker, he should at least, you should at least be consistent and told himself to the same standard. he's still there and so is the shadow deputy leader. and mr. speaker, i apologize when the revelations emerged. i continue to apologize. i repeat i am humbled by what has happened and we've instituted changes the number 10. i think in view of the mess that he found himself in himself it would now be a sensible thing for him,, too, to apologize so that we could all collectively

move on, mr. speaker. that i think is what the people of this country want to see above all. they want to see leadership from both parties, mr. speaker, in dealing with their priorities and that is why we are focused on getting through aftershocks of covid. that's why i am proud of what we did to rollout the process of vaccine campaign in europe and that's why i am proud we now have the lowest unemployment anywhere in this country for 50 years, mr. speaker. that is with the people of this country want. i appreciate that he has his points to make but i think overwhelmingly the will of this country is for us now to say thank you to sue gray and for us collectively to move on. >> thank you, mr. speaker. my right honorable friend well knows the rules apply to him as much to all of us, and the rules of this house are clear that

anybody who comes to deliberately lies in this lead to this house should leave their position, resign or apologize. my right honorable friend has been asked many times about specific incidents, specific events that sue gray has outlined. do you have an indication come to his house in response to specific questions about specific events and deliberately lied to us? >> no, mr. speaker, for the reason i have given. at the time i spoke to this house i believed that what i was doing was to attend work events. and with the exception of the events in the cabinet room, that is a view that has been vindicated by the investigation. >> we now come to leader of the snp, ian blackburn. >> thank you, mr. speaker. as i speak, the public is pouring over the sordid details of what went on out of the

public eye behind the high gates and the walls of the prime minister's residence. and it is damning. it concludes, many gatherings and many individuals did not adhere to covid guidance. events were attended by leaders in governments and should not have been allowed to happen. junior civil servants believe that involvement was permitted by the attendance of senior leaders. there was an unacceptable lack of respect and poor treatment of security staff. the senior leadership of the center, both political and official, must bear responsibility for this culture. that leadership came from the top, and the prime minister, in the words of the report, must bear responsibility for the culture. a fish rots from the head. mr. speaker, the prime

minister's dispatch box denial of a party taking place in november is now proven to be untrue. he was there on the 30th of november, photographed, raising a toast, surrounded by gin, wine, and other revelers. the charge of misleading parliament is a resignation matter. will the prime minister now finally resign? this prime minister has adopted a systematic and sinister purpose of evasion. truthfulness, honesty and transparency did not enter his vocabulary. it is just not part of his way of being, and it speaks for the type of man that he is. credibility, truth, morality all matter. and the prime minister has been

found lacking time and time again, and he can shake his head, but that's the reality, prime minister. ethics have to be part of our public life, and ethical behavior has to be at the core of the demeanor and the response of any prime minister. the prime minister brings shame on the office and has displayed contempt not only to the members of this house, but to every single person who followed the rules. they stayed away from family, those who missed funerals, those who lost someone they loved. so when the tory members opposite retired to the 1922 committee this evening, i hope they will bear in mind the now-infamous government advert featuring a desperately ill covid patient. it said, look into her eyes and tell her, you never bend the rules. if they don't submit a letter, if they don't remove this prime minister, how will they ever, ever look at their constituents

in the eye ever again? >> mr. speaker, i think that the right honorable gentleman should look closely at sue gray's report and i repeat my thanks to her. i stress that the nature and length of my involvement in the events is very clear from what she says, and i take full responsibility for what happened, and that is why we have taken the steps that we have to reform and improve the way number 10 works. we are humbled by what has happened and we have changed it. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2022] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: american history tv, saturdays on c-span 2, exploring the people and events that tell the american story. on the presidency, a conversation with ronald whyte along with retired u.s. army

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schedule on your program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org. announcer: at least six presidents recorded conversations while in office. here many of those conversations on c-span's new podcast, presidential recordings. >> season one focuses on the presidency of lyndon johnson. you will hear about the 1964 civil rights act, the presidential campaign, the gulf of tonkin incident, the march on selma, and the war in vietnam. not everyone knew they were being recorded. >> certainly johnson's secretaries knew, because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones who made sure the conversations were taped, as johnson would signal to them through an open door between his office and theirs. >> you will also hear some blunt talk. >> i want a report of the number

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