CAROLINE LUCAS has called on the Prime Minister to resign after a report into a series of parties in Downing Street criticised "failures of leadership and judgement".

An inquiry by Sue Gray, limited due to an ongoing investigation by the Metropolitan Police into potential breaches of lockdown rules, said that behaviour around some gatherings was "difficult to justify" and that there was "too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the appropriateness of some of these gatherings, the risks they presented to public health, and how they might appear in public."

The report also criticised the excessive consumption of alcohol at these gatherings as "not appropriate in a professional workplace at any time".

The MP for Brighton Pavilion said that, despite the report's limitations, Sue Gray has "said enough to clearly expose the falsehood of Johnson's statement in Parliament that whatever happened, the guidance and the rules were followed at all times."

She said: "While millions of us were following the Covid safety measures he set, in spite of the immense suffering and heartache that caused to so many, he and those around him partied and socialised.

"It’s hard to exaggerate the contempt this showed for people across the country.

"Boris Johnson and his backers in the Tory party have been hiding behind this report for weeks but they can hide no longer. Any self-respecting Prime Minister would accept full responsibility for the failure of leadership and resign."

Ms Lucas also slammed Conservative MPs for their "excruciating" defence of the Prime Minister, describing them as "complicit in the same decaying system where the pursuit of power trumps any issues of integrity in politics."

In Parliament yesterday, Prime Minister Johnson apologised and promised a shake-up to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, including the creation of an Office of the Prime Minister, with a permanent secretary to lead No 10.

He said: "I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way this matter has been handled.

"It’s no use saying this or that was within the rules and it’s no use saying people were working hard. This pandemic was hard for everyone.

"I get it, and I will fix it. I want to say to the people of this country I know what the issue is."

Have you got a story for us? Email news@theargus.co.uk or contact us here.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

You can also call us on 01273 021 400.