Sue Gray’s investigation is expected to be withering about a culture in which staff routinely used Downing Street for socialising while the rest of the country was in lockdownTucked in the corner of the press office at 10 Downing Street is a wine cooler. The machine, bought by staff for about £200 after a whip round, can hold 34 bottles of wine at 5C. It was installed in early December 2020 and became a feature of what were known by staff as “wine-time Fridays”, when officials and aides would pull out a bottle and socialise at the end of a working day. SponsoredIt was in regular use at the lockdown Christmas parties in Downing Street that are being investigated by Sue Gray, a senior Whitehall official. Gray’s investigation, which had been thought likely to report at the end of next week but may now be delayed, is expected to be withering about a

Source: The Times January 15, 2022 11:54 UTC