'I just want to get on with the job' - Hartlepool's Conservative MP responds to Sue Gray report

Earlier this week civil servant Sue Gray delivered an update on her investigation into claims of drinking sessions and other gatherings at the heart of the Government during the coronavirus pandemic.

Her 12-page report included claims of “failures of leadership” and “excessive consumption of alcohol” although the Metropolitan Police will have to complete its own investigation before the full findings are made public.

Conservative Hartlepool MP Jill Mortimer, posting on Facebook, acknowledged the report concluded there were “issues concerning leadership across all departments”.

Yet she said the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who visited Hartlepool during and after her campaign to become Hartlepool’s MP last year, has “apologised profusely” and taken “immediate action” in response to the report, meaning it is now time to “let us move on”.

She said: “I am consistently hearing from frustrated Hartlepudlians that they want politicians to get on with the job – and I share this frustration.

“We have spent weeks debating the intricacies of events that happened two years ago and now is the time for this to stop. I, along with this Government, want to focus on real priorities.

“My priority is, and always will be, to make positive change for Hartlepool and I just want to get on with the job.”

She added priorities include tackling issues in health and social care, the cost of living, and “levelling up by bringing more jobs, better opportunities, and investment to Hartlepool”.

Ms Mortimer noted Government action taken following the report includes the creation of an Office of the Prime Minister to address the “fragmentation and leadership structures of Downing Street” and a “much-needed” review into the Civil Service and Special Advisor Codes of Conduct.

She added: “The people of Hartlepool voted for positive change. They voted for Boris when they voted for me – we get the important things done.

“You voted overwhelmingly for Brexit, and Boris delivered. Our Prime Minister has since led us through a pandemic, overseeing the fastest vaccine rollout in Europe, and getting us out of lockdown.”

Creating a fast-growing economy, ensuring NHS investment, and recruiting more police officers have also been and remain key areas for the Government, she added.