British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized and vowed to "fix it" after a report into lockdown parties held at his Downing Street residence criticized serious failures at the heart of government.

Released on Monday, the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray into lockdown-breaking gatherings at Downing Street under Johnson condemned some of the behavior in government as being "difficult to justify."

"I want to say sorry," Johnson told parliament. "Sorry for the things we simply did not get right and sorry for the way that this matter has been handled."

Johnson said the government had to learn from the criticisms raised, and that he would make changes to his Downing Street operation.

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"I get it and I will fix it," he said. "And I want to say to the people of this country, I know what the issue is – it is whether this government can be trusted to deliver. And I say yes we can be trusted, yes we can be trusted to deliver." 

Heated debate

In the heated debate that followed his statement, Ian Blackford, leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster, was ordered to leave the House of Commons after accusing Johnson of lying to parliament. 

Parliamentary etiquette forbids lawmakers from calling each other liars in the chamber.

Keir Starmer, the leader of the opposition Labour Party, repeated his call for Johnson to resign, accusing him of taking everyone else for fools. 

"He held people's sacrifice in contempt, he showed himself unfit for office," Starmer said, before calling on lawmakers from the prime minister's own Conservative Party to remove him: "They can heap their reputations, the reputation of their party and the reputation of this country on the bonfire that is his leadership, or they can spare the country from a prime minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities."

Partial report

In her inquiry, Gray said she could not offer a "meaningful report" – an apparent acknowledgement of a police investigation into other gatherings which led to only an abridged version of the report being released. These include one in the prime minister's flat above his Number 10 office.

These are some of her key findings.

• "Some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify."

• "At least some of the gatherings in question represent a serious failure to observe not just the high standards expected of those working at the heart of government but also of the standards expected of the entire British population at the time."

• "There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did."

• "Some staff wanted to raise concerns about behaviours they witnessed at work but at times felt unable to do so. No member of staff should feel unable to report or challenge poor conduct where they witness it."

• "There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government. This does not need to wait for the police investigations to be concluded."

300 photographs

The report is limited in what it reveals, only describing events that are not under investigation by London's Metropolitan Police – a move that has drawn criticism from opposition lawmakers, who say it has handed the prime minister a means to dodge the truth.

Throughout December and much of January, the Metropolitan Police repeatedly insisted it could not investigate the parties despite suspected photographic evidence. This strategy changed last week as Gray's report was nearing conclusion, with the launch of an investigation into "potential breaches of COVID-19 regulations." 

This afternoon, the Metropolitan Police confirmed it had received 300 photographs and 500 pages of information.

Johnson repeatedly refused to guarantee that the full report will be published at the conclusion of the police investigation.