‘They look down on us like we’re the dirt we clean’: Protesters outside No 10 call for respect for cleaners

Sue Gray found cleaners were subjected to ‘unacceptable’ rudeness, so they gathered to tell the government what needs to change

‘They partied while workers died’: cleaners’ union members protest outside Downing Street (PA)

Cleaners delivered a stinging rebuke to Boris Johnson’s government at a Downing Street protest on Friday evening, accusing the cabinet of looking “down on us like we’re the dirt that we clean”.

The protest was called after Sue Gray’s report into illegal parties at Downing Street found that No 10 staff had treated cleaning and security staff “unacceptably” on several occasions.

Workers told The Independent that the problems with respect went beyond No 10 and raised issues relating to insecure, outsourced contracts and low pay.