FOURTEEN Covid patient deaths were recorded at the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust on one of the days Number 10 Downing Street held a gathering.

The Sue Gray report, now available in a limited, 12-page form, is available to read on the Government website, following an investigation into so-called 'partygate' allegations of lockdown-busting gatherings in No 10 and Whitehall.

Sue Gray found that “at least some of the gatherings” she investigated 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”.

On January 14, 2021, the report found there was a party in No 10 Downing Street marking the departure of two No 10 private secretaries.

On that same day, the Chester Standard reported that the Countess of Chester Hospital Trust had recorded 14 more Covid patient deaths.

Those deaths registered in the latest 24-hour reporting period sadly occurred on January 10 (4), January 11 (6), January 12 (2) and January 13 (2).

The high number of recorded deaths in a one-day period came just days after chief executive Dr Susan Gilby said almost two-thirds of beds at the Countess of Chester were occupied by patients with Covid-19.

East Cheshire (2), Mid Cheshire (2) and Warrington & Halton (2) hospital trusts also recorded additional deaths in that latest one-day reporting period, meaning 20 deaths were recorded in just one day.

Cheshire hospital Covid patient deaths were also recorded on almost all the other 11 days featured in the Sue Gray report and which have passed the threshold for criminal investigation by the Metropolitan Police.

Only four of the 16 'gatherings' which were investigated are not subject to a police probe.

On the same day as the January 14, 2021 gathering, we also reported that two trainspotters from Cheshire train station Acton Bridge were told by British Transport Police officers to return home after being warned: "Trainspotting is not an essential activity and you shouldn’t be leaving home to do it during lockdown.”

Those who broke Covid rules in Cheshire during the lockdowns faced significant financial penalties.

A 20-year-old man from Elton, near Chester, was ordered to pay more than £2,000 last August after being found to be at a Merseyside BP Petrol Station on February 2 without wearing a face covering. He was fined £1,760 and told to pay a £176 victim surcharge plus £100 court costs.

A 27-year-old man from Chester was also told, last month, to pay a total sum of £2,036 for participating in a gathering of two or more people at a Birkenhead address on March 3, 2021.

Giving an initial reaction to the report on Twitter, Ellesmere Port and Neston MP Justin Madders labelled it "damning – and three quarters of it is still in the hands of the police.

"All those Tory MPs waiting for the Sue Gray report now know 'There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office'. Do they still think [Boris] Johnson is fit to hold office?"

Speaking to MPs this afternoon, the Prime Minister said he accepted the findings of the report and added: "It isn't enough to say sorry," saying he will make changes to how Downing Street and the Cabinet Office is run so they can get on with the job of Government.