I wanted to use this month's column to update constituents on my thoughts regarding the parties held at number 10 and the Sue Gray update.

I have received hundreds of emails on this matter and I have read many emails with a range of opinions and questions, I have tried to cover all basis of questions in the following article.

I understand why people are angry about this. I know people made huge sacrifices to stick to the Covid rules and the people that make the rules should of course follow them.

I saw first hand how the rules impacted on people during my time volunteering on the NHS frontline during the first lockdown. I had to give bad news to relatives over the phone rather than in person. I met relatives who had to have rotas and limit who could come and see their loved ones at the end of their lives.

I also saw how staff tried their best to follow the rules, including during things like lunch breaks.

Nobody is perfect, and perhaps a lot of people did break the rules but that doesn't mean we should not have high expectations of everyone working in places like Number 10.

I recognise people working in Number 10 worked very long hours and helped this country through an incredibly challenging time but that doesn't give them a licence to behave as they want. Lots of keyworkers helped get our country through this.

All of this means I am very concerned about what happened. I feel deeply let down and whatever else I decide, what has happened is clearly shameful and should not be defended or ignored. I have made that view very clear to government.

I know there is intense interest in whether I think the Prime Minister should resign. This is probably one of the biggest decisions I can take as an MP. It has enormous consequences for our country at a time when it faces enormous challenges and when we have Russia apparently intent on invading a sovereign European country.

He also has his own mandate from an election he led and MPs should not lightly step in outside of an election. I think it is right that I should think very carefully about this.

A lot of people have contacted me to offer their support to the Prime Minister on the basis that he took very big decisions that got this country through the worst of Covid, for example on going alone on the vaccines instead of joining with the EU, on accelerating the booster programme so we avoided another lockdown, on programmes like furlough.

I understand that, but I also think that it is important to be able to expect that people that set the rules follow them.

I decided early on that if I would have the opportunity to understand in much more detail what went on that it would be sensible to wait for this. If a lot of what has been reported is true then I understand why many people say he should resign.

The fact I haven't said he should resign does not mean I accept or condone what has gone on or that I agree he should carry on. It means I want to take a decision with the full facts.

If for example, the Prime Minister asked for and received repeated reassurance that everything that was happening was within the rules then I would take that into account.

The Prime Minister is focused on running the country and should be able to rely on senior staff (many of whom are paid a lot more than him) to manage what is going and should be able to rely on what he is told. If he didn't ask when he should have, or was told things they were doing were not within the rules but carried on, that is of course very different.

I hoped like everyone that the Sue Gray Report would give me those answers. That is why I held off replying to people because I had hoped I could give a firm answer within a couple of weeks rather than half an answer followed by another answer later.

No doubt you will have seen as a result of the police launching their own investigations, that despite what the media say the report was not released. An 'update' was released with almost no information.

Certainly, even the update finds clear failings and the wrong culture. I would be very surprised if the full report or the police don't find the rules have been broken. It is absolutely right that the Prime Minister has apologised and committed to making changes. Whatever else I decide, I of course will insist that changes are made and we see that they are.

But as frustrating as it is, we don't have the full and detailed picture. In my view it would not be sensible for me to make a final decision now when I will know soon whether the police decide the Covid laws were broken and exactly what people were told they could do within the rules.

But I want to emphasise again that does not mean I accept or condone what has gone on. It is the opposite. But I believe it is right for me in taking such an important decision to do so with the full picture. Newspaper reports and media speculation are not the full picture.

In the meantime, I am carrying on with my day to day work of trying my best to deliver for the residents of my constituency. All I can do is ask for your continued patience. I can also confirm that I was not at any parties at Number 10 or anywhere else.

In the spirit of carrying on and helping people in my constituency, on Wednesday, the government announced the levelling up White paper. The White paper will set out a complete 'system change' of how government works that will level up the UK and make a range of pledges to better the left behind areas of the country.

It will aim to increase pay, employment and productivity around the UK narrowing the gap.

These pledges include improving the rest of the countries public transport systems to London standards, ensuring that a large majority of the country can access 5G broadband and improving illiteracy and innumeracy figures in primary school leavers, especially in the most disadvantaged parts of the country.

For decades, too many communities have been overlooked and undervalued. As some areas have flourished, others have been left in a cycle of decline. The UK has been like a jet firing on only one engine.

"Levelling Up and this White Paper is about ending this historic injustice and calling time on the postcode lottery.

This will not be an easy task, and it won't happen overnight, but our 12 new national levelling up missions will drive real change in towns and cities across the UK, so that where you live will no longer determine how far you can go."

That is why the White Paper will detail the largest devolution of power from Whitehall to local leaders across England in modern times.