Sheffield City Council’s chief executive Kate Josephs has received a written warning after attending a Whitehall lockdown party.

Council leader Terry Fox has warned it will take time to ‘rebuild trust’ with him and the public.

Ms Josephs revealed the decision of a cross-party committee of councillors in a tweet apologising for her ‘error of judgement’.

She added: ‘I am not and have never pretended to be perfect.

'I have made mistakes for which I am deeply sorry.

'I intend to learn from these mistakes and continue to work hard to be the very best chief executive I can be for our city.’

Ms Josephs also revealed she had paid a fixed penalty notice for attending the leaving drinks marking her departure from the Cabinet Office.

The event was attended by 20 to 30 officials on 17 December 2020, when London was under tier 3 restrictions.

She explained her failure to inform the council had been due to a request from her former employers, adding: ‘I was asked to respect the confidentiality of the Cabinet Office’s independent investigation.

'I wish I had challenged that more strongly and spoken sooner to colleagues in Sheffield.’

The committee’s decision followed the completion of an independent investigation.

In a statement, the committee said: ‘The decision was made based on the facts at hand and with very careful consideration.

'The committee acknowledges that Kate has apologised and believes she feels genuine remorse.’

Responding to Ms Joseph’s tweet, Cllr Fox said: ‘It’s no secret that I’ve been deeply disappointed by Kate Josephs’ actions.

‘Over the last few months I’ve repeatedly said that I share the anger and upset felt by some Sheffielders about the choices Kate has made.

'Those feelings don’t just go away overnight.

‘The chief executive’s work to rebuild trust across the city and organisation begins now.

'Kate and I will also need to rebuild our relationship, and I do believe we are both committed to doing that.’