Senior Downing Street staff joked about holding a Christmas party in Number 10 just four days after the event is alleged to have taken place last December, a recording leaked to ITV News has revealed.
Staff can be heard laughing and making references to “cheese and wine”, while Boris Johnson’s then spokesperson Allegra Stratton remarked there was “definitely no social distancing.”
For the past week the PM, senior ministers and Number 10 have denied that any rules were broken on December 18 2020, when it is alleged that a “boozy” Christmas party took place in Downing Street with initial reports suggesting 40-50 people in attendance. It is not suggested that the prime minister attended the event.
But London was under Tier 3 restrictions at the time, meaning social events including parties were banned.
The law clearly stated that “no person may participate in a gathering in the Tier 3 area which consists of two or more people, and takes place in any indoor space”.
The government’s own guidance made clear that people “must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity”.
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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/07/leaked-video-shows-no-10-officials-joking-about-holding-christmas-party