PM Accused Of Lying After No 10 Team Filmed Joking About Party
The Guardian|December 08, 2021
Leaked footage suggests Downing Street did host event during lockdown despite repeated denials
Peter Walker, Aubrey Allegretti, Jamie Grierson
PM Accused Of Lying After No 10 Team Filmed Joking About Party
Boris Johnson is facing accusations of lying after senior No 10 officials were filmed joking about a lockdown Christmas party that Downing Street insists did not take place.

Johnson and his aides have repeatedly denied that the event, reportedly held for staff at No 10 in December last year, broke Covid rules or took place at all.

In the leaked video of a mock televised press briefing, an adviser to Johnson is seen joking with Allegra Stratton, the prime minister’s then press secretary, about “a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night”.

The footage, obtained by ITV, was shot on 22 December 2020. The previous Friday was 18 December, the date on which multiple sources have said there was a staff party inside Downing Street, which would have contravened strict Covid regulations in place at the time.

It shows Stratton, the prime ministerial adviser Ed Oldfield and other staff making a series of jokes about a party, including references to “cheese and wine”, lack of social distancing and making the excuse it was a business meeting.

Quizzed in the leaked footage, Stratton laughingly says: “This is recorded... This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”

Johnson has repeatedly said no Covid rules were broken, while his spokesman denied earlier yesterday that any event at Downing Street had taken place. Asked about the video, Downing Street insisted it had not changed its view, saying: “There was no Christmas party. Covid rules have been followed at all times.” Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said Johnson had not been truthful: “To lie and to laugh about those lies is shameful. The prime minister now needs to come clean and apologise.”

This story is from the December 08, 2021 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the December 08, 2021 edition of The Guardian.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM THE GUARDIANView All
Concern Over £100 Cost Of Pharmacy Covid Jabs
The Guardian

Concern Over £100 Cost Of Pharmacy Covid Jabs

Experts and patient groups have warned that the high cost of private Covid vaccinations could exacerbate health inequalities and leave those more at risk from the virus without a vital line of defence.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 29, 2024
Up to the nines: Haaland v Havertz offers a style subplot in forward faceoff
The Guardian

Up to the nines: Haaland v Havertz offers a style subplot in forward faceoff

Sunday's match at the Etihad pits City’s ruthless goalscorer against Arsenal's increasingly influential false 9 whoever prevails could sway the title race

time-read
3 mins  |
March 29, 2024
Tonali charged by FA for 50 alleged betting rule breaches
The Guardian

Tonali charged by FA for 50 alleged betting rule breaches

The Football Association has charged Newcastle's Sandro Tonali with 50 alleged gambling offences relating to bets the Italy midfielder placed after swapping Milan for Tyneside in a £55m transfer last July.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 29, 2024
'Sexism is the risk factor': the race to learn more about ACL injuries
The Guardian

'Sexism is the risk factor': the race to learn more about ACL injuries

Experts suggest that a lack of resources, rather than biology, is key to the worrying trend among female players

time-read
3 mins  |
March 29, 2024
'People write about you as a different breed - it's another level as a mum'
The Guardian

'People write about you as a different breed - it's another level as a mum'

Double Olympic champion Helen Glover says she is super-chilled’ despite balancing rowing with parenting as she eyes another medalin Paris this summer

time-read
5 mins  |
March 29, 2024
'A club for life' How caring ethos powered Norwegian YMCA team all the way to the top flight
The Guardian

'A club for life' How caring ethos powered Norwegian YMCA team all the way to the top flight

Football's ability to conjure ridiculous stories is legion, but even so the one about the YMCA club in Norway's Eliteserien is ridiculous.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 29, 2024
Crypto reformed? Bankman-Fried is going to jail but there'll be others
The Guardian

Crypto reformed? Bankman-Fried is going to jail but there'll be others

There is a palpable feeling of relief in the cryptocurrency sector. Evangelists are preaching the good news that the industry has been purged of bad actors like Sam Bankman-Fried of collapsed crypto exchange FTX, Alex Mashinsky of bankrupt lending platform Celsius, Do Kwon of failed stablecoin Terra and Changpeng Zhao, disgraced former CEO of exchange Binance.

time-read
4 mins  |
March 29, 2024
Senior Tory MP faces lobbying questions over Treasury role
The Guardian

Senior Tory MP faces lobbying questions over Treasury role

A senior Tory MP is facing questions over whether he used his Commons Treasury committee role to lobby for changes to post-Brexit City rules that stand to benefit the industry where he has a second job.

time-read
3 mins  |
March 29, 2024
Figures confirm last year ended in recession
The Guardian

Figures confirm last year ended in recession

Official figures have confirmed that the UK economy went into recession at the end of last year, after the latest estimate found it contracted in the last two quarters of 2023.

time-read
2 mins  |
March 29, 2024
France backs bill to outlaw bias against hairstyles in workplace
The Guardian

France backs bill to outlaw bias against hairstyles in workplace

France's lower house of parliament has backed a bill banning discrimination based on hairstyle, colour or texture, in a \"historic\" move supporters say will help penalise workplace discrimination.

time-read
1 min  |
March 29, 2024