Sadiq Khan said today that the police should probe the Number 10 Christmas parties. It was reported that some of the aides were planning it for weeks.
London’s Mayor said that his role of crime and police commissioner required him to “preserve operational independence” of police, and not to order police to conduct investigations.
“That said, I believe it’s important that the police investigate crimes without fear of favour and go to where evidence points them,” he stated on BBC Radio 4’s Today program.
“There are a great deal of concerns and public interest regarding people’s well-being and rule breaking.
WhatsApp sent out invitations to No10 Parties on December 18. They asked for secret Santa gifts and were distributed around November. It is believed that the invitation contained details about the date as well as information on food and wine.
Details of the party, which is alleged to have taken place while London is under Tier 3 restrictions, will be used by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in his investigation into whether breach of lockdown rules.
Also, last night it was reported that Jack Doyle, the then-PM’s Deputy Director for Communications, gave a thank you speech to as many as 50 attendees to the bash.
Reports say that Mr Doyle, now Number 10’s most senior spin doctor, thanked staff working at No10 ‘like he does every week’. However ITV News have claimed that he also handed out paper certificates to members of the communications team as part of a ‘joke awards ceremony’.
Mr Doyle has been overseeing the response to claims about the party, which has seen Number 10 deny for a week that it ever happened – although the Prime Minister has given mixed messages about it when asked.
The Times reported that Mr Doyle then left the party to attend meetings with Mr Johnson where senior figures discussed whether to effectively cancel Christmas for the country – an announcement that was made the following day.
Case’s official probe will focus on two other parties as well – a ‘drinks and canapes’ event hosted by Gavin Williamson at the Department for Education on December 10, and a reported leaving event for a No 10 aide on November 27 that the Prime Minister was said to have attended.
It is not known whether the Cabinet Secretary’s report will also look into claims by Dominic Cummings, the prime minister’s former chief adviser, that a party was held in Johnson’s flat on November 13 — the day he unceremoniously walked out of Downing Street with a cardboard box of his belongings.
Special advisers will be expected to co-operate in the probe, but Case cannot compel staff to release WhatsApp messages.
Former Speaker John Bercow weighed into the row today, saying the scandal was ‘causing reputational carnage to everyone involved, and the Commons in particular’.
Contrasting the situation now with the sleaze that infected John Major’s government, he said that while Mr Major was always seen as a man of ‘unimpeachable’ honesty, ‘Now the person steering the ship is regarded as a serial dissembler and a habitual liar.
‘I’m sorry to say it, but I’ve known 12 Prime Minister’s in my lifetime and by a country mile Boris Johnson is the worst… this guy stinks in the nostrils of decent people.’
Officials in Number 10 had been planning their lockdown-busting Christmas party up to three weeks before the event took place, it was claimed last night. The party is said to have taken places a few rooms away from where Boris Johnson was working on new lockdown measures to effectively cancel Christmas
Jack Doyle, the Prime Minister’s top spin doctor, is said to have made a ‘thank you’ speech to up to 50 people who attended the Downing Street bash on December 18 last year
Yesterday Mr Cummings dragged the PM’s wife Carrie Johnson into the raging ‘partygate’ row by insisting Case ‘focus’ the probe on an alleged party on November 13, after he and ally Lee Cain had been ousted following an apparent power struggle with Mrs Johnson.
The adviser said the leaving event – thought to have been for another Vote Leave friend Cleo Watson – was merely someone ‘walking into the press office to say bye’ before the PM ‘bumbled in and started babbling’.
He said the focus ‘shd be actual party in PM’s flat Fri 13/11’.
That is alleged to have been attended by a number of Mrs Johnson’s friends – but Downing Street and her spokeswoman have denied that any rules were breached.
The intervention came as the aide who joked about the Downing Street Christmas party in a notorious video refused to answer questions as he fled a media scrum.
Ed Oldfield, a 23-year-old former public schoolboy, kept his head down as he strode purposely through Whitehall pursued by a press pack.
Journalists shouted questions including, ‘Was there a party at Downing Street?’, ‘Are you planning to resign?’ and ‘Have you got anything to say about the party’ before giving up and letting him walk off.
Mr Oldfield was heard on leaked footage joking about the bash with Boris Johnson’s former £125,000-a-year press secretary Allegra Stratton during a mock news conference.
Sajid Javid suggested this morning that the investigation into allegations of the Christmas party at No10 could be widened to include other claims.
The Health Secretary said he had been given ‘assurances’ by ‘senior’ officials that no Covid rules were broken by Downing Street staff on December 18, but that it is for Mr Case to use his investigation to ‘get to the bottom’ of whether lockdown-busting events were held last year.
Today, Sadiq Khan hinted that the police should investigate the Number 10 Christmas parties (he is pictured with Met commissioner Cressida Dick)
Boris Johnson (left leaving hospital after the birth of his latest child) and wife Carrie (right arriving at hospital) are facing questions about a gathering at their Downing Street flat
Dominic Cummings yesterday dragged the PM’s wife Carrie Johnson into the raging ‘partygate’ row by insisting Case ‘focus’ the probe on an alleged party on November 13, after he and ally Lee Cain had been ousted following an apparent power struggle with Mrs Johnson
Dominic Cummings insisted that the ‘focus’ for the Cabinet Secretary probe should be another alleged party on November 13, after he and ally Lee Cain had been ousted following an apparent power struggle with Mrs Johnson
The Cabinet minister told LBC: ‘If the rules were not broken, then a party could not take place.
‘But having this investigation, having the Cabinet Secretary look into this, is the right response because this is the individual who can talk to anyone, can get the data, the evidence together and establish the facts.’
In the mock news conference video, Mr Oldfield asked: ‘I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas Party on Friday night – do you recognise those reports?’
Ms Stratton initially replied: ‘I went home..’ then laughs, adds, ‘hold on’, to which Mr Oldfield adds: ‘Would the Prime Minister condone having a Christmas Party?’
She laughed and said ‘What’s the answer?’ to which Mr Oldfield, also laughing, replies ‘I don’t know’, and another staffer suggests ‘It wasn’t a party… it was cheese and wine’.
The row over last year’s ‘illicit’ Downing Street Christmas party has rocked Westminster over the last week and led Ms Stratton to announce her resignation yesterday.
But it has now emerged that the December 18 event may have been only one of as many as six Whitehall bashes held in the run-up to Christmas – at a time when the country was under stringent Covid restrictions.
Ministers this morning set out the scope of the investigation which is being carried out by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
Paymaster General Michael Ellis confirmed the probe will look at allegations of a Christmas party being held in Number 10 on December 18 last year.
But he told MPs it will also examine reports of a leaving do in Number 10 on November 27 which the Prime Minister is said to have delivered a speech at.
A gathering at the Department for Education hosted by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson on December 10 will also included in Mr Case’s review.
The Department for Education has already admitted that event, which included food and drink, did take place.
Ed Oldfield, a 23-year-old former public schoolboy, kept his head down as he strode purposely through Whitehall pursued by a press pack
Journalists asked questions such as, “Was Downing Street having a party?”Journalists asked questions like, “Was there a party at Downing Street?” and “Are you going to resign?” (Have your got any thoughts about the party?’)
According to some reports, there was an alleged leaving party where the PM gave a speech and hosted a trivia night. There was also a celebration at the Downing Street Flat on Dominic Cummings’ departure from No10. It was also alleged that there were other parties at Tory headquarters as well in Whitehall.
The ‘raucous’ dos, at which several officials were said to have been seen ‘rat-a**ed’ on copious amounts of wine, have certainly left Whitehall with a lasting hangover as the events are probed by the Cabinet Secretary and the Met Police.
The Mail reveals all that is known about Whitehall’s activities while Britain was subject to sweeping virus rules.
TABLE GROANING – BOTTLES of wine and THE ‘CHRISTMAS FEST’
The tradition began at the end the corridor which leads to the legendary black door in 10 Downing Street.
On Fridays, officials from No10 would put bottles of wine at the end, and they were placed on a table down the hall.
In the wood-panelled press office – once used as Gordon Brown’s ‘war room’ during his time as PM – staff would toast the end of the week with drink at their desks.
Boris Johnson ordered Simon Case, Cabinet Secretary, to investigate claims that the Christmas Eve last year was a tense one.
WhatsApp messages, emails and other communications in the week prior to December 18 alleged that staff coordinated their plans.
The table was full of party food, including camembert cheese wheels and baguettes. The grand room overlooked St James’s Park was where officials met to celebrate the ending of a hard year. There are also chandeliers suspended from the ceiling.
It is believed that as many as 40 people were present at the “unofficial” Christmas party, some of them wearing festive jumpers. Sources said most of those present were civil servants drawn from the press office and events teams, but special advisers – the PM’s political appointees – were also invited. Staff were instructed to bring Secret Santa gifts, according to one person who was asked.
As the night progressed officials from other areas of the building came to the aid. Yesterday, however, the press secretary for Prime Minister Johnson insisted that Mr Johnson wasn’t one of them.
She said that he was at work all night.
This event occurred two days after London had been placed in the most severe coronavirus restriction at that time. People were prohibited from mixing indoors with people outside of their support bubble or household.
According to the Government website, there were no exemptions from work-related rules. However, the Government stated that a workplace Christmas dinner or party was not permitted unless it is considered a social activity.
Johnson and his ministers remained firm in their assertions that no party took place or any rules were broken since news of the gathering was reported last week. After footage of Allegra stratton laughing about the incident, yesterday’s denials were impossible to accept.
THE BASH OF PM’S No10 FLAT’S ‘DOM’S GONE ‘
A party is also alleged to have been held in the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat on November 13 – the day that Dominic Cummings quit.
The festivities are said to have kicked off earlier, with the leaving do for Lee Cain, the Prime Minister’s departing director of communications. According to reports, Johnson gave a speech during the event.
After clashes that saw them lose control of the situation with Carrie Symonds, Cain and Cummings both resigned. This event is facing questions over whether it breached the rules.
However, it is thought that the party went on upstairs even though Cummings walked out of Downing Street with a cardboard box.
Yesterday, on social media, Mr Cummings inquired if the investigation by the Cabinet Secretary into Downing Street’s pre-Christmas bash would include the “flat party” Fri 13 November as well as the other flat parties and the flat’s bubble policy.
The bubble reference is thought to refer to the decision to allow the PM’s then fiancee – and now wife – Carrie Symonds’ best friend Nimco Ali at No10 over the festive period ‘to help support and look after’ baby Wilfred.
Boris Johnson answered the question yesterday during Prime Minister’s Questions if any party was held on the date.
The flat is shared by Mr Johnson and Carrie, as well as Wilfred. According to a source, Johnson was said to be ‘always partying’ at the flat. One claim even stated that Carrie is ‘addicted’.
According to insiders, staff from the press room witnessed people climbing up the stairs leading to their flat the night of November 13. They also heard the loud music coming directly from the apartment above. One official said that they were creating a racket like you would expect from a party.
Mail received the names and addresses of up to six senior Government officials (current or former) as well other persons known to be in close proximity to Mrs Johnson. Several people strongly denied these claims yesterday when I approached them.
However, a spokesperson for Mrs Johnson stated emphatically that this was total nonsense. It is untrue that Mrs Johnson would suggest the contrary. She has always followed coronavirus rules.
Later, the PM’s spokesperson confirmed that they would not investigate any alleged November 13th party.
After a power struggle Mr Cummings resigned and is now highly critical of government.
A new poll published by Redfield & Wilton Strategies found almost two thirds of Brits believe Mr Johnson should resign if it is confirmed the party took place
CRAMMED CHEEK BY JOL’ AT LEAVING DO
On November 27, 2017, up to 50 people packed Downing Street in support of a leave-taking party. Boris Johnson, who gave a speech on behalf an outgoing aide at the event, is said to have spoken.
No10 staff reportedly crammed ‘cheek by jowl’ into a medium-sized room in what was described as a ‘Covid nightmare’ – while England was in its second lockdown.
According to a Daily Mail source, the incident was an unexpected leaving for Cleo Watson (an adviser who effectively served as Mr Cummings sidekick while he lived in Downing Street). Because of her length, the aide was nicknamed “gazelle” because she has long legs.
“It was not a party, and certainly it wasn’t Christmas. According to the source, it was just a group of colleagues from one building who came together to bid farewell to an extremely popular employee.
“Was a drink taken?” Yes. Yes. Yes. Was it because they thought that there was anything to be done? Although it was not an error, the look isn’t great.
Dominic Cummings today claimed that the November 27, gathering was a red herring, tweeting, “A staff member quit their job.” Walked to press office to say bye, PM bumbled in & started babbling, everyone embarrassed, dispersed.’
The Daily Mail was told by a source that it had been an unplanned leaving for Cleo (pictured on December 17th 2019 with Cummings), who is an advisor and had served as Cummings’ sidekick in Downing Street.
BROKE DOOR; TORY STAFF PARTY AT HEADQUARTERS
There have been several reports that parties were operating in other departments of government, and even at ToryHQ.
The Times reports that last night, advisers from Conservative campaign headquarters hosted an event with Shaun Bailey (the party’s failed candidate for Mayor of London)
Bailey himself attended the party – at which people wore festive hats and he received a Lego set as a Christmas present from a donor.
Around 25 people met in Westminster’s basement at the Matthew Parker St office of the party on December 14th, as London was subject to Tier 2 restrictions.
The ‘raucous bash’ was attended by ‘raucous ‘partygoers’ who were said to have worn “festive hats”, danced, and drank and caused a door to be damaged.
Matt Hancock, then the Health Secretary, announced that the capital would be moving into Tier 3 hours prior to the party.
Last night, a Conservative spokesperson confirmed that there was an “unauthorized social gathering” in Matthew Parker Street basement and stated that “formal disciplinary actions were taken against four CCHQ employees who were seconded for the Bailey campaign.”
A FESTIVE QUIZ IN THE CABINET OFFICE
The Cabinet Office held a Christmas quiz for staff No10 at another date in December. It is unknown when the exact date was.
According to a BBC source, emails were sent to all No10 employees inviting them to participate in the quiz.
The staff were reported to have worn Christmas jumpers to the office ahead of the event. They were not aware that it was absurd to organize a quiz in the midst of national lockdown.
Although some quiz takers used Zoom to access the site, BBC reports that the majority of those who attended the event in person were seated in six-person groups.
According to one source, Dan Rosenfield was the newly appointed chief of staff for the Prime Minister. He told The Times that it was the first time that many of them had met him.
Yesterday Downing Street claimed that the quiz had been deemed ‘virtual.
PS… DO NOT FORGET WILLIAMSON’S FRIENDS
Gavin Williamson was the former minister of Cabinet in charge of the Department for Education’s canteen. He gathered officials for a festive party that took place on December 10, 2013.
According to one source, Mr Williamson gave a brief speech during the “drinks and snacks” event. Officials then mingled and drank wine. It was described as “reckless” by one source.
Yesterday, Susan AclandHood, permanent secretary, admitted she was at the event, where “drinks, snacks” were provided.
She spoke before the MPs about how around “two dozen” people were present at the event that was organized by then Education Secretary to thank staff for their efforts during the pandemic. However, she insists that no guests were invited.
She answered that it was not an organized event when she was asked.
The department’s spokesperson said that the meeting was held in London’s DfE Office Building at a time in which the city was under Tier 2 restrictions.