AHEAD OF THE GAME
PARTYGATE MACNAMARA TO LEAVE PREMIER LEAGUE
PrEMIEr lEAGuE no 2 Helen Macnamara, who was fined by the police earlier this year after bringing a karaoke machine to one of the infamous Downing street lockdown parties in her previous role as a senior civil servant, is expected to leave the organisation after less than two years. Sportsmail can reveal that Macnamara, who was Deputy Cabinet secretary in Boris Johnson’s Government before joining the Premier league as chief policy and corporate affairs officer last year, has been on leave for several months and is not expected to return. she attracted notoriety last summer after being forced to apologise for attending an illegal drinks party in Downing street during lockdown, for which she was given a fixedpenalty fine by the Metropolitan Police. In the sue Gray inquiry into the Government’s infamous lockdown parties, Macnamara was named as the government official who brought a karaoke machine to a leaving drinks event in Whitehall during the first national lockdown on 18 June 2020. The Premier league were embarrassed by Gray’s revelation that Macnamara helped organise the lockdownbreaking event for Downing street official Hannah Young, which ended with one individual being sick and two others being involved in a physical altercation.
The Gray report outlined details of a ‘raucous’ leaving bash involving ‘excessive alcohol consumption’, which began at 7.40pm on June 18 and continued until 3.13am the following day. The party took place at a time when all indoor gatherings were banned and mourners were prevented from singing hymns at funerals in an effort to stop the spread of Covid-19.
There is no suggestion that Macnamara’s involvement is behind her expected departure from the Premier league. Macnamara was recruited by the Premier league due to her excellent Government relationships after spending almost 20 years working in a variety of departments across Whitehall as they seek to influence the nature of the independent regulator for football, which was recommended by the fan-led review produced by Tracey Crouch MP. Her appointment has not worked out as planned, however, with Premier league sources telling Sportsmail that she clashed with chief executive richard Masters and other key members of the leadership team from the outset.