The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Johnson hit by new party picture claim
Aphotograph which has been claimed to show a new lockdown-busting Downing Street party has been published after insiders described chaotic gatherings inside No 10 during the pandemic.
The Mirror has obtained a picture showing a man standing at a table with nine bottles of wine and prosecco as well as doughnuts and cakes.
The newspaper claims it was taken at a gathering to mark the final press briefing by Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s former official spokesman James Slack on November 17 2020, during England’s second national lockdown.
It added that the event was allegedly attended by 30 to 40 staff and was not believed to have been investigated by Sue Gray or the Metropolitan Police.
The new image comes the day before Ms Gray’s full report into the Downing Street parties in Whitehall is expected to be published. A No 10 spokesperson said: “As part of their investigation the Cabinet Office team were able to speak to No 10 staff to establish the facts on what happened during this period. Both they and the Met Police have had access to all information relevant to their investigations, including photographs.
“The Met have concluded their investigation and Sue Gray will publish her report shortly, at which point the prime minister will address Parliament in full.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the force would “look into it” today.
Both Mr Slack and Downing Street previously apologised after it was reported two gatherings – including a leaving do for Mr Slack – took place inside No 10 on April 16 2021, the day before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral.
Yesterday, the BBC’s Panorama broadcast a programme which showed three anonymous individuals describing in detail what they witnessed at regular rule-breaking events during coronavirus restrictions. They said they felt they were condoned by Mr Johnson as he “was grabbing a glass for himself ”.
Party debris was left overnight for people arriving at work the next day to discover after staff crowded together and sat on each other’s laps at parties, according to the attendees.
One said they felt they had the permission of the prime minister as he was not telling them to break up the scenes when returning to his flat.
“No, he wasn’t telling anybody that. He was grabbing a glass for himself,” they said.
Mr Johnson was already under pressure after images obtained by ITV News showed him raising a glass while surrounded by colleagues and wine.
Mr Johnson is scheduled to address the 1922 Committee of backbench Tories today.
He is expected to address the Commons and a Downing Street press conference after the Gray report is published.