Tories turn on Boris after bombshell leaked Partygate email

15k

View
comments

The Scottish Conservative leader has called on Boris Johnson to resign if he attended the BYOB Downing Street party last year, with two thirds of voters in agreement as pressure mounts on the beleaguered prime minister.

In the most significant Tory criticism so far, Douglas Ross called on his leader to reveal now if he attended the No 10 bash arranged by a top civil servant with 100 staff.

Meanwhile Phones4U founder John Caudwell, a major Conservative donor, slammed the government’s ‘arrogance and hypocrisy’, saying the scandal was ‘disastrous’ for the party and telling Johnson to ‘sort it out or step aside’.

Today Johnson ducked an emotional showdown in the Commons following the emergence of the May 20, 2020 message from his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds and still refuses to confirm if he attended the drinks party. 

The email urging aides to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’ apparently cause shock among some recipients, who exchanged comments including ‘Why is Martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?’ and ‘Is this for real?’ 

At the time, only two people were allowed to socialise outside while at least two metres apart under England’s Covid curbs. There was an exemption for ‘essential work purposes’, but the guidance stated people should ‘minimise all meetings and other gatherings in the workplace’.

Scottish Tory leader Ross told Sky News: ‘It is not pre-judging Sue Gray’s inquiry for the prime minister to come forward and say if he was at the party or not. That’s a crucial question. It won’t in any way undermine Sue Gray’s investigation. 

‘It will let the public know, right now, if he was there or not. It’s a crucial question that shouldn’t have to wait until prime minister’s questions tomorrow. We should hear the answer right now.

‘If the prime minister and others within No 10 breached that guidance, while earlier that afternoon a cabinet minister had told people what they were expected to do, yet out the back in No 10 people were enjoying the sunshine in the garden – I think that is utterly despicable.’

Asked if Johnson should stay on as prime minister if he broke the rules, Ross said: ‘Absolutely not.’  

Caudwell, one of the Conservatives’ biggest individual donors at the previous election with £500,000, has joined in on the criticism, issuing an ultimatum to Johnson.

He told BBC News: ‘Sort it out, Boris, or step aside and let someone else sort it out so that the Tories aren’t wiped out at the next election.

‘While the rest of us were striving to follow the ever-changing rules – including myself, even when I deemed them to be excessive at best, nonsensical at worst – those who were setting those rules were, apparently freely and frequently, disregarding them.

‘Each one of these new revelations gives greater force to the accusation that areas of the government think it’s one rule for them, one rule for the rest of us. This is disastrous.’

The scandal has clearly infuriated the public too, with snap polls revealing that up to two-thirds of voters want Johnson to quit.   

On a visit to his constituency yesterday, Mr Johnson ducked questions about whether he attended the gathering along with wife Carrie and 30-40 staff who feasted on drinks, crisps and sausage rolls – as has been claimed. Instead he merely insisted it was a matter for Sue Gray, the senior official leading an investigation into allegations of lockdown-busting parties across Whitehall.

And Downing Street insisted today that Mr Reynolds ‘continues in his role’ and has the full confidence of the PM.

Mr Johnson was branded a ‘serial liar’ by former attorney general Dominic Grieve, while Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said it would be ‘utterly despicable’ if he flouted rules. saying: ‘The Prime Minister can settle this right now, he can tell people: was he at the party or not?’

This evening, former minister Johnny Mercer apologised to constituents on Twitter who had followed the rules,  branding the situation ‘humiliating’.

The premier stood accused of going into ‘hiding’ after sending a junior minister to field an urgent question in the Commons this afternoon. 

In highly-charged scenes, MPs including the DUP’s Jim Shannon and Labour’s Afzal Khan spoke emotionally about their own bereavements during the pandemic and called for clarity on what had happened in No10. 

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said Mr Johnson’s decision to swerve the confrontation – emulated by most Tory MPs – ‘speaks volumes’.

She said: ‘It is incredibly disappointing, but not unsurprising, that the Prime Minister of whom I asked this question is not here today despite not having any official engagements.

‘I think his absence speaks volumes as does his smirks on the media, the public have already drawn their own conclusions. He can run but he can’t hide.’

Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis apologised for ‘upset’ caused by the allegations – but insisted that everyone should wait for the investigation to conclude.

Meanwhile, Nicola Sturgeon called for the premier to quit saying people were ‘aghast’ at his ‘serial breaches’ of the rules. 

Scotland Yard has confirmed that they are now ‘in contact with the Cabinet Office’ over reports of the drinks event. 

The force is thought to be waiting to see if Ms Gray’s inquiry identifies rule-breaking before considering whether further action is needed.

A spokesman for the Met said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office.’ 

Lawyers have suggested the premier being there might not have broken the law at the time, as it was technically his garden.  

The raging ‘Partygate’ row was not even mentioned at Cabinet this morning, according to No10. 

But bereaved families vented fury and accused Mr Johnson of ‘smirking’ rather than answering the allegations.

And Labour leader Keir Starmer said: ‘Boris Johnson, your deflections and distractions are absurd. Not only did you know about the parties in Downing Street, you attended them.

‘Stop lying to the British public. It’s time to finally come clean.’

There are growing signs of disquiet among senior Tories at the hypocrisy and evasive responses from the government. It is unclear how soon Ms Gray – who has a fierce reputation in Whitehall – is set to deliver her findings. 

Health minister Edward Argar said in a round of interviews this morning that he understood the public’s ‘anger’ at the allegations, and stressed that he personally had not been at any drinks bashes in May 2020 as he was ‘glued to Zoom’.  

Tory mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said the revelations were ‘unbelievable’ and demanded to know if Mr Johnson was at the gathering. 

Theresa May’s former chief of staff Lord Barwell swiped: ‘Let me put this politely: it is not *entirely clear* why the Prime Minister needs to wait for Sue Gray’s report to find out if he went to a party in his own garden.’

And former Scottish Tory leader Baroness Davidson said: ‘Nobody needs an official to tell them if they were at a boozy shindig in their own garden. 

‘People are (rightly) furious. They sacrificed so much – visiting sick or grieving relatives, funerals. What tf were any of these people thinking?’  

One Conservative aide told MailOnline they would not have attended any such event at the time because they are ‘not stupid’. 

Another said the situation ‘really isn’t looking good’. ‘He has to find a new scapegoat now. Reynolds alone won’t be enough.’

They also pointed to a wider problem of trust in the PM, with polls showing his personal ratings plunging. 

Snap Savanta ComRes research tonight found that 66 per cent believe Mr Johnson should quit over Partygate, including 42 per cent of Conservative supporters.

YouGov had similar results, with 56 per cent saying the premier should fall on his sword and 27 per cent saying the opposite. 

On May 20, 2020, the Met had told people they could have a picnic, exercise or do sport outside providing you are ‘on your own, with people you live with, or just you and one other person’.

Oliver Dowden, then the culture secretary, used a Downing Street press conference that day to remind the public they could ‘meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two metres apart’. It is understood Mr Dowden was not at the ‘BYOB’ bash.

A total of 807 fixed penalty notices for Covid-related offences were issued in the week of May 15 – 21 2020 across all forces, according to the National Police Chiefs’ Council. 

Mr Reynolds’s email, which was leaked to ITV News, said: ‘Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!’

The PM’s spokesman said they did not know whether Mr Reynolds took part in the Cabinet meeting today. 

But asked if he was definitely staying in post, the spokesman said; ‘Yes. Martin continues in his role.’

Pressed on whether Mr Johnson has ‘full confidence’ in his PPS, the spokesman said: ‘Yes.’ 

Mr Johnson’s authority has come under serious challenge among backbenchers and Cabinet colleagues in recent months.

His government is fighting allegations that staff broke lockdown rules during the pandemic. 

In December, the PM insisted that a photo of a gathering in the No10 garden where staff were seen eating cheese and drinking wine from May 15, 2020 showed people ‘working’.

Another photo, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, showed Mr Johnson hosting a Christmas quiz in Downing Street in winter 2020.

The PM has also come under criticism for imposing restrictions including facemarks and Covid passes in response to the Omicron variant – an issue that sparked Lord Frost’s dramatic resignation last month.

Barrister Adam Wagner, an expert on Covid regulations, said that on the basis of what was known, the gathering on May 20, 2020 was ‘unlikely to be legal for attendees’.

He added: ‘Being outside the home was illegal at the time unless – the only potentially relevant exception – it was for the need to work. Socially distanced drinks and bring your own booze don’t sound like work.’

However, he pointed to a ‘loophole of people not themselves being liable for having parties in their back gardens’ – which was subsequently closed later in the year. He suggested that as a result the only potential legal threat to the PM would be as an accessory to other people’s breach. 

The PM’s official spokesman said he would not comment on the parties saga while Ms Gray’s investigation was ongoing.

He said: ‘I can’t comment on the reports and claims, including those we’ve seen today.

‘It wouldn’t be appropriate to do so, I appreciate that may be a significant number of questions, but that remains our position.

‘I think what everyone wants to do is establish the facts through this independent review and for those facts to be set out clearly once that work is concluded.’

The spokesman said ‘there will be requisite action taken’ if wrongdoing is found. 

An inquiry into parties would be ‘paused’ if the police were to launch their own investigation, Downing Street said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘I think the Cabinet Office has been clear that they’re in contact with the police and obviously the police have the ability to start an investigation should they see fit to do so.

‘That would then pause the work has been done by the Cabinet Office team.’ 

Mr Ellis was heckled relentlessly by opposition MPs as he replied to the urgent question in the Commons.

Shouts of ‘where is he?’ could be heard, with Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle saying: ‘It’s quite obvious it’s not the Prime Minister, so we don’t need to keep asking that question.’

He added on Mr Ellis: ‘He’s got the tough job as it is, don’t make it harder for him.’

With Sir Keir still isolating with Covid, Ms Rayner asked: ‘What did the Chancellor know about the party given that he lives and works next door? 

‘Can the minister confirm that no other ministers were present? Can I ask the minister here today does he still believe the Prime Minister to be a man of honour and integrity?’

Responding, Mr Ellis replied: ‘It is not routine for the Prime Minister to answer urgent questions before this House, his ministers are appointed to do so, but he also attends this House more often than anyone else to answer questions and will be doing so tomorrow in the normal way at Prime Minister’s Question time.’

He added: ‘There is a need for an investigation, she said there wasn’t. There is a need and that need is clear.’

He said Mr Johnson ‘takes this matter very seriously as does everyone in Government’, adding: ‘She asks if I have confidence in the Prime Minister’s integrity and honour, and I do.’

A Labour MP spoke of marking a ‘solemn Eid’ after the death of his ‘lovely mum’ in the initial phase of the pandemic.

Manchester Gorton MP Afzal Khan told the Commons: ‘My mum died of Covid in March 2020. She died alone in hospital while I sat in the car outside trying to be as close to her as I could.

‘Even burdened with our grief, my family obeyed the rules. Just three days after the Downing Street party we marked a solemn Eid, the first without my lovely mum.

‘When asked by Sky News about the parties, the Prime Minister did little but smirk and laugh. He should be here today, but as he is not can the minister confirm whether the Prime Minister will be apologising to bereaved families like mine for the anguish, pain and torment caused not just by hosting these parties, but for continuing to lie about it?’

Government minister Michael Ellis said he was appalled by the ‘tragic loss’ Mr Khan had suffered.

He added: ‘I ask him to accept my assurance that the Prime Minister is someone for whom his responsibilities are writ large, someone who works hard in the interests of this country, and who will be subject to Sue Gray’s investigation together with the inquiry into all of these parties.

DUP MP Jim Shannon was overcome with emotion when speaking about the death of his mother-in-law in October 2020.

In an emotional contribution, the MP for Strangford said: ‘In Northern Ireland we reached the milestone of 3,000 deaths due to Covid just last week. Including my mother-in-law, who died alone.’

Mr Shannon struggled to go on with his question before sitting back down.

Cabinet Office minister Michael Ellis said: ‘I’m very sorry for his loss. He’s asking me if the results of the investigation will be made public, and they will be.’ 

Labour MP Charlotte Nichols demanded to know whether people who had been fined for breaching lockdown would get their money back.

‘A constituent of mine I’ll call Malcolm got in touch this morning, having been fined £100, a fixed-penalty notice, for breaching the coronavirus regulations,’ she said.

‘He accepts wrongdoing on his part. However, it strikes me as incredibly unfair that at the same time the Downing Street parties were happening and ministers and MPs seem to be flagrantly breaching the rules, that constituents like mine should have to pay.

‘So I ask the minister: when will Malcolm and everyone else who has been fined for breach of the rules and regulations be getting their money back?’

Christopher Chope was among the few Tories who turned up for the session, demanding to know why allegations are ‘dripping’ out.

‘Why can’t all the dirty linen be washed at once? Why are we getting this drip, drip feed of parties?’ he said.

‘Surely the civil service must have known that there was a party on May 20 and they should have referred it already to the inquiry.’

Speaking at Holyrood, Ms Sturgeon called on Mr Johnson to resign. She said: ‘People across the country are aghast at the revelations about Downing Street’s conduct.

‘It appears not just one isolated breach but serial breaches of guidance that people were following through the painful sacrifices right throughout this pandemic and a Prime Minister who is apparently not being truthful about his knowledge of these matters.

‘I don’t think it will surprise anybody to hear my view that the office of Prime Minister would be greatly enhanced by Boris Johnson’s departure from it but more importantly I think at this moment in time the interests of the United Kingdom would be enhanced by that as well.’

Mr Ross also waded in, saying it would be ‘utterly despicable’ if the PM did break the rules and he should simply reveal whether he was at the drinks do. 

‘I can’t understand why you wouldn’t if there is nothing to hide here, if there is no issue just answer the question,’ he said.

‘And if there is, then that is an acceptance that he himself breached the guidance that his government was putting in place.

‘People across the country were following some of the strictest guidance we have ever seen. And if the Prime Minister and others within No10 breached that guidance, while earlier that afternoon a cabinet minister had told people what they were expected to do, yet out the back of No10 people were out enjoying themselves in sunshine in the garden, I think that is utterly despicable.’

Although Tory MPs were scarce in the chamber, some were making clear their anger at the latest claims. 

Robbie Moore, Conservative MP for Keighley, told the Telegraph & Argus: ‘The email from Martin Reynolds infuriates me. As I have previously made clear, I am deeply angered by the thought of any illegal gatherings, parties or social events which took place at Downing Street whilst the rest of the country was in lockdown and following the rules.

‘The whole country has sacrificed so much during the pandemic and many are quite rightly furious.

‘Investigations into these events at Downing Street during lockdown are ongoing, but answers are needed quickly.

‘If any event took place that was in breach of the rules, the strongest disciplinary action must be taken, and I will continue to follow any revelations on this closely.’

And Philip Davies, Tory MP for Shipley, told the newspaper that the allegations were ‘impossible to justify and defend’.

‘It is clearly unacceptable for anyone in Government to be flouting the laws that they had imposed on everyone else,’ he said.

Councillor Antony Mullen, leader of the Sunderland Conservatives, said he does not see how Mr Johnson can survive.

Mr Mullen told BBC Radio 4’s World At One programme the claims that Boris Johnson’s private secretary, Martin Reynolds, invited more than 100 No 10 staff members to a ‘bring your own booze’ garden party in May 2020 was ‘absolutely appalling’, and said he was ‘not willing to defend the indefensible’.

‘I think Martin Reynolds should have been sacked and I think Boris Johnson will inevitably have to follow him,’ he said.

‘I can’t see how he can continue, it seems pretty obvious to me that Sue Gray’s report will now likely find that he misled the House of Commons.

‘I think this is such an atrocity, I can’t see how he can survive.’

Mr Mullen added: ‘I don’t see now how this investigation can fully clear Boris Johnson, I don’t think that is an option – I think it is now a question of the scale of the wrongdoing rather than whether there has been any, so I’m not convinced this report is going to come out and say, ‘Actually, nothing happened’.’

Shadow Wales secretary Jo Stevens highlighted that at the time of the alleged parties in Downing Street Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford had been living in a hut at the end of his garden to protect vulnerable relatives. 

‘Whilst Boris Johnson was attending BYOB house parties in Downing Street, Wales’ first minister, Mark Drakeford, moved out of his home to protect his shielding wife and mother-in-law. The contrast in leadership could not be clearer,’ she said. 

Several No 10 staff privately expressed shock to each other about the party at the time, according to the BBC. 

Speaking on a visit to his Uxbridge constituency yesterday, Mr Johnson told reporters: ‘All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.’

Pressed on whether he had been interviewed by Ms Gray, he said: ‘All that is a subject for investigation by Sue Gray.’

The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said if the Prime Minister attended the alleged Downing Street drinks party in May 2020 then his position would be ‘untenable’ and he would have ‘lost all moral authority to lead the country’.

Members of the group met Mr Johnson last year in the Downing Street garden where the alleged gathering is said to have taken place and said he ‘looked us in the eyes and told us he had ‘done all he could’ to save our loved ones’.

They said he must ‘come clean to the country in a way that he didn’t with us’.

Group spokesman Lobby Akinnola, who lost his father Femi in April 2020, said: ‘It’s beyond belief that the Government seems to be suggesting a report is needed to determine whether Boris Johnson was at the event at all.

‘He knows. The dozens of people there know. Why does the Prime Minister need someone to tell him whether or not he was at a party?’ 

Downing Street has denied reports that Mr Reynolds is to be moved to another post following the claims. 

The PM’s official spokesman said he was staying in his current role, saying: ‘The Prime Minister has full confidence in his team. There is no change in that post.’

One Tory insider told MailOnline Ms Gray was seen as ‘evil incarnate’ by some in Whitehall but her duty would be to protect the premier.  

‘Boris is going to protect himself. And people who have been loyal to him are soon going to see how that will never be reciprocated,’ they said. 

Hannah White of the Institute for Government, who was previously secretary to the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said she thought the PM ‘had to have’ known about the event being set up by Mr Reynolds. 

As well as the 66 per cent overall who wanted Mr Johnson to quit, Savanta ComRes found 42 per cent of Tories wanted him gone.

Some 62 per cent felt the event in the No 10 garden in May 2020 was a worse breach of trust than the initial Christmas party revelations.

The survey of 1,040 UK adults carried out today found the proportion of those who felt Mr Johnson should resign had risen by 12 points since December. Among Tory voters there was a nine-point rise.

And 65 per cent thought Martin Reynolds, the PM’s principal private secretary who organised the garden party, should leave his role.

Chris Hopkins, political research director at Savanta ComRes, said: ‘That rope for Boris Johnson just got shorter as the latest allegations of further lockdown breaches in No.10 emerge and, crucially, this time Boris Johnson may lack plausible deniability due to the rumours circling that he and his wife attended the drinks event on 20 May while the rest of the country were restricted to meeting just one other person socially outdoors.

‘A 12-point increase in those saying he should resign compared to Christmas Partygate is significant, but ultimately it’s not the court of public opinion that Johnson will be tried in; it’s his own party.’

A separate YouGov poll found 56 per cent of people thought the PM should resign, while 27 per cent said he should stay in his role and 17 per cent did not know.

When a similar question about whether Mr Johnson should remain as leader of the Conservative Party was posed by YouGov on November 22, 48 per cent said he should stand down, 31% that he should stay, while 22 per cent answered that they did not know.

Asked if he personally would have accepted an invitation to an alleged Downing Street drinks party during the first lockdown, Mr Argar said he spent last May ‘glued to my Zoom screen’.

He told Sky News: ‘I spent my May last year talking to you on various occasions, and various other media outlets, but pretty much glued to my Zoom screen and making sure that I knew what the regulations were – not least because I was a health minister who’d helped draw them up.’

Pressed on whether he would have accepted such an invitation in light of this, he said: ‘I wasn’t invited to any parties and I’m not going to get into any hypotheticals.

‘I was clear about what the rules were at the time and it’s right that Sue Gray is looking into this matter independently.’

Mr Argar said he might have had a ‘quiet word’ with neighbours if they were having a party during May 2020.

Pushed on whether he would have ‘stepped in’ if he had seen 40 people gathering in the garden of Downing Street, Mr Argar said: ‘Well, you’re citing a hypothetical there. I wasn’t in Downing Street. I don’t think I went to Downing Street at all during that period of the pandemic.

‘I spent most of it sitting, as I say, glued to a Zoom or Teams screen. But I think we all, at that time, we remember what it was like.’

He added: ‘I think you probably asked me at the time, would I, if I, for example, had people next door or in the street having a party or breaking the rules, what would we do and what would I say? I made clear that I might have a quiet word.

‘But I’m not going to extrapolate from that or be drawn on the allegations at the moment. They’re being investigated by Sue Gray. So, I’m not going to, I’m afraid, get into hypotheticals about that.’

Mr Argar insisted: ‘I want to know exactly what happened, what did or didn’t happen’. 

Tory mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street told the BBC: ‘When I saw this I thought, I can’t really believe this, if I’m honest. 

‘It was May 2020, a time when we were all restricted. My idea of going out was to walk along the canal with one friend, frankly, and I’m sure there’s lots of people in the West Midlands who have their own recollections of what they were doing in May 2020. So yes, it is very difficult to believe.’

He added: ‘What we don’t know is whether the prime minister was there. I obviously can’t possibly comment on that, but that’s why the inquiry has got to come.

‘And I’m sure that when the inquiry finds out the facts, then the conclusions and the consequences will be acted upon.’ 

Former attoney general Dominic Grieve accused the Prime Minister of being ‘effectively a serial liar’.

Mr Grieve, who served under David Cameron from 2010 to 2014, said that Tory MPs who are ‘very unhappy’ with the current Prime Minister’s behaviour should move to replace him.

Asked about the latest allegation of the Prime Minister and Downing Street staff flouting Covid-19 rules, Mr Grieve said: ‘He ought to be in a lot of trouble because he’s told a series of untruths about these issues over a period of time and the latest evidence clearly suggests that the rules were broken.

‘There may be mitigating circumstances for that, I don’t know. But it’s part of a pattern of behaviour by him which undermines trust. And because trust is undermined, it then becomes very difficult to accept anything he says on any topic whatsoever.’

Mr Grieve said he thinks the public now has ‘very little’ trust in Mr Johnson and added: ‘The difficulty we have here is that we have a Prime Minister who’s effectively a serial liar.’

Speaking on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, he said: ‘My impression is that there are many MPs who are deeply unhappy about him, but the difficulty is that replacing a prime minister requires courage, it requires the upheaval that goes with it, and it requires the coordination necessary to get him removed.’ 

 

Lord Evans, chairman of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, said ‘Partygate’ and other scandals showed at least ‘carelessness’ over maintaining proper standards.

He told MPs: ‘I think we have seen a whole series of issues over the last few months: the Owen Paterson affair, the attempt to change the rules over standards investigations in the middle of the investigation into Mr Paterson’s actions.

‘The questions around the redecoration of Downing Street, in particular the very bad processes that were clearly in place for keeping Lord Geidt properly informed.

‘The Greensill (lobbying) affair and now Partygate.

‘All of those, I think, have demonstrated that there is – at least – a carelessness amongst people in Government over standards issues, and possibly no more than that.’

Ms Rayner said of the PM: ‘He is trying to get officials to take the fall for his own mistakes, but he sets the tone for the way Downing Street and the rest of government operates.

‘At the time this party took place, key workers on the frontline were working round the clock to keep us all safe, people suffered loneliness and loss in unimaginably tough circumstances and for the majority of the country our freedom was limited to a daily walk.’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey thundered: ‘This is yet more evidence that while the vast majority of people were sticking to the rules, those in No 10 were breaking them. To add insult to injury, on the very same day that the Culture Secretary said people could only meet in pairs outdoors, it seems Boris Johnson’s staff were holding a boozy party in Downing Street.’

Sir Ed added that Ms Gray’s inquiry ‘must interview Boris Johnson personally’ to get to the bottom of claims of Downing Street parties.

And Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, accused the PM of ‘sleaze and corruption’, and demanded he ‘come clean’.     

Mr Blackford said the PM ‘has no moral authority left’ and urged Tory MPs to ‘remove him from power’.

‘Boris Johnson must come clean and admit whether he attended, or was aware of, this Covid rule-breaking party in his own back garden,’ the SNP’s Westminster leader said.

‘People will find it utterly outrageous that while the rest of us were banned from public gatherings, the most powerful people in the Tory Government were boozing up at No 10 Downing Street, proving yet again that it’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us.

‘Boris Johnson’s Tory Government is the most corrupt in decades. If the Prime Minister had a shred of integrity or an ounce of shame, he would have resigned many months ago. He has no moral authority left, and as he won’t go his Tory MPs have a duty to remove him from power.

‘Sleaze and corruption are endemic at Westminster. The only lasting solution is for Scotland to become an independent country and escape the broken Westminster system for good.’

Speaking on his Moggcast podcast, Jacob Rees-Mogg said ‘you wouldn’t expect the name of extremely junior people to be put into public highlights’.

He said: ‘I don’t know what’s happened, I have no idea what will be concluded. But if there is somebody on work experience, who happened to be there for a week, it would seem unfair that that person should be named publicly.

‘If, on the other hand, the Pope had popped in briefly, somebody of that seniority, you would expect that His Holiness would be named.’ 

Allegations of that gathering, said to have been attended by 40 people, emerged this week when Mr Cummings said he had warned at the time the ‘socially distanced drinks’ would likely be against the rules and ‘should not happen”

The PM imposed England’s first Covid lockdown in March 2020, and it was not until June 1 that groups of up to six people were allowed to meet outdoors.

Ms Gray, a senior Cabinet Office official, also expanded her investigation to the May 15, 2020 garden gathering revealed by a leaked photo showing the PM and staff sitting around cheese and wine.

Mr Cummings, who was present in the picture, insisted in a blog post on Friday that there was nothing ‘illegal or unethical’ about that day, which he insisted was a staff meeting.

But the former Downing Street adviser wrote: ‘On Wednesday 20 May, the week after this photo, a senior No 10 official invited people to ‘socially distanced drinks’ in the garden.’

Mr Cummings said he and at least one other special adviser ‘said that this seemed to be against the rules and should not happen’, adding that he issued the warning ‘in writing so Sue Gray can dig up the original email’.

‘We were ignored. I was ill and went home to bed early that afternoon but am told this event definitely happened,’ he continued. 

It came as Covid infections in the UK fell again and hospitalisations stayed flat as pressure grew on the PM to release plans on how the country can safely live with the virus.

UK Health Security Agency bosses logged 142,224 positive tests, marking a week-on-week drop for the fifth day in a row. Infections in London — the first region to be battered by Omicron — plunged to their lowest levels in nearly a month, with rates now dropping in over-60s.

Another 77 deaths were registered within 28 days of testing positive, marking a 83 per cent rise on the figure last Monday. But that figure only covered fatalities in England due to the holiday, and the overall trend has barely risen ever since the ultra-transmissible variant took off.

Meanwhile, hospitalisations rose by just three per cent in a week, with the trend having finally flattened off after three weeks of steep increases. Rates in London fell again.

Both the government and NHS leaders are increasingly confident that Omicron will not overwhelm services, and even experts claimed that there was light at the end of the tunnel as ministers admitted Britain is on a path to ‘living with’ the virus.

MailOnline analysis shows daily Covid deaths are currently running at less than half the rate expected in a bad flu year, in another sign the UK is finally on the brink of beating the pandemic.

Dr David Nabarro, of the World Health Organisation, said coronavirus would pose a very difficult situation for the next three months ‘at least’ but insisted ‘we can see the end in sight’. 

Meanwhile, Professor Graham Medley, No10’s chief modeller, warned Covid ‘can’t be an emergency forever’ as he said ‘Government decisions’ would need to be made about scrapping mass testing and vaccinations.

They are the latest scientists to suggest that Britain is moving into a new phase of the coronavirus crisis now that it appears increasingly likely the NHS will cope without restrictions. 

Dr Clive Dix, the former chief of the UK’s vaccine taskforce, yesterday called for a return to a ‘new normality’ and for Covid to be treated like the flu. 

‘How was your May 2020? I was forced to see my mum through a window’: Furious Brits share images of tough lockdown rules they faced at same time No 10 organised BYOB party 

Furious Brits today shared pictures of their May 2020s when they had to see loved ones through windows and could only meet one person from another household outside while No10 held a ‘bring your own booze’ party.  

A bombshell email leaked last night proved that Boris Johnson‘s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, invited more than 100 staff to No10’s lavish gardens on May 20 to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’.

At the time, indoor socialising was banned and only two people were allowed to meet outside while at least two metres apart under national Covid curbs. There was no mixing indoors, non-essential shops were shut, and hospitality businesses remained closed.

Today, Twitter users shared harrowing pictures they took around the time of the party, including grandparents hugging their grandchildren through plastic sheeting.

Meanwhile, while Downing Street staffers were toasting the sunny weather, officers were patrolling London parks looking for groups of more than two people, while in Edinburgh a large group of swimmers were broken up. 

It came as Tories turned on Mr Johnson today as he faces the threat of a police probe and growing pressure to come clean. 

The email apparently cause shock among some of the recipients at the time, who reportedly exchanged comments including ‘Why is Martin encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?’ and ‘Is this for real?’ 

On a visit to his constituency yesterday, Mr Johnson ducked questions about whether he attended the gathering along with wife Carrie and 30-40 staff who feasted on drinks, crisps and sausage rolls – as has been claimed. Instead he merely insisted it was a matter for Sue Gray, the senior official leading an investigation into allegations of lockdown-busting parties across Whitehall.

Lawyers have suggested the premier being there might not have broken the law at the time, as it was technically his garden.

But there are growing signs of disquiet among senior Tories at the hypocrisy and evasive responses from the government. It is unclear how soon Ms Gray – who has a fierce reputation in Whitehall – is set to deliver her findings.

Health minister Edward Argar said in a round of interviews this morning that he understood the public’s ‘anger’ at the allegations, and stressed that he personally had not been at any drinks bashes in May 2020 as he was ‘glued to Zoom’.

Meanwhile, Theresa May’s former chief of staff Lord Barwell swiped: ‘Let me put this politely: it is not *entirely clear* why the Prime Minister needs to wait for Sue Gray’s report to find out if he went to a party in his own garden.’

And former Scottish Tory leader Baroness Davidson said: ‘Nobody needs an official to tell them if they were at a boozy shindig in their own garden. People are (rightly) furious. They sacrificed so much – visiting sick or grieving relatives, funerals. What tf were any of these people thinking?’

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ‘Boris Johnson has consistently shown that he has no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us.’

Scotland Yard has confirmed that they are now ‘in contact with the Cabinet Office’ over reports of the drinks event. The force is thought to be waiting to see if Ms Gray’s inquiry identifies rule-breaking before considering whether further action is needed.

A spokesman for the Met said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office.’

On May 20, 2020, the Met had told people they could have a picnic, exercise or do sport outside providing you are ‘on your own, with people you live with, or just you and one other person’.

Oliver Dowden, then the culture secretary, used a Downing Street press conference that day to remind the public they could ‘meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two metres apart’.

Mr Reynolds’s email, which was leaked to ITV News, said: ‘Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!’. 

Mr Johnson’s authority has come under serious challenge among backbenchers and Cabinet colleagues in recent months.

His government is fighting allegations that staff broke lockdown rules during the pandemic. In December, the PM insisted that a photo of a gathering in the No10 garden where staff were seen eating cheese and drinking wine from May 15, 2020 showed people ‘working’.

Another photo, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, showed Mr Johnson hosting a Christmas quiz in Downing Street in winter 2020.

The PM has also come under criticism for imposing restrictions including facemarks and Covid passes in response to the Omicron variant. It is understood that the issue sparked Lord Frost’s dramatic resignation last month. 

 

 

Social media users have flooded Twitter with hilarious memes mocking the Downing Street garden party after a bombshell email proved workers were told to bring their own drinks to the gathering at the height of lockdown.

It is understood that around 40 staff – thought to include the PM and his wife Carrie – met for drinks and food from 6pm on May 20, 2020, at a time when only two people were allowed to socialise outside while two metres apart under national Covid curbs.

A bombshell email leaked on Sunday proved that Boris Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 staff to bring their own drinks to No10’s lavish gardens to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’. 

Scotland Yard has confirmed that they are now ‘in contact with the Cabinet Office’ over reports of the drinks party. The force is reportedly waiting to see if Sue Gray’s inquiry identifies rule-breaking before considering if further action is needed. 

Today social media users took to Twitter after the latest allegations to share hilarious memes as Mr Johnson’s government fights claims No10 staff broke lockdown rules.

Some Twitter users shared hectic scenes from musical festivals and compared them to the alleged No10 garden party, while others posted memes suggesting Scotland Yard are sweeping allegations under the carpet.