Markus Andrews

Boris Johnson is facing intense scrutiny over further allegations of rule-busting gatherings in No 10 as the rest of the country was subject to strict lockdown measures to contain the spread of coronavirus.In the latest revelation, a leaked email showed over 100 No 10 staff were invited to “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020, including the prime minister and his wife, Carrie.Here The Independent looks at all the allegations of gatherings across government and at the Conservative headquarters throughout 2020.15 MayA joint investigation by The Independent and The Guardian revealed a wine and pizza gathering was held in the No 10 rose garden on 15 May 2020 — despite people from different households being restricted to one-on-one meetings with family members and friends outdoors.An image later published by The Guardian showed wine and cheese being consumed by the prime minister, his wife, Carrie, advisers including Dominic Cummings and Matt Hancock, the former health secretary. Mr Johnson has previously insisted “those people were at work, talking about work”.20 MayIn a blog just last week, Mr Cummings, the prime minister’s former chief adviser, dismissed the 15 May event showed an after-work party, insisting it was common practice at the time for meetings to be held in the garden due to the risk of Covid. However, he claimed that a “socially distanced drinks” event did take place on 20 May 2020, with a “senior No 10 official” inviting people.Last night, the row exploded as a leaked email sent from the prime minister’s private secretary showed over 100 No 10 staff were invited to the event, told to “bring your own booze” and “make the most of the lovely weather”.Boris Johnson has refused to say whether he attended, but a source told The Independent he had “hung out” with staff for at least an hour as they knocked back drinks.The event will be investigated by Sue Gray, the senior civil servant tasked with probing rule breaking allegations, and on Monday evening the Metropolitan Police said they were “in contact” with the Cabinet Office over alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations in No 10 on 20 May.13 NovemberAnother allegation made by Mr Cummings was of a “flat party” in Mr Johnson official residence with Carrie Johnson on 13 November 2020 — the same day the Vote Leave chief left Downing Street with immediate effect and just eight days after England’s second national lockdown was imposed. Last week, he claimed to have been told that staff in the press office “could hear the music playing loudly”.Asked at prime minister’s questions last month whether there was a No 10 party on 13 November, Mr Johnson said “no”, but added: “I’m sure that whatever happened the guidance was followed at all times”. 27 NovemberA leaving event was reported to have been held on 27 November for adviser Cleo Watson, with the prime minister personally delivering a speech while alcohol was consumed. Mr Cummings, a close ally of Ms Watson, has insisted there was no party on this date, but Ms Gray’s investigation into rule-breaking allegations is examining this event.10 DecemberIt has been confirmed that Ms Gray’s inquiry will include a social event at the London offices of the Department for Education (DfE) on 10 December 2020, instigated by the then-education secretary Gavin Williamson to thank his staff.At the time of the gathering, people in the capital were subject to Tier 2 restrictions, which banned mixing between households indoors while people were allowed to meet in groups of six outdoors.The department has admitted a “gathering of colleagues” took place on 10 December, with “drink ad snacks brought by those attending”, adding: “While this was work-related, looking back we accept it would have been better not have gathered in this way at that particular time”.14 DecemberFour days later, on 10 December, with Londoners still subject to Tier 2 restrictions, a party took place at the Conservative Party headquarters in Westminster. A spokesperson for the party has previously said the event was “unauthorised” and “formal disciplinary action” was taken against four CCHQ staff seconded to the then London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey’s campaign.The Mirror newspaper later published an image of the gathering — leading to the resignation of Mr Bailey from an official role at the London Assembly as chair of the police and crime committee. Given the event was held in the offices of a political party, it does not fall under the remit of Ms Gray’s probe, but the Metropolitan Police said it would contact two people who attended.15 DecemberThe following day, on 15 December 2020, No 10 staff were involved in a festive quiz, with reports suggesting invites were sent out in advance. An image later published by the Sunday Mirror showed the prime minister flanked by colleagues, with one draped in tinsel and another wearing a Santa hat.Downing Street said the prime minister had “briefly” attended the quiz — after the photographic evidence emerged — but insisted it was a virtual event and claimed he broke no rules.16 DecemberThe Mirror reported senior civil servants were “boozing and dancing” at the event, allegedly planned by staff from Transport Secretary Grant Shapps’ office.A DfT spokesman said: “Fewer than a dozen staff who were working in the office had a low-key, socially distanced gathering in the large open-plan office after work on December 16, where food and drink was consumed. We recognise this was inappropriate and apologise for the error of judgment.”18 DecemberAllegations of a Christmas party held in No 10 on 18 December 2020 were the focus of much anger at the end of the last year when the reports first emerged in the Daily Mirror newspaper. The event happened while London was in strict Tier 3 measures, and just a day before Boris Johnson imposed an effective lockdown in the capital and vast swathes of the country.After initially stonewalling questions of the get-together, Mr Johnson was forced to address the issue in the Commons after the explosive leak of a video showing No 10 staff holding a mock press conference and making jokes about a Christmas party. It led to the resignation of government aide Allegra Stratton and the prime minister announcing a Whitehall investigation led by Sue Gray, claiming he was “shocked” but the video.“I apologise unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country, and apologise for the impression that it gives,” Mr Johnson told MPs. More

Boris Johnson is under fire again after it was reported he had attended another lockdown-breaking garden party at 10 Downing Street in the spring of 2020.ITV News said the prime minister’s principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, had invited over 100 people by email to a “bring your own booze” bash in the grounds of Mr Johnson’s Westminster residence on 20 May 2020, while the rest of the country was enduring tough social restrictions imposed in response to the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic.At the time of the alleged gathering, strict controls on social mixing were in place, prohibiting households from intermingling, schools were shut to most pupils and pubs, restaurants, nightclubs, sports stadia, cinemas and theatres were all closed.So strict were the rules at the time that police prosecuted people for having parties in their own homes, erected random checkpoints in some areas and, in Derbyshire, used drones to monitor beauty spots in the interest of shutting down illicit picnics.Police forces in England and Wales issued 14,244 fines for breaches of lockdown laws between 27 March and 11 May 2020, according to figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, also breaking up political demonstrations and social meet-ups in open areas like Hyde Park in central London in the interest of stopping the spread of the virus.An hour before the gathering in question is understood to have taken place, Cabinet minister Oliver Dowden had told members of the public via a live news conference about the Covid-19 outbreak: “You can meet one person outside your household in an outdoor, public place, provided that you stay two metres apart.”People would not be allowed to meet outside in groups of six until 1 June.Nevertheless, Mr Johnson and his then-partner (now wife) Carrie Johnson were among 30-40 people who allegedly attended the garden party in blithe indifference to the hardships the electorate were enduring, having responded to Mr Reynolds’ cheery invite email.According to ITV, to whom a copy was leaked, it read: “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 No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”A source told The Independent the prime minister had indeed “hung out” with staff for at least an hour as they knocked back drinks.Not all recipients were so keen to attend, however, with one staff member responding “Is this for real?” Another, according to the BBC, texted: “Um. Why is Martin [Reynolds] encouraging a mass gathering in the garden?”The bash was scheduled just five days after another cheese-and-wine social reportedly took place in the same venue, an event that is already the subject of an investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray (who replaced Cabinet secretary Simon Case after he was removed from the probe after it was revealed he had known about a festive quiz held within his own department), along with at least four more social events.A source also told The Independent there were “more parties” that would come to light if Ms Gray “gets the info she ought to get”.However, they added that it was “deeply wrong” that officials should “get the blame” when their actions were sanctioned by the prime minister.“He was there for [the parties],” they said. “He encouraged people to drink and drank himself. And it was a clear untruth for No 10 to suggest that there was nothing that could be described as [a party]. It was shocking that they even tried to claim that.”These events, both indoors and outdoors at No 10, took place on several occasions and were “most definitely not work meetings”, they added.Mr Johnson, who won a landslide victory in the December 2019 general election just prior to the onset of the pandemic, has faced intense scrutiny over the past six weeks after a video emerged showing his staff laughing and joking about having hosted a secret Christmas party during the 2020 winter lockdown, which prompted the tearful resignation of spokesperson Allegra Stratton last month.Subsequent allegations have followed concerning a string of parties that appear to have taken place in 2020, including the 15 May garden gathering, leaving do’s for seniors aides Lee Cain (13 November) and Cleo Watson (27 November) and a series of departmental Christmas parties in December, including one at which former Conservative London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey was pictured (14 December) and the virtual festive quiz in which the PM himself took part via Zoom (15 December).This serialised scandal – following on from Tory sleaze allegations, questions over the awarding of lucrative Covid contracts and inconsistencies in accounts of how the cost of the refurbishment of Mr Johnson’s own flat was met – has garnered popular derision, prompting ridicule from comedians and criticism by opposition Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, who said Mr Johnson lacked the moral authority to lead the country.With Sir Keir currently sidelined in isolation with Covid, his deputy Angela Rayner said the latest revelations were “despicable” and that Mr Johnson had “consistently shown that he has no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us”.“At the time this party took place, key workers on the front line were working around 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,” she added.Mr Johnson’s office has declined to comment so far, and been accused of “hiding behind inquiries” for its pains, but Edward Argar, a junior health minister, said he understood the hurt that media reports about the parties would give.“I can understand the hurt that these reports, these allegations, will have caused, particularly for those who’ve lost loved ones,” Mr Argar told Sky News on Tuesday morning.“It wouldn’t be appropriate… for me to comment on those ongoing conversations or her ongoing investigation. We’ve got to give a space to conclude that investigation.”Boris Johnson ‘beneath contempt’, says Bereaved Families for Justice spokespersonBut many will be understandably outraged by the latest development, particularly given the brazen contradictions between Mr Johnson’s apparent behaviour and what he had to say at the time.In another Downing Street press conference on the pandemic on 25 May 2020, just five days after the “bring your own booze” party, the prime minister answered a question from a member of the public by saying: “Feel free to speak to people to yourself if you feel that they are not obeying the rules. But the police will step in if necessary and encourage people to obey the law.”That is now happening in this case too, with the Metropolitan Police saying on Monday evening that it has contacted the Cabinet Office over “alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020”.Additional reporting by agencies More

Unions, charities, think tanks and green campaign groups have urged Boris Johnson’s government to impose a windfall tax on oil and gas operators to ease the pressure on families facing rising fuel bills.Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party have called for a tax on the North Sea giants’ profits in a bid to cut average household energy costs set to soar further in April.Several leading civil society organisations – including the Trade Unions Congress (TUC), Save the Children, Fuel Poverty Action and Greenpeace UK – have backed the idea, insisting ministers must take bold action to address the looming cost of living crisis.Calling on the government to “act now”, TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady told The Independent: “North Sea oil and gas companies have seen profits soar while millions of low-income households struggle to stay warm this winter.”The union leader added: “Using a windfall tax on profits would help address the cost-of-living crisis and alleviate domestic gas bills. And it would help fund development of low carbon energy sources such as new nuclear and renewables, supporting and creating good jobs.”Labour’s plan to tax oil and gas producers’ profits would be forced to contribute £1.2bn to help fund extra support through a year-long 10 per cent increase to their corporation tax.Sir Keir Starmer’s party say the move – along with removing VAT on domestic energy bills for a whole year – would help reduce the average household energy bill by £200.The Lib Dems, meanwhile, estimate that a one-year windfall tax on oil and gas operators would generate between £5bn and £7bn, and be enough money to cut seven million households’ heating bills by £300.Dr Doug Parr, policy director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Labour and the Lib Dems agree it makes total sense to introduce a windfall tax on those profiting from the high gas price. This government must back a windfall tax to support people now … or voters and the planet won’t forgive them.”Mr Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak are under increasing pressure to act, with experts predicting a 50 per cent hike to bills when the energy price cap is pushed up in April – meaning an average household paying around £700 more per year.Save the Children wants the government to consider ways a windfall tax could be used to help families “suffering because of soaring household bills”.Fuel Poverty Action called for revenue raised from a windfall tax to be spent on better insulation for the poorest households and a huge expansion of the warm homes discount, which offers a £140 discount to the most vulnerable. Only around two million people in the UK are thought to be currently eligible.“It’s way past time for the government to impose a windfall tax on oil and gas operators,” said Fuel Poverty Action campaigner Ruth London. “The money must be used to help relieve the crisis faced by people who are struggling with their energy bills. Fossil fuel corporations have been setting the terms for too long.”Unison, the Green Alliance, the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank and 38 Degrees activist group have also backed the idea of a windfall tax on North Sea producers recording huge profits. Shell and BP made £10.2bn in just three months last year from profits, dividends and buybacks.Luke Murphy, associate director at IPPR, said: “We welcome Labour’s proposals to prevent this from turning into a cost of living crunch by providing short term measures such as expanding and increasing the warm homes discount paid for by a one-off windfall tax on North Sea oil and gas producers.”Unison’s national energy officer Matt Lay added: “There’s no quick fix, but a windfall tax would be a start. However, it would need to be carefully managed to stop the oil giants affected simply whacking up their wholesale prices to compensate.”Downing Street refused to comment on “speculation” about whether VAT could be cut from energy bills – a move Labour and Tory backbenchers have been calling for. The government is reportedly considering extending the warm homes discount to more people.A government spokesperson said: “We recognise people are facing pressures with the cost of living, which is why we are taking action worth more than £4.2bn, and supporting vulnerable households through initiatives such as the £500m Household Support Fund, Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments.The spokesperson added: “We’ll continue to listen to consumers and businesses on how to manage the costs of energy.” More

Boris Johnson retains “full confidence” in the senior civil servant who issued an invitation for 100 staff to attend a Downing Street drinks event during lockdown, No 10 has said.Martin Reynolds remains in post as the prime minister’s principal private secretary, one of the most crucial roles in No 10, said Mr Johnson’s official spokesman.There has been speculation that Mr Reynolds might be forced out of his post after ITV News obtained an email in which he invited No 10 staff to a “bring your own booze” event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020.The email read: “Hi all,“After what has been an incredibly busy period we thought 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!”It has been claimed that around 40 people took part in the event, eating picnic food and drinking wine around a long table set out in the No 10 garden.Crucially, Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie are said to have been present for at least part of the evening.One former government special adviser said that a private secretary like Mr Reynolds was unlikely to have organised such a drinks unless “the instruction came from the top”.“The private secretary works on behalf of the PM in this case,” Claire Pearsall told Sky News.But Mr Johnson’s spokesperson declined to say whether the PM was aware of Mr Reynolds’ invitation or had instructed him to send it out.Under sustained questioning about the party from journalists at a daily Westminster media briefing, the spokesperson repeatedly said that he was unable to comment ahead of the completion of an inquiry by senior mandarin Sue Gray.“An independent investigation is ongoing,” said the spokesperson. “I can’t comment on reports and claims. It wouldn’t be appropriate to do so.”He refused to say whether the “we” referred to in Mr Reynolds’ email included the prime minister or any other member of the Downing Street team.Mr Reynolds is a career civil servant and diplomat, who served as principal private secretary at the Foreign Office between 2014-18, working closely with Johnson in that post during his time as foreign secretary from 2016-18.In 2019, he was appointed UK ambassador to Libya, but was recalled to London to join Mr Johnson in Number 10 in September, shortly after his arrival in office.The principal private secretary runs the PM’s private office, giving him or her a key role as “gatekeeper” to the prime minister.Mr Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings has described the PPS as the official with the greatest formal powers over what happens inside No 10.“The PPS exercises farmore influence and actual power over many issues than cabinet ministers,” said Mr Cummings.“He can nudge policy, he can nudge vital appointments (real power). He can and does walk into the PM’s office and exclude all political people ‘on security grounds’.” More

The Metropolitan Police is facing a legal challenge over its decision not to launch an investigation into numerous lockdown breaking parties at Downing Street.The move comes as a former chief constable, Sir Peter Fahy, said the force’s approach was becoming “an issue of competence in the police”. Lawyers acting for the Good Law Project issued formal legal proceedings against the Met on Tuesday, alleging that the failure to investigate was unlawful. The service’s decision will now be subject to judicial review.Government officials and the prime minister are alleged to have repeatedly broken Covid restrictions at No.10, hosting parties and cheese and wine evenings throughout lockdown. The gathering include social events to celebrate Christmas, as well as a “bring your own booze” drinks on 20 May which the prime minister and his wife reportedly attended.The Met has however resisted opening a formal investigation into the events despite many other people hosting parties around the same dates receiving hefty fines.Questions have also been raised about why police officers guarding Downing Street did not spot and report an apparent crime in progress at the time.It was reported overnight that the Met is in contact with the Cabinet Office over the 20 May event.Sir Peter, who previously headed Greater Manchester Police, told Times Radio on Tuesday that “questions have been asked why the police are not investigating”. “Normally, if an organisation is thought to have breached the law, you don’t normally leave it for that organisation to go away and investigate it themselves and wait for the result,” he said.”And I think obviously, some people have said there’s quite a lot of police officers on duty, around Number 10, why did they not realise that there was something going on and report it or at least give advice that this shouldn’t be going on? “So I think, unfortunately, it’s becoming, you know, as well as an issue of political confidence, one of competence in the police and almost the investigation system.”Sir Peter said he understood the force’s initial decision not to investigate but that it needed “to give a very full statement about their decision making, probably in consultation with a Crown Prosecution Service, and with the Mayor of London so that “the public do understand the reasoning as to why they’re going to investigate or not investigate”.Jo Maugham, director of Good Law Project, said: “You can have the rule of law, or you can defer to the powerful. But you can’t have both. Cressida Dick’s cat will know that multiple criminal offences were committed. “It shames the Met, and ultimately all of us, that she refuses to investigate.” More

The inquiry into lockdown-busting No 10 parties will be “paused” if the police investigate, a minister says – potentially giving Boris Johnson breathing space.Michael Ellis, the paymaster general, warned of the possible delay as he answered an urgent question in the Commons, to the fury of MPs who lashed at the prime minister for ducking the clash.One Tory MP, Peter Bone, said he was “slightly worried” by the prospect of Sue Gray shelving her own inquiry, calling for her report to be published “quickly”.A second, Christopher Chope, questioned why the revelation of the gathering in the garden on 20 May had only emerged now, asking: “Why can’t all the dirty linen be washed at once.”Mr Johnson is refusing to answer questions about his involvement in the party – despite calls from senior Tories to front up – on the grounds that Ms Gray is investigating.Mr Ellis was asked if he will resign if he is found to have broken the law, but told MPs: “It’s an entirely hypothetical position – the prime minister is going nowhere.”“The prime minster retains the confidence of the people of this country,” the paymaster general added – to laughter in the Commons.Mr Ellis also refused to reveal whether he had asked if Mr Johnson attended the party, before being sent to face questions about it, telling MPs: “I’m not going to disclose personal conversations.”On Monday night, Scotland Yard said it is “in contact with the Cabinet Office’ about “alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on 20 May 2020”.The Metropolitan Police is under pressure to step in, after widespread criticism of its refusal to investigate previous allegations of parties breaching Covid rules.Mr Ellis told MPs: “If evidence emerges of what was a potentially criminal offence the matter would be referred to the Metropolitan Police and the Cabinet Office’s work may be paused.” Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, told Mr Ellis: “There’s no need for an investigation into the simple central question today: did the prime minister attend the event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020?“It won’t wash to blame this on a few junior civil servants, the prime minister sets the tone. If the prime minister was there, surely he knew?“The invitation was sent to 100 staff, many of them his own most personal senior appointees, this was organised in advance – so did the prime minister know about the event beforehand and did he give his permission for it go ahead?”Ms Rayner also demanded to know what the chancellor knew about the party “given that he lives and works next door”? More

Senior Conservatives have urged Boris Johnson to own up to whether he attended a lockdown rule breaking party at No.10.Former Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said the prime minister did not need to wait for the outcome of an investigation before admitting his attendance.And Lord Barwell, Theresa May’s former chief of staff, echoed the sentiment, stating: “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.”Meanwhile, the leader of Conservatives in Sunderland said that the party story was “an atrocity” and that Mr Johnson will have to lose his job as prime minister as a result.“I can’t see how he can continue,” Cllr Antony Mullen told BBC Radio 4’s World at One. It seems pretty obvious to me that Sue Gray’s report will now likely find that he’s misled the House of Commons.“I just think this is such an atrocity, I can’t see how he can survive. People are asking what the hell he’s doing and why he’s being allowed to continue. I’m not willing to defend the indefensible and none of our members here are either.”Boris Johnson and his spokespeople has refused to comment on the matter on the basis that a civil service investigation into it is ongoing. But Ms Davidson said: “This line won’t survive 48 hours. 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 [the f***] were any of these people thinking?”The prime minister and his wife were said to have attended the event of around 40 people on 20 May 2020.The leaked email invite from Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds for the gathering, which was obtained by ITV News says: “Hi all,“After what has been an incredibly busy period we thought 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!”Some people with knowledge of the inner workings of Downing Street have commented that the prime minister was likely to have been behind the plans.Former special adviser Claire Pearsall told Sky News that a private secretary like Mr Reynolds was unlikely to have organised such a drinks unless “the instruction came from the top”.”The private secretary works on behalf of the PM in this case,” she added.That event came just five days after another gathering in No.10’s garden where Mr Johnson and wife Carrie Johnson were pictured having cheese and wine. The events are separate from the various lockdown-breaking Christmas parties and leaving drinks which took place at the address.The Tory mayor of West Midlands, Andy Street, said he was “shocked” by Mr Reynolds’ email.“When I read it last night, I was shocked,” Mr Street told World at One. “It is from a civil servant. What we don’t know is the degree to which the prime minister knew about this. That’s why the inquiry’s got to be done and we will need to get the facts through that.” More

Watch live as Labour asks urgent question in parliament about No10 partyBoris Johnson’s failure to answer reports he attended a lockdown-breaching party in Downing Street “speaks volumes”, Angela Rayner has said.After asking him to make a statement on the matter, the Labour deputy leader told the Commons that his absence was “incredibly disappointing, but not unsurprising”, adding that “he can run but he can’t hide”. Her comments came after the prime minister expressed “full confidence” in Martin Reynolds, the civil servant who organised the alleged gathering in Downing Street on 20 May 2020. No 10 has so far refused to comment on the new party claim. An email, sent by Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary Mr Reynolds – and leaked to ITV News yesterday – said 100 people were invited. It is understood that up 30 people attended the event, with multiple sources saying the PM was among them.Meanwhile, Labour leader Keir Starmer has called on the prime minister to “stop lying” to the British public and to “finally come clean”.Show latest update

1641910733Welsh minister condemns PM over lockdown party The prime minister is not just being slated in Westminster. At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, the Welsh health minister Eluned Morgan condemned the prime minister over reports he broke lockdown rules by joining a party in his Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020. “If we remember back to what was happening in May 2020, it was about the most acute time in the whole crisis,” Baroness Morgan said. “I just think about the sacrifices that so many people in Wales made at that time. Sacrifices of not being able to say goodbye face to face to loved ones in hospitals, sacrifices people made in terms of not being able to leave their homes to see loved ones, not being able to reach out for the support that so many people wanted at that time.“To have that juxtaposed with a situation where within Downing Street a party was going on really defies belief.”Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 14:181641909829Best lines from Downing Street party debate Here are some of the best lines from this afternoon’s debate on the new party allegations against the prime minister. – Former Labour minister Dame Angela Eagle told the Commons: “Perhaps it would be faster if Sue Gray were to investigate the days there weren’t parties.”- SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford said: “The harsh reality is that people round these islands watched loved ones dying, and missing funerals, and the PM and his staff partied behind the walls of his private garden.”- Tory MP Sir Christopher Chope asked paymaster general Michael Ellis: “Why can’t all the dirty linen be washed at once? Why are we getting this drip, drip feed of parties? 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.”Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 14:031641908812Watch: Rayner says PM’s absence from Commons ‘speaks volumes’Earlier this afternoon, Labour’s Angela Rayner said Boris Johnson’s decision not to appear in the Commons to address his alleged lockdown breach “speaks volumes”. Watch her statement here: Rayner says Johnson’s absence from Urgent Questions ‘speaks volumes’Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 13:461641908202MP overcome with emotion in tribute to mother-in-law who died ‘alone’ of CovidIn the most moving moment of this afternoon’s debate on the No 10 drinks party, a DUP polician spoke about his mother-in-law’s death from Covid-19. Jim Shannon MP was overcome with emotion as he discussed how she had died “alone”. “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,” he said. Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 13:361641907373Met Police warned public against breaching lockdown on day of Downing Street partyOn 20 May 2020, the Metropolitan Police reminded Britons they were only allowed to meet up with one person outdoors. The same day, dozens of people are thought to have gathered for an event in the garden at Downing Street. Aisha Rimi has more details: Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 13:221641906659Boris Johnson is stepping out of the frying pan, into the fireThe leadership qualities needed in times like these include a fine sense of diplomacy, a natural talent for prioritising, and a flair for the bigger picture. It is not clear that he has any of them, writes Marie Le Conte.Read Marie’s full piece here: Matt Mathers11 January 2022 13:101641905988Watch: PM held No10 party because he ‘felt sorry’ for staff, says Tory MPTory MP Michael Fabricant has taken an unusual position over reports that the prime minister attended an illegal gathering in Downing Street in May 2020. Boris Johnson’s “failing” was “loyalty to his friends and loyalty to his staff”, Mr Fabricant said. Listen to the MP for Lichfield’s full comments here: Boris Johnson held No10 party because he ‘felt sorry’ for staff, says Tory MPRory Sullivan11 January 2022 12:591641905162Boris Johnson ‘running scared’ from parliament, say Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats have accused the prime minister of “running scared” from parliament, after he failed to turn up to answer an urgent question from Labour about an illegal gathering at Downing Street. Wendy Chamberlain, the Liberal Democrats’ chief whip, said: “Boris Johnson cannot be allowed to hide the truth from the public and parliament any longer.“He is running scared of today’s debate, while using Sue Gray’s inquiry as a smokescreen and hoping the issue will just go away.”Our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn reports: Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 12:461641904859Protocol solution must be found before NI assembly election, Ireland’s EU commissioner saysIreland’s EU commissioner has said the UK and Brussels must find a solution to the row over Brexit’s Northern Ireland protocol before the assembly elections later this year.Mairead McGuinness, the EU financial services commissioner, said on Tuesday that she hopes the appointment of Liz Truss to the role of Brexit negotiator will bring some “pragmatism to the situation”.She said: “They probably reflect the current view, if you like, as was held by her predecessor, but, on the other hand, I’m hoping that Liz Truss will also bring some pragmatism to the situation.”The senior EU official said Northern Ireland needs a solution to the protocol impasse “before we get into campaign mode for the assembly elections”.Matt Mathers11 January 2022 12:401641904800PM’s absence from Commons ‘speaks volumes’, says RaynerAngela Rayner has just asked the prime minister to make a statement about allegations a large event was held in the garden at Downing Street on 20 May 2020. Boris Johnson, however, was not in the Commons to respond. “His absence speaks volumes,” Ms Rayner said. Instead, it fell to Michael Ellis MP, the paymaster general, to speak for the government. He said it “would not be appropriate” to comment on an ongoing investigation.With his words drowned out by the opposition benches, Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle told MPs to keep the noise down. “He’s got a tough job as it is. Don’t make it harder,” he said, referring to Mr Ellis. Rory Sullivan11 January 2022 12:40 More