No10 staffers are furious with Boris Johnson comms chief Guto Harri for claiming to have cleaned up Downing Street’s drinking culture when a tweet exposes his own “gross” behaviour.
It was posted by Gary Dunion, who was press officer to Green London mayoral candidate Sian Berry, 47, at the time the 2008 incident is said to have occurred.
And yesterday London Assembly member Ms Berry confirmed the tweet accurately reflects what she remembers.
She said: “It’s true. Those are the facts. That’s my memory of the event.
“Guto turned up extremely drunk. He was slobbering and people came up to get me away from him.”
Insiders say former BBC journalist Mr Harri, 55, is branding those criticised in Cabinet enforcer Sue Gray’s partygate report last week as part of the “old regime”.
One said: “He keeps talking about the new team which has taken over to change the No10 drinking culture.
“But he seems to have been part of that culture in his time.
“Staffers felt they had to go to events when the PM and wife Carrie were there and now they’re the ones getting fined and bad mouthed.”
Mr Harri, the PM’s former spin doctor as London mayor, replaced Jack Doyle as Downing St Communications Director in February after a blizzard of partygate revelations.
Yesterday he said: “This is a miserable smear.
“Not only do I not recognise Gary Dunion’s account but I have great respect for Sian Berry as a person and politician.”
It is thought the 54 no confidence letters from Tory MPs needed to force a vote on toppling the PM has now reached the high 30s.
Meanwhile, Labour plans to force a vote on changes to the ministerial code which could help the PM stay in office.
