The Conservatives face a new Partygate probe after footage was unearthed showing staff boozing, dancing and making fun of lockdown laws at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
A bombshell video published by The Mirror shows officials joking about the lockdown-busting Christmas bash held in December 2020 at Conservative Campaign Headquarters – better known as CCHQ – in London. More than 20 revellers were present, including two people named on former PM Boris Johnson’s controversial resignation honours list.
In the footage, a pair of dancing staffers even twirl past a sign that reads: "Please keep your distance." The clip is likely to infuriate families who lost relatives during the peak of the pandemic and will reignite criticism of the former prime minister days after he was slammed for misleading MPs over parties at Number 10.
The knees-up was held on December 14, 2020, as much of Scotland and the rest of the UK remained under tight coronavirus restrictions. Scots were later placed in Level Four lockdown conditions on Boxing Day that year, preventing them from travelling outside of their local area.
A widely seen picture of the bash, organised by then-London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey, formed part of a Met Police probe last year. The force had only still images to go on and found insufficient evidence of law breaking – and no fines were issued.
But the damning video throws new light on the affair and the Met says it will assess whether it could be material to an inquiry. Shaun Bailey is now a Lord after Boris Johnson made him a peer in his honours list, but left the Christmas bash before the video was taken.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: “Revellers openly mocked the rules the British people followed. The Tories think it’s one rule for them and one rule for everyone else.
“Instead of forcing them to face the consequences, Rishi Sunak has caved into Boris Johnson and chosen to reward them with honours. It’s a sickening insult.”
The video also features Ben Mallet – awarded an OBE in Mr Johnson’s list. Mr Mallet, filmed holding a glass of red wine and wearing festive braces, was the Tories’ campaign director for the 2021 London mayoral election; he now runs the campaign of Moz Hossain, who wants to stand in next year’s mayoral race.
The footage shows two revellers knock over wine glasses as they spiral into a table laden with buffet food. The unsteady pair twirl each other around to the sounds of The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York.
It is the first time footage has emerged of one of the rule-breaking parties in Westminster. In the video, which shows a karaoke machine with flashing lights, partygoers joke about how they are breaking the rules.
When one man sees he is being recorded, he says: “Oh Christ.” Then another asks: “Are you filming this?”
Someone else responds: “It’s for party, erm, party use.” A man then laughs after declaring: “As long as we are not streaming that we’re, like, bending the rules.”
Just days after the party was held, Mr Johnson announced even tighter restrictions meaning people in the areas worst hit by Covid could not see their loved ones over Christmas. And the footage emerged after a dramatic week in which Partygate finally caught up with the ex-PM.
In a damning report on Thursday, the Privileges Committee found he had repeatedly misled MPs over lockdown-busting gatherings. It also accused him of being “complicit” in a “campaign of abuse and attempted intimidation” against the committee’s seven members.
The committee said Mr Johnson would have faced a 90-day suspension from Parliament if he had not resigned in anger before the publication of its report. The Daily Mirror published a picture of the gathering in December 2021 showing staff members and volunteers in close quarters, raising glasses of wine.
A buffet is seen on trestle tables around the room. A Metropolitan Police investigation concluded last November that the “photo by itself is not sufficient evidence on which to assess that an offence had been committed”.
A spokesman for the Met said at the time: “The investigation reviewed all the material thoroughly and, after careful consideration, it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to disprove the version of events provided by attendees to a standard that would meet the threshold required.”
But after the picture emerged, Mr Bailey apologised “unreservedly” for the event and resigned as chair of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee.
He tweeted: “I gave a speech to my team to thank them... it was a serious error of judgment at a time when Londoners were making immense sacrifices to keep us all safe and I regret it wholeheartedly.”
A Conservative Party spokesperson said yesterday: “Senior CCHQ staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14th December 2020. Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign.”
A spokesperson for the Shaun Bailey campaign said: “This is an old story. We repeatedly apologised for this event at the time. It was subject to a nearly year-long police investigation. The matter is closed.”
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