No. 10 Downing Street was an “oasis of normality” where COVID-19 rules went ignored while staff were warned to watch out for cameras outside, an official told MPs investigating the Partygate scandal.
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson repeatedly told the House of Commons that lockdown rules had been “followed at all times” in Downing Street.
But in its final report on the Partygate scandal, published on Thursday, the Commons Privileges Committee said Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over lockdown-breaching parties held during the pandemic.
Boris Johnson giving evidence to the Privileges Committee at the House of Commons, London, on March 22, 2023. (House of Commons/UK Parliament via PA Media)
In written evidence to the committee, a Downing Street official said “Wine Time Fridays” and birthday parties continued while the rest of the country faced harsh restrictions on socialising….