Boris Johnson’s former aide Dominic Cummings has said it is “wrong to suggest that” a drinks gathering that was pictured taking place in the garden of No 10 on 20 May 2020 was not “a party”, despite his warning that broke lockdown rules.
Mr Cummings rejected claims that a photo taken five days earlier and showing him with Mr Johnson and wife Carrie along with several other people with wine glasses and bottles showed evidence of an after-work party, insisting it was common practice at the time for meetings to be held in the garden.
Meanwhile, small business minister Paul Scully has defended Boris Johnson over “cash for access” allegations, insisting that “nothing untoward” occurred in a WhatsApp exchange between the prime minister and the Tory donor who paid for the luxury revamp of his Downing Street flat.
In messages published on Thursday, the prime minister asked Lord Brownlow for support with the £112,000 upgrade, while also discussing the possibility of a “Great Exhibition 2.0”, an arts project backed by the peer. The donor later met Oliver Dowden, then culture secretary, to discuss the idea.
Labour said the government needed to explain Mr Johnson’s actions, with deputy leader Angela Rayner labelling it “corruption plain and simple”.
