New leaked footage appears to show Downing Street staff joking last Christmas while preparing a suitable response to potential questions over whether a party in No 10 broke Boris Johnson’s own coronavirus rules.
In a recording obtained by ITV News, reportedly made on 22 December, former Downing Street press secretary Allegra Stratton can be seen laughing and saying, “this fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced”, while reminding colleagues: “This is recorded.”
Its publication came hours after Sir Keir Starmer called on the prime minister to “be honest” and “own up” about the alleged parties. Asked on Tuesday, Mr Johnson did not deny a party had taken place, but said: “I am satisfied myself that the guidelines were followed at all times.”
Meanwhile, the UK recorded its highest weekly rise in new Covid-19 cases in January – with a total of nearly 337,000 new infections reported over the past seven days. In Scotland, Nicola Sturgeon asked people across Scotland to work from home until the middle of January in a bid to stem the “potentially rapid rise” of the omicron variant.
