Downing Street has defended a photograph showing Boris Johnson, his wife and up to 17 staff seemingly having drinks in the Downing Street garden during the first lockdown, insisting they were discussing work at the time.
The prime minister’s spokesperson said that while it was a work meeting after a Covid press conference on 15 May 2020, the fact it happened outside normal work hours meant it was within the regulations for them to be drinking wine.
The photo, shared with the Guardian, appears to show several groups sitting or standing closely together. However, Johnson’s spokesperson said it was impossible to tell whether or not people were 2 metres apart, as was the rule at the time for work meetings.
Labour has suggested the picture shows apparent law-breaking, with Keir Starmer saying the argument it portrayed a work meeting “is a bit of a stretch by anybody’s analysis”.
On Friday, Downing Street denied anything social took place on that evening, following a 5pm Covid press conference hosted by Matt Hancock, then the health secretary.
Johnson’s spokesperson said on Monday the photo showed “individual debriefings following a press conference, discussing work issues”. He said: “There were meetings taking place both inside and outside No 10. This shows colleagues who were required to be in work, meeting following a press conference to discuss work.”
Asked about the presence of bottles of wine and glasses, the spokesperson said: “These were individuals working outside of normal working hours. It was not against the regulations for those individuals to have a drink outside working hours, but still discussing work.”
Covid rules at the time stated that if in-person work meetings had to be held, people should remain at least 2 metres apart. The spokesperson said: “I can’t comment on exactly the level of social distancing based on a single picture from May 2020. Obviously, all individuals required to be in work sought to obey social distancing guidelines.”
The picture shows Johnson’s wife, Carrie, sitting next to him, apparently holding their then newborn son. Asked why she was there, the spokesperson said that was because she lived there: “The prime minister’s wife has use of her garden. It is effectively her garden.”
The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, claimed on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the photo did seem to suggest rules being broken. “I do think there is evidence of law-breaking … The country is sick of it,” she said.
Speaking later Starmer said there were “very serious questions to be answered”. The Labour leader said: “Just look at the photo and ask yourself: is that a work meeting going on, or is that a social event? I think the answer is pretty obvious.”
Speaking earlier, Dominic Raab had argued the photo simply showed people “having a drink after a busy set of work meetings”, and that other workplaces would have acted similarly.
Asked about the photo, Raab, the justice secretary, told BBC One’s Breakfast: “I know how hard that No 10 team were working, as the hub, the fulcrum of the crisis response. I think there’s a lot of exhausted people, and they, as people do in work, were having a drink after the formal business had been done.”
Asked why the photo appeared to show people standing more closely together, Raab appeared to argue that this mattered less as they were outdoors, something not mentioned in the guidance: “There is significant difference. It’s always been clear from the public health advice that outdoors you’ve got a much greater chance of reducing the risk because of the ventilation that comes with it.”
