The shameless Tory chairman today claimed there was no need to probe claims of a No10 party in the first lockdown.
Boris Johnson allegedly joined around 20 civil servants and Tory aides on May 15 last year for pizza and wine inside Downing Street and in the garden, with some staying late into the evening.
Yet Oliver Dowden said “I don't think there's a need” for Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to include the probe in his inquiry into four gatherings in winter 2020.
The Conservative Party chair also boasted he was "confident" the inquiry will "vindicate" Boris Johnson's claims no rules were broken.
The Prime Minister allegedly told one attendee on May 15 that they deserved a drink for “beating back” the virus - even though 314 people had died that day.
At the time, people were banned from mixing outdoors with more than one person from a different household, while indoor gatherings were strictly forbidden.
Yet today Mr Dowden claimed the No10 gathering on May 15, 2020, was a “meeting that took place in the garden”.
He told Sky News: “I have seen the account given by Downing Street that there was a meeting that took place, and it took place outside. I think that that was perfectly appropriate and reasonable.
“There had been a press conference previously, and it was perfectly reasonable to have the meeting afterwards outside."
He added: "I don't think there's a need for the Cabinet Secretary to look into this one because the circumstances appear to be pretty clear."
The Cabinet Secretary is investigating four events from 2020:
- A No10 leaving do on November 27 for aide Cleo Watson, where the Prime Minister spoke and around 40 staff were said to be packed into a room:
- A gathering at the Department for Education on December 10;
- A quiz on December 15 in which the Prime Minister posed the questions via video link, but with two members of staff wearing Christmas get-ups physically next to him;
- A No10 Christmas party on December 18 which was planned in advance and around 40 staff were said to be “cheek by jowl”, some wearing Christmas jumpers.
Additionally police are speaking to two people about a gathering in the basement of the Tories’ headquarters, hosted by Shaun Bailey’s London mayoral campaign.
A report in the Guardian and the Independent claimed the social event event took place after a press conference with then health secretary Matt Hancock.
Sources told the papers that the PM and Mr Hancock were present for a short time while aides were drinking, but neither drank themselves or stayed late.
The claims are a further blow to Mr Johnson who is reeling from revelations, first published by the Mirror, over a series of lockdown-busting parties in the run-up to last Christmas.
The PM's spokesman said: “In the summer months Downing Street staff regularly use the garden for some meetings.
"On 15 May 2020 the prime minister held a series of meetings throughout the afternoon, including briefly with the then health secretary and his team in the garden following a press conference.
“The Prime Minister went to his residence shortly after 7pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening.”
