Shaun Bailey has apologised unreservedly after being caught enjoying a Christmas party at Tory HQ during London's lockdown last December.
The former chair of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee, who sensationally quit after being approached by the Mirror about the revelations, said he regretted attending the gathering "wholeheartedly".
Issuing the apology on Twitter, he said: "I want to apologise unreservedly for attending a gathering held by some of my staff in my campaign office last December.
"I gave a speech to my team to thank them for their efforts, before leaving shortly afterwards.
It was a serious error of judgement at a time when Londoners were making immense sacrifices to keep us all safe and I regret it wholeheartedly."
The “raucous” Christmas party was thrown by Tory aides during coronavirus restrictions last Christmas - all while the rest of the UK was under strict restrictions to help combat the spread of Covid-19.
Pictures obtained by the Mirror showed 24 people crowded together - in blatant breach of lockdown rules - in a medium-sized room in the party’s Westminster HQ.
Some of the group are shown wearing paper hats while one is sporting a House of Commons Christmas jumper, with a buffet of food in the foreground.
The event, organised by Mr Bailey ’s mayoral campaign, took place on December 14 last year when London was in Tier 2.
The Conservatives have said that “formal disciplinary action” had been taken against four CCHQ staff seconded to the campaign over the festive gathering.
A spokesman said: “Senior CCHQ staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of [CCHQ] organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14th December.
“Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign.”
Mr Bailey's apology comes amid a number of accusations that parties were held inside Downing Street - including one in which Boris Johnson acted as quizmaster.
Scotland Yard has until now refused to investigate the Christmas gatherings citing a lack of evidence.
The apology also comes as the UK recorded its highest every Covid-19 daily case rate, with 78,610 people testing positive in the past 24 hours.
Yesterday a record 656,000 boosters were administered across the UK - the best day yet although still short of the 1m-a-day target that No10 has targeted as it tries desperately to avoid another lockdown.
