A DORSET MP admitted footage showing senior Government advisers joking about a Downing Street Christmas party during a coronavirus lockdown last year “doesn’t look good”.
Sir Robert Syms, MP for Poole, said the video of Allegra Stratton in Number10’s press briefing room, reportedly filmed on December 22, “feeds a narrative” that the government is “not being very careful”.
Ms Stratton, who was the Prime Minister spokeswoman, today resigned after the leaked clip emerged amid heightened pressure on Boris Johnson.
The Daily Echo contacted all of the region’s MPs with a series of questions over reports Downing Street staff broke lockdown rules by holding a Christmas party last year. Sir Robert was the only one of the seven politicians contacted who provided answers.
Asked for his views on reports of the lockdown-breaking event in Downing Street, he said: “None of us (MPs) were going over to Downing Street last Christmas.
“From what I can understand it is civil servants in Number 10, of which there are probably 60, 70, 80, who decided to have a drink before Christmas. Whether it was a party, I don’t think there were invitations, it wasn’t any kind of formal event and they are all very stressed as well because they have been working under quite a lot of pressure, so I don’t think it involved any politicians.
“Whether the chief of staff or the senior civil servants should have stopped it, I don’t know, but to be honest I don’t really know enough about what the situation was.
“Don’t forget all these people are working together in the same offices, in a very compact environment and they have all been mixing with each other, testing themselves.
"I presume what we are talking about is a pre-Christmas drink rather than any kind of formal party with Father Christmas.”
Regarding the leaked clip, he said it “doesn’t look good because people are relating to the fact there might have been an alleged Christmas party”, but added “it looks worse than it is”.
He said it is not uncommon for spokespeople to rehearse questions on a range of subjects in the format of the footage.
“I think the more serious issue is who is actually the day-to-day manager of the civil servants in Downing Street – the head of the civil service – and if they were aware that people were going to get together for a drink, it should probably have been stamped on.”
Sir Robert said he had no memory or knowledge of a Downing Street Christmas party or social gathering last year.
New Forest West MP Sir Desmond Swayne responded by saying he would be awaiting the findings of the inquiry – at Prime Minister’s questions Mr Johnson said he had ordered for an investigation to be carried out into claims Downing Street staff broke Covid rules last Christmas.
The Daily Echo did not receive responses from North Dorset MP Simon Hoare, Christchurch MP Sir Christopher Chope, Mid Dorset and North Poole MP and government whip Michael Tomlinson and Bournemouth West MP and minister of state Conor Burns. The latter was seen on the front bench in the House of Commons while the Prime Minister was grilled by opposition leaders yesterday.
Bournemouth East MP Tobias Ellwood did not comment directly on the Daily Echo’s questions. In his response he referred to his interview during Tuesday’s episode of Newsnight on the BBC.
My comment on @BBCNewsnight last night calling for the Cabinet Secretary to independently investigate and report.
— Tobias Ellwood MP (@Tobias_Ellwood) December 8, 2021
Pleased to see the PM confirm, at PMQ’s, this will now happen. pic.twitter.com/EpyAYPCq37
In the House of Commons, Mr Johnson apologised for the offence the clip caused. He said: “But I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken, and that is what I have been repeatedly assured.”
The Prime Minister has repeatedly insisted that rules were followed in Downing Street since the claims first emerged about the December 18, 2020, party.
However, at Prime Minister’s Questions in the Commons he said he based that position on assurances from junior staff.
Mr Johnson said he had asked Cabinet Secretary Simon Case “to establish all the facts and to report back as soon as possible – and it goes without saying that if those rules were broken then there will be disciplinary action for all those involved”.
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