Boris Johnson was at a Downing Street party with Abba songs blaring out that is now being investigated by the police, it was reported last night.
The prime minister was reportedly seen heading up to his flat for the fizz-fuelled get-together on November 13, 2020, that took place the day after Dominic Cummings stood down as his advisor.
It puts yet more pressure on Johnson with more than 12 parties being investigated by police during the Covid lockdown since the Mirror first uncovered a Downing Street Christmas party.
The prime minister has tried to weather the storm and move on by pushing one of his big policy pledges of “levelling up” and focusing resources on “forgotten communities”.
But fresh details of the party scandals continue to emerge.
Abba songs including The Winner Takes It All were among the tunes played at the party on November 13, 2020, reported The Mail on Sunday.
Johnson has said that there was no party and has not stated whether he was at his Downing Street flat when asked in the Commons, but it is reported that his wife Carrie was there, according to the Telegraph.
Mr Cummings last night claimed that there are photos from the Abba party and the music was loud enough to be heard throughout the building.
At the same time Sue Gray, who has been tasked with writing a report on the parties, has said that a flat event is one of the 12 being investigated by police.
Gray's report on the parties on Monday pointed to "serious failures of leadership" at the heart of British government.
Now it is reported there were three events where a senior British diplomat in America, a military commander and a senior official in the Culture Department were involved.
A party on June 18, 2020, was held over the departure of a No 10 private secretary, said Gray’s report, and this reportedly refers to Hannah Young, who left to become deputy consul in New York.
The Mirror previously revealed Johnson gave a speech at an event to mark defence adviser Captain Steve Higham’s Downing Street departure before Christmas in 2020.
It is understood the PM was “there for a few minutes to thank him for his service” as a “small number of No10 staff briefly said goodbye”.
The other event was a prosecco-fuelled leaving do where the prime minister is also believed to have attended for a short time, that took place on January 14, last year.
Gray has called it “a gathering in No 10 Downing Street on the departure of two No 10 private secretaries” in her report.
Aftermath of Mirror's revelations
More than 16 parties have been uncovered across Downing Street, Whitehall and Tory HQ during lockdown rules since the Mirror’s first revelations on December 1.
We first uncovered a Downing Street Christmas party on December 18, 2020, while indoor social gatherings in London were banned.
Later revelations included a party with a spread of food in the basement of Tory HQ, which was not included in Ms Gray’s report.
It also emerged staff in No10 brought a suitcase of wine in to leaving dos the night before Prince Philip’s funeral - prompting an apology to the Palace.
