Former Conservative Party London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey is expected to enter the House of Lords in weeks despite being embroiled in a lockdown party row.
The Daily Mirror and The Independent both report that Mr Bailey will become a life peer in mid-July after he was included in former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list.
It comes as Downing Street declined to say whether he should take up the peerage after a video emerged of a mid-lockdown Christmas party at Conservative headquarters thrown by his campaign.
Asked whether he should take up his seat in the Lords, the Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “That is a matter for the individual.”
If he did take his place in the Upper Chamber, it would be “a matter for the whips” whether he sits as a Conservative.
The press secretary insisted Mr Sunak had merely been following the precedent in allowing Mr Johnson to recommend honours for his supporters.
The Liberal Democrats have asked the Forfeiture Committee to look into the “potential withdrawal” of the honours bestowed by Mr Johnson.
Footage of the “jingle and mingle” event, which happened in December 2020 when indoor socialising was banned and people across the country were separated from family and friends, showed activists dancing and drinking.
Scotland Yard confirmed the video, which was “not previously provided to officers”, is among the new evidence it is considering.
Both Mr Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallett – who were handed a peerage and an OBE respectively in Mr Johnson’s resignation honours – attended the gathering.
Met Police chief Sir Mark Rowley appeared to imply action is likely to be taken over the footage.
“The team are looking at that with a view to whether that provides a basis for further investigation … I think we can all see the colourful nature of the video and how much it tells a story way beyond the original photo,” he told the News Agents podcast.
