A Tory MP has said the boozy party Boris Johnson was pictured at was work and therefore 'not a crime'.
Desmond Swayne has leapt to the defence of the Prime Minister after fresh pictures emerged of him seemingly toasting a senior aide at a Downing Street leaving drinks event during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The photos, obtained by ITV, are said to have been taken on November 13, 2020, at a do for the outgoing PM’s director of communications Lee Cain.
Mr Johnson can be seen raising a glass to colleagues, while there are wine bottles and wine glasses on the tables in the room.
It was taken at the time when England had been forced into a second lockdown and the rules strictly prohibited indoor gatherings of two or more people, although if the gathering “was reasonably necessary” for work purposes then this was accepted as an exception.
Mr Johnson was fined for attending birthday party in June 2020, but police confirmed he was not facing any additional penalties.
Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner said the prime minister had “demeaned his office” and that “there’s no doubt now, he lied” referring to repeated claims he made in the House of Commons that all rules were followed in No.10 and that he had been unaware of any law-breaking parties.
But Mr Swayne, 65, who has held his New Forest West seat since 1997, backed his boss, telling BBC's Newsnight programme: “It was a work do – it’s what people do at work, you have leaving-dos.
“I understand entirely the public anguish at a time when they were locked down and they were not supposed to be together, but there clearly was a distinction between the workplace, where people work together – and are effectively in a bubble – and what was taking place outside.
“I don’t know, but I presume the police have reached the same judgements, so they have not imposed fines for that."
Mr Swayne added: “That’s the view that I take, the prime minister has apologised – clearly there’s a difference in judgement, but it wasn’t a crime and I don’t believe it was a party.”
But sceptics were quick to condemn Mr Swayne on Twitter, with one person saying: “I worked for 111 at the time and we remained at our desks, at all times.
“We were only allowed to sit in the canteen if we were two metres from anyone else and at the end of our shift we had to wipe everything down and leave.
“We all went along with it because we believed we were doing the right thing.”
Another user observed: “A non-essential gathering, banned under the public health rules Boris Johnson had put in place and had read out to the nation on live TV."
There was this a comment from another onlooker: “They really do think we’re stupid.
“Many couldn’t attend funerals – to not attend and be there to comfort the people they loved was a sacrifice many struggled with, yet made.
“Downing Street staff couldn’t even sacrifice a leaving ‘do’.”
Final comment goes to this Twitter commentator, who revealed another possible problem arising from the images: “Given the amount of booze in the photo, if it was a work meeting, we need another national conversation about alcohol at the heart of government.”
