The Metropolitan Police is “considering” controversial footage of a party held at the height of the Covid lockdown at the Conservative Party’s campaign headquarters.
Shocking footage obtained by the Daily Mirror shows staff drinking, dancing and seemingly mocking lockdown laws at a Christmas party on December 14, 2020.
At least 24 revellers – including two staffers named on Boris Johnson’s controversial honours list – attended the bash, with a spokesperson for the Met Police saying: “We are aware of the footage and are considering it.”
At the time of the party, London was in Tier 2 Covid restrictions before soon after being moved to Tier 3.
Tier 2 banned all mixing between households indoors bar support bubbles and said only six people were allowed to meet socially distanced outside.
It came as Tory Minister Michael Gove issued a public apology after admitting the footage was “terrible” and “completely out of order”.
“The fact this party went ahead is indefensible,” he told Sky News. “I want to apologise to everyone who, looking at that, will think these people are flouting the rules designed to protect us all.”
One attendee can be heard saying, “as long as we don’t stream that we’re, like, bending the rules,” before laughing while a man and woman hold hands and dance.
The pair crash into a buffet table stacked with food and wine glasses at one point, while other guests walk past wearing paper crowns and clutching alcoholic drinks.
After being shown a negative reaction to the video, Mr Gove added: “The people who were there I’m sure feel contrite, I certainly hope they do.
“As I say there was a previous investigation into this and we now know more about it, but I can only say to Paul that I’m very, very sorry that there were people who were working in Government very hard on his behalf, not all of whom on every occasion will have made the right decision in policy terms, but all of the time we were thinking about how we could help Paul and others.
“There’s a Covid Inquiry ongoing at the moment which will look at the decisions that Government made.
“I think one of the most important things that all of us can do is to look back at the decisions that Government made and make sure that we’re better prepared if a future pandemic comes along, but for Paul and for others who are grieving, who suffered and who lost relatives or whose only family had to endure these rules, I can only apologise.”
CCHQ said “formal disciplinary action” was taken against four staff members, who were seconded to the London mayoral campaign of Shaun Bailey, over the “unauthorised” event.
The failed candidate – who was handed a peerage by former prime minister Boris Johnson in his controversial resignation honours list – has previously apologised for the event after the pictured emerged.
At the time, the Met decided no further action would taken due to the lack of evidence.
