A new Partygate video that shows Conservative officials dancing, joking and drinking during lockdown has forced thousands of people across the UK to relive harrowing memories of the sacrifices they made at that time.
Michael Gove has apologised and said their actions were “indefensible”, but he refused to back calls for some of the attendees to lose honours they were given by Boris Johnson, who has been found guilty of misleading parliament over the Partygate scandal.
Hours before the event at Tory party headquarters on 14 December 2020, organised by Shaun Bailey’s London mayoral campaign team, the then health secretary, Matt Hancock, announced London was to move into tougher tier 3 Covid restrictions.
Here we look at some of those who were at the party.
Shaun Bailey
Lord Bailey was the party’s candidate for London mayor when the lockdown-busting party was held. It is understood the video was filmed shortly after he had left the event. But he was photographed, standing in the middle of a group and smiling, as his colleagues pose with glasses in their hands.
Ben Mallet
Ben Mallet can be seen wearing festive braces, a navy blue tie and holding a glass of wine in the video and in the picture that had first circulated. He is understood to be a close friend of Carrie Johnson and also ran Zac Goldsmith’s mayoral campaign in 2016. Mallet is now running Mozammel Hossain’s London mayoral campaign.
Nick Candy
The Tory donor Nick Candy was pictured wearing a grey blazer and raising a glass of wine in the photograph in which Bailey also appeared. The property developer unsuccessfully bid for Chelsea Football Club last year. A penthouse he developed with his brother in One Hyde Park became Britain’s most expensive home when he bought it for himself for £160m.
Jack Smith and Malin Bogue
Jack Smith was pictured in a festive jumper and green trousers dancing with Malin Bogue, who was wearing a red A-line dress, to the song Fairytale of New York by the Pogues.
The pair took turns to twirl each other around, laughing, while dancing in front of a sign that said: “Please keep your distance.” The pair were dancing so frantically they knocked over wine glasses as they accidentally bumped into a table.
Smith is a parliamentary aide to the Conservative energy minister Graham Stuart.
Bogue is the daughter of a wealthy businessman from San Francisco. She worked on Johnson’s leadership campaign to replace Theresa May as leader in 2019.
While she volunteered to work for Johnson’s campaign, it was revealed she was paid by Sanjeev Gupta, the industrialist whose practices left 5,000 UK jobs at risk. She now works for the lobbying firm Stonehaven as a senior consultant.
