Politics] Tory aides invited to 'Jingle and Mingle' Covid party

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Conservative activists filmed dancing at a Christmas party during Covid restrictions in 2020 were invited to"jingle and mingle", according to an invitation seen by the BBC.

Thirty people were invited to the 14 December event at Conservative party headquarters.

At the time London was under Tier-2 restrictions which banned indoor socialising.

Police are reviewing video of the event first published by the Mirror.

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In the footage, one person is heard saying it is OK to film "as long as we don't stream that we're, like, bending the rules".

The Conservative Party said four people were disciplined over the event, although it has not named them.

The event was held on behalf of Shaun Bailey's unsuccessful Mayor of London campaign, and was thrown for party activists.

He was awarded a peerage in Mr Johnson's resignation honours list last week.

Ben Mallet, a former aide to the ex-prime minister who was awarded an OBE last week, is shown chatting to guests in the latest footage.

Mr Bailey said he apologised "unreservedly" for the event, which he said "turned into something" after he had left.

He claimed he was "very upset about the video" as he had "never seen it before".

Under questioning, Mr Bailey said he had not chosen the team of staff seen in the video. "It was a staff team that was given to me, but the buck stops with me," he said.

 

The Liberal Democrats have called for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to strip honours from those attending the party.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has apologised for the video, and told the BBC the footage was "terrible" and would leave people feeling "extremely angry".

In November 2022, Scotland Yard said it was taking no action against Mr Bailey or other people who attended the gathering.

On Monday, the force said is was now "assessing video footage that was not previously provided to officers" in the party.

The Met Police are also investigating new reports, released by the Cabinet Office, of potential rule breaches by former prime minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street and Chequers during the Covid pandemic.

And officers are looking into reports senior Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin, who sits on the Privileges Committee attended a drinks party for his wife's birthday in the House of Commons while London was in Tier-2 lockdown.

link: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-65952298