Boris Johnson joked No 10 party was ‘most unsocially distanced in UK’

Boris Johnson joked about a No 10 leaving do which was held during the Covid crisis being “the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now”, it has been claimed.

The former prime minster made the remark at a “boozy” party in Downing Street in November 2020 while coronavirus restrictions were in place, according to ITV.

The broadcaster said that when it put the quote to Mr Johnson – forced out of No 10 by the Conservatives in the summer after the Partygate scandal – the former Tory leader “did not deny saying it”.

The claim about the comments made at the leaving do for ex-director of communications Lee Cain is part of a number of new allegations made in an ITV podcast, Partygate: The Inside Story.

It reports that a source said: “I was working late … I heard the prime minister speaking and that’s when I heard the quote: ‘This is the most unsocially distanced party in the UK right now’ and everyone was laughing about it.”

The revelation is among several damning new allegations – including claims No 10 staff destroyed evidence and some were seen “getting it on” at a party on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

Mr Johnson was fined as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into gatherings held in Downing Street while social distancing restrictions were in place.

However, he was fined for attending his own birthday party in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 rather than for the 13 November 2020 leaving dos – which saw some fines issued to staff.

A party on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral is said to be even more racous than previously thought – with at least two couples said to have been “getting it on with each other” and “touching each other up”,

Two other members of staff were reportedly “all over each other” in a Downing Street kitchen area at the funeral eve gathering.

ITV also reports that whistleblowers told the podcast that staff “corroborated their stories” before filling out police questionnaires about their potential involvement in rule-breaking gatherings.

One source told the podcast that key documents and evidence about parties were shredded prior to the Sue Gray Cabinet Office probe and eventual police investigation.

“There was a sense, and an implication, that we should start deleting evidence before there is an investigation. And a lot of people started shredding things. Any proof of the events started disappearing,” they said.

“[Awards from a Christmas party were] basically taken down, kept away, shredded, evidence destroyed. So there was an aspect of getting rid of evidence – just keeping yourself in the clear before an investigation would happen.”

The podcast also reports that only half of the parties that occurred were ever investigated by Sue Gray, the senior Cabinet Office official who investigated the Partygate claims, or the Met.

Mr Johnson is still due to appear before MPs on the Commons privileges committee about whether he misled MPs from the despatch box about what he knew about Partygate.

Our source said the 13 November leaving do undermined Mr Johnson’s claim that he was unaware of partying at No 10 during Covid curbs.

“He was there seeing people sat on other people’s laps [in] close proximity, crowded, scrunched up in front of him. He saw that, he saw people with drinks … He’s not blind, he’s not stupid. He saw that and didn’t shut it down,” they said.

In response to whether Mr Johnson has joked the leaving do being the most “unsocially distanced”, his spokesperson said: “During the pandemic 10 Downing Street staff worked to coordinate the UK government’s national response. The work of Downing Street staff was crucial as they helped marshal the UK’s response to a national emergency.”

Liberal Democrats’ said Rishi Sunak should give evidence on “everything he knows about rule-breaking in No10 – including reports that files were shredded”.

The party’s chief whip Wendy Chamberlain said: “These shocking revelations confirm Boris Johnson’s total disregard for the rules he asked us all to follow. After all their sacrifices the British people deserve the truth, not more lies and cover ups.”