Dominic Raab defends Boris Johnson over new wine and cheese photo

Dominic Raab today defended Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie after they were pictured in the Downing Street garden at a table of cheese and wine with up to 17 people nearby during lockdown when only two people were allowed to socialise outside.

The Prime Minister and his wife were seen sitting at a table with two people while another 13 were pictured with bottles of alcohol nearby at a table and on the lawn on Friday May 15, 2020.

But Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said today that having a drink ‘after a long day or long week’ was not against the regulations when asked about the photo – and pointed out that Mr Johnson was wearing a suit.

Mr Raab told Times Radio: ‘Downing Street used that garden as a place of work. They used it for work meetings. The photo is from a day when, I think, the Prime Minister had just done a press conference.

‘And sometimes they’ll have a drink after a long day or a long week. And that’s not against the regulations.’

The picture, obtained by The Guardian, raises serious questions over Downing Street’s repeated claims that a ‘work meeting’ was taking place at the time – instead of a social event involving wine, spirits and pizza inside and outside. 

On Mr Johnson’s then-fiancee Carrie being there, Mr Raab added: ‘It is not just a place of work for all the staff that work in Number 10 and the Prime Minister, but it is also the the residence of the Prime Minister and his very young family. I genuinely don’t think it gets classified as a party because Carrie popped down and spent a little bit of time there with her husband.’ 

Mr Raab also told Sky News that the garden was ‘used for work’, adding: ‘They’re all in suits, predominantly in formal attire.’ When questioned over this by presenter Kay Burley, he said: ‘I think a large number of them… to be honest with you… the Prime Minister in a suit, the officials there… Some of them have taken their jackets off.’ 

In May last year, the UK was in lockdown whereby only two people from different households were allowed to meet outside – and they must be at a distance of two metres. 

No10 had denied last week that there was a social event on 15 May 2020 – and instead a spokesperson said Downing Street staff were working in the garden in the afternoon and evening. 

But the photograph shows three groups of people – including Boris and Carrie Johnson – with bottles of wine and alcohol on their tables. 

The revelation has heaped further pressure on the Prime Minister who is accused of ‘haemorrhaging public trust’, with 51 per cent of Conservative voters in 2019 now believing he is dishonest. 

A Survation poll carried out by campaign group 38 Degrees found Johnson’s trustworthiness has dropped eight points in the past month in the wake of the party scandals, with just a third of Tory voters believing him to be honest.

Of all voters, 68 per cent believe Johnson is dishonest and 63 per cent say he lacks integrity, The Mirror reports. 

Angela Rayner, the deputy leader of the Labour party, said that the photograph was ‘a slap in the face of the British public’. 

Rayner added: ‘The prime minister consistently shows us he has no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us. Alleged drinking and partying late into the evening [at No 10] when the rest of us were only recently getting one daily walk.’

It is the latest in a ‘partygate’ row over celebrations inside No 10, with Downing Street accused of holding four parties that broke Covid restrictions last year. 

Mr Johnson was forced to order a civil service enquiry, but the civil servant he chose to lead the injuiry quit after it emerged a quiz was held in his own department that he was aware of and spoke at.      

The Prime Minister suffered another hammer blow yesterday after his ally Lord Frost dramatically quit as Brexit Minister slating Covid curbs and high taxes. 

Lord Frost, up to now a close ally of Mr Johnson, walked out with a parting shot at the ‘direction of travel’ and saying he had hoped the end of lockdown would be ‘irreversible’.

In the new image, Boris and Carrie Johnson are seen sitting at a table with a cheeseboard and wine with two people – believed to be a civil servant and an aide. 

On the same day, the then Health Secretary Matt Hancock had held a press conference urging the British public to stick to the Covid rules and not to socialise in groups outside. 

While people were allowed to return to work at the time, guidance said social distances of two metres must be followed at all times and ‘only absolutely necessary participants should attend meetings and should maintain 2-metre separation throughout’.

A Downing Street spokesperson said on Sunday: ‘As we said last week, work meetings often take place in the Downing Street garden in the summer months. On this occasion there were staff meetings after a No 10 press conference.

‘Downing Street is the prime minister’s home as well as his workplace. The prime minister’s wife lives in No 10 and therefore also legitimately uses the garden.’

It comes as Downing Street is accused of holding four parties during lockdown, including a quiz attended by dozens of staff and which the Prime Minister helped to host on December 15 – three days before another Christmas party which is being investigated. 

No10 previously insisted that Downing Street were ‘often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response’ during the various lockdowns, and therefore ‘those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks’.

But the Mirror said a message sent by No10’s head of HR on the night of the quiz advised that those who had stayed behind to take part ‘go out the back’ when they left. 

Mr Johnson said an inquiry would be held to investigate the allegations. But Cabinet Secretary Simon Case quit his role leading the inquiry into a number of alleged gatherings on Friday, after it emerged a quiz was held in his own department that he was aware of and spoke at.

MailOnline understands that one event was held on December 17 last year, with an email sent out to around 15 people in Mr Case’s Private Office titled ‘Christmas Quiz’. 

Whitehall heavy hitter Sue Gray has been installed in his place to carry out inquiries into three alleged gatherings at Downing Street and the Department for Education in November and December last year, when indoor mixing was banned.

The terms of what was then Mr Case’s investigation said it could be widened to include any relevant allegations. 

Ex-No 10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell said he ‘can’t think from his time in government of a better person to put in charge of this review than Sue Gray.’

Meanwhile, Chris Bryant, chair of the Committee on Standards, said it appeared that no-one knew what was going on in Downing Street.

The Labour MP told BBC Breakfast the situation over the parties in Whitehall was ‘farcical’ and he said: ‘It feels a bit like Downing Street is completely dysfunctional. Nobody seems to know what’s going on.’ 

And Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said Ms Gray now has the task of restoring public trust. 

Ms Gray, who is second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, was once described by BBC Newsnight’s then policy editor as ‘the most powerful person you’ve never heard of’.

Speaking to that same programme on Friday, Tory MP Richard Holden described her as ‘formidable’ and said she was ‘not a pushover’.

She oversaw the Plebgate inquiry in 2012 after ex-chief whip Andrew Mitchell was accused of calling a policeman a ‘pleb’ at the Downing Street gates, and was once described as ‘deputy God’ by then Labour MP Paul Flynn in a meeting the same year. 

A Downing Street spokesman said in a statement: ‘To ensure the ongoing investigation retains public confidence the Cabinet Secretary has recused himself for the remainder of the process.

‘The work will be concluded by Sue Gray, second permanent secretary at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

‘She will ascertain the facts and present her findings to the Prime Minister.’ 

Sources admitted that alcohol was consumed at desks with about six people present, and others participating virtually, but there was apparently no catering. 

Lord Barwell told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘I can’t think from my time in government of a better person to put in charge of this review than Sue Gray.

‘She had the role in charge of propriety and ethics in government when I was chief of staff. I saw her handle a number of investigations in a way that was completely independent and her determination always to get to the truth and present the Prime Minister with all the evidence.

‘So for those of your listeners who don’t know who this person is, let me just give you my testimony that I think she is exactly the right kind of person and we can be confident that we will get the facts.’ 

Mr Bryant also said he had been impressed by Sue Gray, who was now leading the investigation, when he met her.

He urged her to hand any evidence she found of lawbreaking over to the police.

He added: ‘If the rules are broken … if they were broken in any other line of work, the police would be investigating and I don’t know why the police aren’t investigating this situation.’

He said: ‘In the end, the final analysis has to be done by (a) completely independent person. I think that that should be the police.’

And Ms Rayner said: ‘At the moment, people are saying ‘which department didn’t have a party?”

She added: ‘It’s incredibly disappointing because we all know what was happening when these parties were going on, people couldn’t see their loved ones who were dying, and were making incredible sacrifices.

‘So I do think that the investigation has to get to the bottom, but I think that the evidence already is showing that Boris Johnson has set a tone for this government and has allowed this to happen under his watch.’

READ RELATED: Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh Report First Omicron Variant Cases; India Tally Rises To 38

She said Ms Gray should hand over any evidence of law-breaking which she uncovers to the police.  

Ms Gray was previously director-general of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office from 2012 to 2018, and is seen as a figure who would not pull any punches in an inquiry. 

Former Tory MP and Cabinet office minister Oliver Letwin is reported to have said of Ms Gray: ‘It took me precisely two years before I realised who it is that runs Britain. Our great United Kingdom is actually entirely run by a lady called Sue Gray, the head of ethics or something in the Cabinet Office. Unless she agrees, things just don’t happen.’

She is also part of the panel deciding on who will be next chair of the media regulator Ofcom.

However, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said ‘having somebody else from the Civil Service marking their own isn’t good enough’.

Mr Blackford told the BBC’s Newsnight programme that ‘it needs to be someone from authority from outwith Government, from outwith the Civil Service. I would suggest that the best way to do that would be by having a judge-led inquiry’.

Ms Gray was brought in after the Guido Fawkes website reported on Friday that two Christmas parties were held in Mr Case’s department, the Cabinet Office, in December 2020, when restrictions were in place.

Although Mr Case did not take part he was ‘aware of what they were doing’ just outside his own personal office, and at one point stopped to ‘thank them for their hard work’ as he moved between meetings.  

A second event last December allegedly featured drinks for a group of people in Mr Case’s office before attendees continued the party elsewhere. However, the Cabinet Office denies that event took place.

The allegations surfaced as Tory chairman Oliver Dowden insisted that Mr Case’s inquiry will ‘vindicate’ Mr Johnson’s position that no rules had been broken.

He has been looking into alleged No10 Christmas party on December 18, as well as leaving dos and a Cabinet Office quiz. 

Boris Johnson ordered Mr Case to investigate last week after extraordinary footage emerged of his former press secretary Allegra Stratton and No10 aides giggling about a ‘party’ that was held in Downing Street last year.

The findings of Mr Case’s probe were expected by today, but they have been pushed back. 

The damaging scandal has been blamed for the Tories’ disastrous loss in the North Shropshire by-election overnight. 

Speaking to reporters on a visit in his Uxbridge constituency today, Mr Johnson insisted the public was more interested in other matters such as coronavirus, and suggested the media reporting on lockdown-busting parties had caused the Tories to lose the North Shropshire by-election.

He told broadcasters ‘what people have been hearing is just a constant litany of stuff about politics and politicians and stuff that isn’t about them’.

Earlier, Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford called for Mr Case to be removed from the investigation and to resign.  

Mr Blackford said: ‘The Prime Minister’s appointed lead investigator into the Downing Street parties has also been reported to have hosted a party in his office – whilst thousands were forced to spend the Christmas season apart as a result of necessary coronavirus restrictions. He, along with his inquiry report, must go.’

He said it was ‘vital there be an inquiry led by an independent arbitrator – someone who owes the UK government nothing’, and in a letter to the PM suggested it should be judge-led. 

Ms Rayner also said: ‘Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has set the tone for the civil service and the rest of government.

‘Which each new revelation there is growing evidence of a culture of turning a blind eye to the rules.

‘Labour made it clear when the investigation was launched that the person in charge should be uncompromised and able to make a fair and independent judgement. These fresh revelations put that into question.’

Mr Dowden told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘I understand and I appreciate that there was a perception, particularly from the media coverage surrounding those alleged events, that we were not abiding by the rules.

‘I have to say to you that there is an ongoing inquiry by the Cabinet Secretary and I’m confident that that inquiry will vindicate the Prime Minister’s assertion that everything that happened was within the rules.

‘But I do appreciate the noise and the sound around that was something that was of concern to voters.’  

Mr Johnson was accused of breaking the rules imposed by his own government after it was revealed he acted as an impromptu quiz master in Downing Street amid Tier 2 restrictions last year. 

In an image published in the Sunday Mirror, Johnson is seen in front of a laptop in the No. 10 library closely shadowed by two colleagues, one draped in tinsel, the other wearing a Christmas hat.

The quiz is believed to have taken place on December 15 – just three days before the now infamous Downing Street party. 

Government sources cited by the Times said the Cabinet Secretary ‘would look at credible allegations of other gatherings and you can’t really say that a photo of the prime minister is not a credible allegation.’

Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi defended the Prime Minister after it emerged Mr Johnson personally hosted a Christmas quiz in Downing Street last year. 

Mr Zahawi said Mr Johnson had not broken any coronavirus rules by taking part in the event.  

Downing Street has insisted the quiz was ‘virtual’ but reports claimed many staff were huddled by computers in Number 10 as they conferred on questions and drank alcohol. 

At the time of the quiz, London was in Tier 2 which dictated there should be no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and a maximum of six people outside.

The Sunday Mirror reported Mr Johnson surprised staff by turning up on screen as quiz master for one round lasting between 10 and 15 minutes. 

A Number 10 spokeswoman said: ‘This was a virtual quiz.

‘Downing Street staff were often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response so those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks.

‘The Prime Minister briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year.’  

Staff reportedly held a Christmas bash in Number 10 on December 18, with a leaked video – filmed four days after the alleged gathering – showing senior Downing Street aides joking about a ‘fictional’ party.

A second reported Downing Street event – an aide’s leaving do which is said to have taken place on November 27 – was allegedly attended by the Prime Minister, who The Mirror said made a speech.

Mr Case is investigating both alleged events, along with a festive celebration arranged at the Department for Education, which officials have admitted did take place and have expressed regret over.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has since confirmed that staff working for Therese Coffey drank alcohol and ate takeaways ‘late into the evening’ on a number of occasions while coronavirus restrictions were in place.

It comes after the Sunday Mirror reported that political staff and officials frequently drank after work until the early hours of the morning, and ordered food to the Work and Pension Secretary’s office at the department’s Whitehall headquarters.

The DWP has confirmed there were times when alcohol was consumed in a work space outside the Cabinet minister’s Whitehall office but stressed it took place while work was continuing past normal employment hours.

A source said the desks in the office are socially distanced and there was ‘no party atmosphere going on’.    

Source: