Video of CCHQ Covid-era gathering tells ‘story way beyond the original photo’

In footage obtained by The Sunday Mirror, Conservative staff appear to be dancing and joking about Covid restrictions at the height of the pandemic.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Wire)

A video of a party held at Conservative Campaign Headquarters (CCHQ) in December 2020 while Covid restrictions were in place “tells a story way beyond the original photo”, the Metropolitan Police Commissioner has said.

Footage obtained by the Sunday Mirror, which appears to show Conservative staff dancing and joking about lockdown rules, has been handed to the force, the paper said on Monday evening.

It comes after Downing Street suggested Boris Johnson’s resignation honours could be reviewed by a special committee if nominees are deemed to have brought the honours system “into disrepute”.

The event was attended by former London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallet, who were put forward for a peerage and an OBE respectively by Mr Johnson.

Sir Mark Rowley also appeared to imply that action is likely to be taken over the footage.

“The team are looking at that with a view to whether that provides a basis for further investigation… I think we can all see the colourful nature of the video and how much it tells a story way beyond the original photo,” he told the News Agents podcast.

“I need to let a team work through that but I think we can all guess which way it will go.”

The Metropolitan Police confirmed it is reviewing new material in relation to the party.

Tory activists were invited to what was described as a “jingle and mingle” party, according to the BBC, despite members of the public being banned from seeing each other under Covid regulations in place at the time.

The comments come as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said that Mr Bailey and Mr Mallet should not receive their honours, while former Tory justice secretary Sir Robert Buckland suggested they should decline them.

Most people looking at that would say it is simply inappropriate for two of the people in that video to be getting honours

Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader

No 10 said Rishi Sunak had followed a “longstanding” convention by refusing to interfere with a former prime minister’s resignation honours.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman, asked whether Mr Bailey and Mr Mallet should give up their honours following their attendance at the party, brought up the work of the Forfeiture Committee.

He said: “It is for the Forfeiture Committee to consider cases when put to it if there are claims about bringing the honour system into disrepute.

“It’s not an investigatory body and it does not decide on whether people have committed specific acts, but it reflects on the findings of investigations or makes recommendations about whether the system has been brought into disrepute.

“It is for their committee to look at, if they wish to.”

According to the committee’s website, a decision to forfeit an honour can be based on events that pre-date the award or conduct that occurs after the award is made.

Since the video of the CCHQ lockdown party was published, the Metropolitan Police has confirmed the footage is part of new material it is reviewing into potential rule breaches dating back to 2020 and 2021.

The Christmas event took place when indoor socialising was banned and people across the country were separated from family and friends.

Sir Mark said: “We’re not routinely opening every minor historic allegation. So, if you phoned up about your neighbour from three years ago, we’re not going to reopen that. But clearly cases that are particularly serious, particularly concerning, we will do.

“As people know, that case has been previously looked at based on a photo. It’s very obvious a video tells a much richer, clearer story than a photo.”

He also told the podcast: “One of the things we’ve taken account of in the past, of course, has been those involved in sort of setting the law and setting the policy being an aggravating feature, for example.”

Mr Bailey had reportedly left the gathering when the video was taken and has previously apologised for his involvement.

Opposition leader Sir Keir, who has ruled out submitting his own resignation honours if he becomes premier, said it was an “open matter” as to whether the Tory figures should be stripped of their Lords’ seat and gong respectively.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I certainly don’t think they should be getting honours.

“I think the Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, should have said no. But he didn’t, he waved it through.

“And whether that can now be reversed I think is an open matter.

“But certainly, anyone looking at that video – it is only the latest videos or evidence of wrongdoing at Downing Street or Tory Party headquarters – most people looking at that would say it is simply inappropriate for two of the people in that video to be getting honours.”

Mr Johnson went on to resign as an MP only hours after his resignation honours were made public earlier this month, quitting after learning a cross-party Commons committee had concluded he lied to Parliament when he made assurances that Covid rules had been followed in No 10.

There has been an ongoing row between Mr Johnson’s allies and Mr Sunak’s administration after a number of Tory MPs put forward for a place in the House of Lords did not appear on the final resignation list.