LONDON: A video has surfaced, revealing Conservative Party staff members drinking and dancing at a Christmas party in violation of Covid restrictions.
The footage, released by the Mirror newspaper, captures a person stating that filming is acceptable “as long as we don’t stream that we’re, like, bending the rules.” The video sheds new light on an event previously investigated by the police.
The Conservative Party has confirmed that disciplinary measures have already been taken in response to the incident, the BBC said.
The video was filmed at the Conservative party’s headquarters in Westminster in December 2020, when London was under Tier 2 restrictions. During this time, socializing indoors was prohibited, except with members of one’s own household or support bubble. Those who wished to socialize had to do so in gardens or at pubs with outdoor seating, limited to groups of six individuals.
Police investigated the event last year, but no fines were issued. Shaun Bailey, who received a peerage in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours list this week, was running for London mayor in December 2020, and members of his campaign team attended the gathering at the Tory party’s HQ.
While the event had previously been reported, only still photographs were published by the Daily Mirror. The recently obtained video does not feature Mr. Bailey, although earlier images showed him surrounded by party workers.
In November 2022, Scotland Yard confirmed that no action would be taken against Mr. Bailey or others who attended the gathering. However, the Conservative Party disclosed that four individuals seconded to Mr. Bailey’s campaign had faced disciplinary action.
The 45-second video available on the Mirror website depicts people drinking and congregating in groups, with a man and a woman holding hands and dancing.
Cabinet minister Michael Gove expressed his apologies to everyone, describing the video as “terrible” and “completely out of order.” He asserted that the occurrence of the party was indefensible.
Labour’s Angela Rayner criticized the attendees for openly disregarding the Covid restrictions, stating that the Tories believed in having one rule for themselves and another for everyone else. The deputy leader further commented that Tory MPs and ministers should feel disgusted upon witnessing this new footage.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper echoed the sentiment, expressing her belief that Conservative Campaign Headquarters’ celebration was in stark contrast to grieving families and frontline NHS staff who were battling the pandemic.
The Metropolitan Police have yet to respond to the newly released video footage.
