Five highlights of ‘Party Marty’ at the Covid Inquiry

Hang up the bunting and grab a suitcase of wine – it’s Covid Inquiry prime time. This week, the longest running farce in London is gearing up to take evidence from a succession of familiar faces including the likes of Vote Leave duo Dominic Cummings and Lee Cain. But before all that, it was the turn of Martin Reynolds, Boris Johnson’s former Principal Private Secretary, to take the stand.

Reynolds of course was the hapless mandarin who sent the incriminating 20 May 2020 email to 100 civil servants to ‘Bring your own bottle’ and ‘make the most of the lovely weather’ in the Downing Street garden. This was at the height of the first national lockdown when the rest of the country was banned from meeting more than one other person outdoors. In the ensuing ‘Partygate’ scandal, the fun-loving civil servant was given the nickname in Westminster of ‘party Marty’.

Now re-homed at the Foreign Office, Reynolds was subjected to an intense grilling this morning by Hugo Keith, the Inquiry’s lead counsel.