New No. 10 party leak puts Johnson under pressure

How much trouble is Boris Johnson in over partygate? Since allegations first emerged last year of a number of parties and gatherings in 10 Downing Street when the rest of the country was living under strict Covid restrictions, the Prime Minister has had to launch an investigation (now led by civil servant Sue Gray after cabinet secretary Simon Case had to step down over his own prior knowledge of said gatherings) and seen his approval ratings plummet. Just as Downing Street aides had begun to hope the saga was nearing an end, new evidence has emerged which appears to put Johnson in the firing line.

ITV News has published an email sent by the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds inviting over 100 staff to a drinks party in the No. 10 garden on 20 May 2020. In the email, Reynolds tells staff: ‘After what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of this lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening.