Christmas parties were held twice in Cabinet Secretary Simon Case’s OWN offices, sources say as he is due to reveal what he has found out about Downing Street bashes last December
- Whistleblower said Simon Case hosted two parties in his office last December
- Said one party featuring alcohol was organised by Mr Case’s private office staff
- Oliver Dowden said probe into a Downing Street party would ‘vindicate’ the PM
- Mr Case did not actively attend a party but was seen talking to staff nearby
Simon Case held two parties in his own office last December, a source who attended them has claimed.
Mr Case, the Cabinet Secretary, is expected to reveal the results of his probe into a party held in Downing Street on December 18 last year.
But a whistleblower said events featuring alcohol and music were planned and organised by staff in Mr Case’s own Private Office.
Oliver Dowden, a minister in the Cabinet, today said the Mr Case’s investigation would ‘vindicate’ the Prime Minister.
The source told Guido Mr Case did not actively attend, but was seen calling staff out to talk with them during the party.
There were ‘at least 15 people including his actual office people in the room,’ the source added. A second event last December featured drinks in Mr Case’s office before attendees continued the party elsewhere, they claimed.
A whistleblower said two events were held last December in Simon Case’s (pictured) Private Office despite coronavirus restrictions
Oliver Dowden, a minister in the Cabinet, today said the Mr Case’s investigation would ‘vindicate’ the Prime Minister (file image)
Both events were said to have taken place just days before the party at Downing Street on December 18, which is currently under investigation.
MailOnline has contacted the Cabinet Office for comment.
Although the findings of Mr Case’s probe into the scandal aptly nicknamed Partygate were expected today, they have been pushed back.
Mr Dowden said he is ‘confident’ that an inquiry into alleged Covid rule-busting parties will ‘vindicate’ Boris Johnson’s assertion that no restrictions were breached.
The Conservative Party chairman 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 Case’s investigation into Downing Street parties during lockdown will include a review of whether Boris Johnson broke the law by personally hosting a quiz night.
By far the most damaging has been reports that a party was held at Downing Street during a 2020 Christmas lockdown when such festivities were banned, with a video emerging this week which showed staff laughing and joking about it.
It prompted the tearful resignation of the PM’s former press secretary, Allegra Stratton
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer accused Mr Johnson 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.
How many parties is the Government alleged to have held last year and when did they happen?
PARTIES IN DOWNING STREET
Dom’s Gone bash – November 13: Dominic Cummings alleges that the PM held a gathering at his grace-and-favour flat on November 13 last year, the day the adviser was ousted from Downing Street. Mr Cummings also suggested there had been ‘other flat parties’.
Leaving do – November 27: The Prime Minister reportedly gave a speech at a packed Number 10 leaving do for a ‘senior aide’. Sources claimed that ’40 or 50 people’ were present.
Christmas party – December 18: Staff in Downing Street are believed to have held a Christmas party, with reports that dozens of people attended the event, some wearing festive jumpers and exchanging Secret Santa presents. London had been placed into Tier 3 restrictions on December 16 – the highest level of curbs on freedoms at the time which banned people from different households mixing indoors. Downing Street has said Boris Johnson did not attend the event.
Quiz night – December: Sources told the BBC that a separate Christmas quiz event was held for Number 10 staff at some point in December. Everyone was apparently invited to attend and to form teams. One source said some people attended virtually via Zoom but others did attend in person and sat in groups of six. Downing Street has insisted the quiz was ‘virtual’.
… AND ELSEWHERE IN WHITEHALL
December 10: Then-education secretary Gavin Williamson hosted a Department for Education party for ‘up to 24 people’ on December 10. The gathering, which included food and drink, took place in the department’s canteen. The department has admitted the event happened.
December 14: About 25 people gathered in the basement of the Conservative party’s Matthew Parker St offices in Westminster. The Times reported last night that advisers at Conservative campaign headquarters held an event with Shaun Bailey, the party’s unsuccessful candidate for mayor of London this May.
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’.
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