Hywel Williams MP has said it would be “unforgivable” for the Prime Minister to lie about parties at No 10 Downing Street.

 

The speaker of the House of Commons granted an Urgent Question this afternoon from Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner to Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, Mr Johnson instead opted to send his Paymaster General, Tory MP Michael Ellis, to answer the allegations about an alleged drinks event on 20 May 2020.

An email sent by Martin Reynolds, the civil servant responsible for the Prime Minister’s private office was leaked to the media yesterday, sparking public outrage. The email invited staff to “make the most of the lovely weather” via a “socially distanced drinks” reception in Number 10’s garden during the national lockdown.

At this time, the public was only permitted to meet one person from another household outdoors, while maintaining a two-metre distance. However, a leaked email obtained by ITV shows 100 staff were invited to the “bring your own booze” gathering.

Standing in front of sparsely attended Tory benches, Mr Ellis confirmed the alleged 20 May event would be investigated by Sue Gray, who is probing other party accusations, and said it would be referred to police if there was evidence of criminal wrongdoing.

During the questions, Hywel Williams, the MP for Arfon, said: “A survey by the Alzheimer’s Society showed that the health of 82% of people suffering dementia deteriorated during the first lockdown. Reduced social contact was a contributory factor. Given this, I asked the Minister if he agreed it would be unforgivable for the Prime Minister to lie about parties at No 10.”

In response, Michael Ellis said: “We’ll await the result of the investigation.”

The Paymaster General refused to answer the “hypothetical” question as to whether Mr Johnson whttps://twitter.com/HywelPlaidCymru/status/1480891940954685444ould resign if found to have broken the rules himself by attending the party.

He also would not say whether Mr Johnson and his wife Carrie had joined in with the event, as has been alleged.

“The Prime Minister is going nowhere,” Mr Ellis said. “The Prime Minister retains the confidence of the people of this country.”

MPs gave moving accounts of constituents who were not present for the birth of their children or were not able to say bye to dying loved ones during the May lockdown.

Mr Ellis assured MPs the investigation being led by senior civil servant Ms Gray would be transparent.

“It will establish the facts and if wrongdoing is established there will be requisite disciplinary action taken,” he said.

“As with all internal investigations, if evidence emerges of what was a potentially criminal offence the matter would be referred to the Metropolitan Police and the Cabinet Office’s work may be paused.”

Labour’s Angela Rayner asked Mr Ellis why Mr Johnson had not attended the Commons himself, instead sending Mr Ellis in his place.

The Prime Minister’s absence “speaks volumes,” she said, adding that the public “have come to their own conclusions”.

“It is incredibly disappointing, but not unsurprising, that the Prime Minister of whom I asked this question is not here today despite not having any official engagements,” she said.

“I think his absence speaks volumes as does his smirks on the media, the public have already drawn their own conclusions. He can run but he can’t hide.”

Ms Rayner added: “There’s no need for an investigation into the simple central question today: did the Prime Minister attend the event in the Downing Street garden on the 20 May 2020?

“It won’t wash to blame this on a few junior civil servants, the Prime Minister sets the tone.”