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Did No. 10 party while the Queen mourned?

(Photo: iStock)

Oh dear. If you were trying to design a story to offend Tory England, it would be hard to do better than the idea that there was a party held in Downing Street the night before the Queen had to mourn Prince Philip alone at a socially distanced funeral.

But that is what the Daily Telegraph is alleging happened on 16 April 2021. It says that there were two leaving dos there that evening which soon became parties and, when combined, involved around 30 people. This was back when there was no indoor socialising and the rule of six outside. The paper claims that a staff member was sent to a supermarket on the Strand to fill a suitcase with wine to bring back into Downing Street for one of the events. Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’s head of operations is said to have acted as DJ for the do, with a laptop on top of a photocopier, and one reveller apparently broke Boris Johnson’s son’s swing in the garden.

Steerpike
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Steerpike

Steerpike is The Spectator's gossip columnist, serving up the latest tittle tattle from Westminster and beyond. Email tips to steerpike@spectator.co.uk or message @MrSteerpike

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