Number ten

It was easy to get the sense in 2020 that the government didn’t want the lockdowns to end. Now we all realise why: everyone in No. 10 was having an absolute whale of a time. Less than 24 hours after the Telegraph revealed No. 10 held two parties the night before Prince Philip’s funeral (classy), the Mirror has just reported that its staff held ‘wine-time Fridays every week’ throughout the pandemic. Such events were scheduled in the weekly calendar of 50 Downing Street aides between 4 p.m and 7 p.m throughout the Covid crisis, with Boris Johnson himself witnessing the gatherings where he encouraged staff to ‘let off steam.’ The end-of-week drinks are part of

Oh dear. It seems the great government post-Christmas reset isn’t going all too well after last night’s revelation that Downing Street staff were invited to a drinks party in the No. 10 garden during the first national lockdown. Martin Reynolds, the PM’s Principal Private Secretary, sent an email on 20 May 2020 to more than 100 people asking them to come and ‘make the most of the lovely weather’ and to ‘bring your own booze!’ Not Sir Humphrey’s finest hour… Boris and Carrie Johnson are alleged to have attended the garden party too, which, er, makes something of a mockery of the Prime Minister’s insistent denials that he knew of no such parties being held throughout the pandemic. Steerpike has rounded up just