Partygate Roundup: Exposing The Hypocrisy of Downing Street

On Tuesday 3 October, Channel 4 released their new docudrama Partygate.

Using the report and investigations carried out by Senior Civil Servant Sue Gray and the Metropolitan Police last year, Channel 4's Partygate exposes number 10 for violating the COVID-19 lockdown rules.

Despite implementing the lifesaving COVID restrictions themselves, the factual drama follows the Downing Street crowd hosting several social events throughout 2020.

15 May 2020

On 15 May 2020, the group of Conservative MPs are seen to be enjoying a cheese and wine night at Downing Street. At this time the legal restrictions declared that the public could not leave their houses without an essential reason.

The government also advised that you could meet one person outside of the house, but only for exercise.

When the former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was questioned on the event, he responded: "Those people were at work talking about work."

20 May 2020

Just five days later, the Partygate docudrama shows that the Tory crowd yet again breached the COVID rules.

An email, that invited a group to "socially distanced drinks in the No. 10 garden this evening", was sent out to around 200 people by Martin Reynolds, the Principal Private Secretary to Johnson.

In the email, Reynolds also urged the crowd to "bring your own booze!" and to "pop out a couple of tables to host these drinks".

Channel 4's Partygate also reveals that the event was set to take place when "the press conference will probably be finishing" and when Johnson had finished addressing the nation about the dangers of not being socially distanced.

While the country was being reminded of the strict rules, that saw people miss funerals, deaths of loved ones and the births of their own children, the email advised the Downing Street attendees to be discreet and to be seen "walking around waving bottles of wine etc".

Reynolds concluded his email by adding: "You would have to take a suitcase up to the Co-Op or to Tesco to fill it up [with alcohol]."

The press conference that took place on the same evening, saw Johnson and his fellow Tory MPs announce that 9,953 people were currently hospitalised with the coronavirus and a huge 35,704 people had died from COVID-19.

Witnesses at the event, also admitted to reporters that Johnson, who was Prime Minister at the time, and his wife attended the event.

After a short investigation, the Metropolitan Police announced that this event was an obvious breach of the rules implemented at the time.

12 June 2020

On 12 June 2020, according to another Reynolds email, the Downing Street group hosted farewell drinks which consisted of "a larger event indoors with some people carrying on outside".

18 June 2020

On 18 June 2020, party number two was held. At this event, the Gray report noted that Helen MacNamara, the Head of Ethics at the time, "provided a karaoke machine".

The Partygate docudrama paints this event as a boozy night, considering "one individual was sick" and there was a "minor altercation".

19 June 2020

On 19 June 2020, to celebrate the Prime Minister's birthday, a group of around 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room at No. 10 with cake, sandwiches and drinks.

Amongst the crowd was the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

At this time, the laws banned indoor gatherings involving more than two people and saw people paying fines for breaching the restrictions.

Those who celebrated their first and last birthdays were ordered by the government to cancel any events and to do so at least two metres away.

November 13 2020

On November 5 2020, Johnson announced that the UK would be entering a second lockdown.

Just eight days after he ordered the strict restrictions on television screens across the nation, on 13 November 2020, sources claim that two gatherings took place.

Although Johnson denied the allegations, images that depict him holding a beverage while addressing a large group of people in the Downing Street flat were presented in the Gray report.

27 November 2020

On 27 November another party took place in Downing Street as a special farewell to Cleo Watson, Johnson's former Advisor.

At this event, sources reported alcoholic drinks being had and Johnson addressing the crowd with a speech.

11 December 2020

While the rest of the nation was unable to socialise and celebrate the December festivities, the Daily Mirror reported that a "wine fridge smuggled into No.10".

Emails amongst the Downing Street crowd, that discussed the event, noted: "Looking forward to a chilled WTF."

The Partygate drama later revealed that Wine Time Fridays (WTF), were allegedly built into the Downing Street calendar to celebrate the end of the working week.

At this time, COVID-19 deaths were averaging around 500 each day.

14 December 2020

Footage shows an "unauthorised" Christmas gathering took place at the Conservative Party's headquarters in Westminster, London. The Tory members were seen to be dancing and joking about people finding out about their breach of the rules.

This event, however, despite being ruled illegal by Metropolitan Police, was not included in Gray's report or the Partygate drama.

15 December 2020

A Christmas quiz took place in No.10. A small group of staff attended the gathering although the law at the time banned people from different households from socialising indoors.

On the same day, Alan Handley said goodbye to his beloved wife of 47 years at her funeral.

"Only eight family members were permitted to attend. Ordered to sit two metres apart," he told Channel 4.

"We couldn't view Susan before the ceremony. We couldn't dress her. We couldn't place cherished keepsakes with her," Handley added.

"After having a cherished life together for 47 years, it was all condensed into a final goodbye in 20 minutes," he explained.

17 December 2020

The Partygate drama shows that three events took place on this night, 17 December 2020, with the Gray report noting that "social distancing did not happen".

The Partygate episode and Gray report also revealed that at one of the events, "an individual ordered six pizzas" despite the regulations ordering the public to stay at home and keep a two-metre distance from other households.

Apologising for attending the leaving party in the Cabinet Office, the former Head of Sheffield Council Kate Josephs who was earning a comfortable £190,000 a year while people were pushed out of work and struggling to get by, said that she was "truly sorry that I did this and for the anger that people will feel as a result".

18 December 2020

On 18 December 2020, another festive gathering took place. At the event, there were Christmas prizes being given out and several bottles of champagne.

While much alcohol was being consumed and the party was in full swing, the Gray report states that "a panic alarm button was accidentally triggered". After the custodians on duty responded to the sound, Gray notes that she was "made aware of multiple examples of a lack of respect and poor treatment of security and cleaning staff".

The Partygate drama also notes that photographic evidence provided by Gray showed that the Christmas party "lasted 6 hours" with much "red wine being spilled".

The day after the party, Johnson appeared on television screens across the nation to announce that there would no longer be relaxed restrictions for Christmas in order to "do what is right to protect the people of this country".

4 January 2021

During the start of January, an average of 1,000 people were dying every day.

Due to the new variant of COVID-19 being 70 per cent more contagious, Johnson announced that the UK would be entering a third lockdown.

14 January 2021

After a lonely Christmas, and while the country was again in lockdown, another gathering was held by the Tory party in No.10 - this time, to mark the departure of two private secretaries.

On the same day, Xen Watts organised a snowball fight on Facebook. The snowball fight took place amongst a group of young locals in a park in Leeds.

The next day, Watts was hit with a £10,000 COVID-19 fine.

16 April 2021

With people, as young as 20, being issued £10,000 fines for hosting a one-off gathering and just one day before Queen Elizabeth II wept alone at her husband's funeral, the Downing Street crowd hosted two parties.

One event took place to wish former Director of Communications James Slack a farewell. In the basement of No.10, the Partygate drama claims that the Senior Advisor to Johnson, Shelley Williams-Walker, was "throwing down a DJ set".

Although Williams-Walker is yet to comment on the allegations against her and her DJing is left out of the Gray report, Channel 4 revealed that her alleged nickname is "DJ SWW".

With reference to the party that occurred just hours before Prince Phillip's funeral, Channel 4's Partygate drama and Partygate: The Inside Story, confirmed: "Couples were getting it on with each other... we all saw them touching each other up."

Since the Gray report emerged, Johnson was forced to resign as Prime Minister of the UK and some members of his fellow Tory crowd also left their posts.

Reports note that the documentary has already been hit with much backlash from the public, with remaining Conservative party members being criticised for being involved in any form of event that breached the COVID-19 restrictions.

The documentary has also proven to be detrimental to the number of votes given to the Conservative party in the next general election, set to take place in 2025.