No Government Minister takes TV questions after Downing Street Christmas party revelations

The Prime Minister is likely to face a grilling over the gathering last December - and subsequent video of Downing Street officials laughing and joking about it - when he appears in the Commons for Prime Minister’s Questions at lunchtime.

However, in a departure from the norm, there was no representative of the Government on breakfast television and radio.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid was due to face questions from programmes including BBC Breakfast and Sky News this morning to mark the first anniversary of the coronavirus jab roll out.

In footage obtained by ITV News and released on Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s then-press secretary Allegra Stratton and adviser Ed Oldfield, along with other aides, were filmed laughing about a “fictional” Downing Street party in December 2020.

Mr Oldfield asked Ms Stratton: “I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognise those reports?”

Ms Stratton replied “I went home” before appearing to consider what the correct answer should be.

During the rehearsal, filmed in No 9 Downing Street as part of a subsequently-abandoned plan for Ms Stratton to lead televised press briefings, Mr Oldfield pressed her for an answer.

“Would the Prime Minister condone having a Christmas party?” he asked.

Ms Stratton asked “what’s the answer” and staff in the press room appeared to suggest ideas, with one saying “it wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine”.

“Is cheese and wine all right? It was a business meeting,” Ms Stratton replied, to laughter in the room.

Ms Stratton then noted “this is recorded”, adding: “This fictional party was a business meeting … and it was not socially distanced.”

The clip follows a story that first appeared in the Daily Mirror last week, it has been reported that there were two gatherings in Downing Street last winter while the country faced varying degrees of restrictions.

One, a leaving party in November during the second national lockdown which the Prime Minister has said to have spoken at.

And the other, on December 18, when officials and Downing Street staff are said to have shared nibbles and party games just hours before London and swathes of the South East were plunged into Tier 4 restrictions, effectively cancelling Christmas for millions.

The video, which has already been watched online millions of times, is said to have been taken on December 22.

BBC Radio 4’s Today programme said Mr Javid was scheduled to feature on Wednesday morning, but cancelled after the footage emerged.

Presenter Nick Robinson said: “We were expecting to speak to the Health Secretary Sajid Javid this morning but we were told just a few minutes after that video emerged that no minister would be available to speak on the programme today.”