NEW: Downing Street staff and Boris Johnson pictured drinking wine in the No 10 garden last May when the rest of the country was limited to meeting just one other person socially outdoors.
This adds to the list of parties Sue Gray may need to investigate, as she takes over the internal inquiry into partygate. It's quite a lot to get through before Christmas... could her investigation take until the new year?
Another interesting thing about this photo is it pictures the infamous 'wine and cheese', which Downing Street staff joked about in the video we aired last week in relation to the xmas party. Adds further credence to our video - a clue that wine and cheese was a party favourite?
Today No 10 told @rowenamason@GuardianHeather@peterwalker99 “As we said last week, work meetings often take place in the Downing Street garden in the summer months. On this occasion there were staff meetings after a No 10 press conference."
A work meeting with wine and cheese.
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BREAKING: Lib Dems take North Shropshire with a majority of almost 6,000 - a seat which has been Conservative since 1830s.
Another body blow to Boris Johnson’s authority - a by-election sparked by sleaze, then dogged by yet further sleaze amid party allegations.
Boris Johnson has staked his reputation on being a winner. A second by-election loss in a year seriously damages that reputation. And if there’s one thing we know about the Tory party it is that they are absolutely ruthless with any leader perceived to have become a liability.
New Lib Dem MP Helen Morgan says voters have rejected the “nightly soap opera of calamity and chaos”.
She says a message has been sent to Boris Johnson that he is “unfit to lead and it’s time for change.”
CCHQ keen to stress tonight that this was an unauthorised event which was organised by Shaun Bailey's campaign and not by the Conservative Party itself.
3 staff were disciplined. The first CCHQ knew of the photo was when it emerged this evening.
It is worth saying tonight that many within government are themselves fuming at this photo, as well as other rule breaking. Civil servants and advisors feel tarred with the same brush - this brazen rule breaking has let down those who obeyed rules and worked hard for the country.
EXCL: No 10 staff have received an email this evening warning that some of them will be contacted by the internal investigations team in the coming days to give evidence.
It directs them to "not destroy any relevant information" relating to Christmas parties last year.
Email says any evidence of a criminal offence will be passed to the police, which could pause the internal investigation at that stage.
But it adds that emails older than 90 days will have already been *automatically deleted*, which seems a problem, though they can be recovered.
The 90 day deletion is standard security policy, meaning any emails from last year pertaining to a Christmas party will no longer be easy to access.
Tonight's email is from the PM's Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds and offers staff HR support if they need it.
NEW: The Prime Minister will broadcast a national address tonight as the UK's Covid threat level is raised due to the omicron variant.
We expect him to make a statement about significantly expediting the booster vaccine rollout.
The address will be pre-recorded and televised at 8pm.
For those who find the wait for these things genuinely anxiety-inducing, we do not expect the PM to announce further restrictions tonight. No changes to Christmas plans at this stage.
NEW: Health Secretary Sajid Javid says he ducked out of interviews yesterday because he was “upset by that video” leaked to ITV News of Downing Street staff “laughing and smiling about Christmas parties”.
Sajid Javid says it wouldn’t be appropriate to “prejudge the outcome of the internal investigation”, which is exactly why Boris Johnson promised one. It buys the government time and allows them to bat away every question from now until it concludes.
“I’m not quite sure why she resigned” says Sajid Javid of Allegra Stratton. If the rules were followed, then what was the need for her to go?
In tears Allegra Stratton tells broadcasters outside her home “The British people have made immense sacrifices… I now fear my comments have become a distraction in that fight. My remarks seemed to make light of the rules. That was never my intention.”
“I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days… To all of those who lost loved ones, I am truly sorry. And this afternoon I am offering my resignation to the Prime Minister.”