Tory minister Jacob Rees-Mogg caught on video mocking covid party rules

A top Tory Minister has been caught on video joking about the Christmas party that was reportedly held in Downing Street last year.

House of Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg raised a laugh about police investigating the event at this year’s Christmas party for a right-wing think tank.

Rees-Mogg told the audience at the Institute of Economic Affairs: “I see we’re all here obeying regulations, aren’t we?”

He continued: “I mean, this party is not going to be investigated by the police in a year’s time.

"You are all very carefully socially distanced...we have moved, I am pleased to tell you, from the metric back to the Imperial system.

"I notice you are all at least two inches away from each other which is, as I understand it, what the regulations require.”

His comments came after a video emerged on Tuesday of former No 10 press secretary Allegra Stratton practicing answering questions about the party in a mock televised briefing last year.

She was asked by Ed Oldfield, a special adviser to the Prime Minister, about “reports” that there had been a Christmas party in Downing Street the previous Friday, to which Ms Stratton asked staff: “What’s the answer?”

Boris Johnson is facing growing anger about the Christmas party, which would have broken lockdown restrictions at the time if it took place.

The Prime Minister issued an unreserved apology for a video showing Downing Street staff joking about a lockdown Christmas party in Downing Street.

Amid mounting public fury, the PM said he shared people's anger and had ordered an inquiry into whether rules had been broken.

He suggested he had been misled about the Christmas party on 18 December last year.

Johnson said he had been "repeatedly assured that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken".

But Labour leader Keir Starmer said he was taking people for fools and should just admit what had happened.

Boris Johnson’s official spokesperson has repeatedly denied that a party took place while London as in Tier 3 lockdown restrictions and said that Covid rules had been followed at all times.

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