Downing Street Covid party: Carrie thought it was a ‘bring your own buffoon’ party, so of course she brought Boris – Steve Cardownie

Witnesses have apparently stated that Boris Johnson and his wife, Carrie, were in attendance along with about 30 people, all enjoying the sunshine, chatting away, some with a glass of wine in their hands.

The fact that Martin Reynolds, the principal private secretary, invited the staffers to (socially distanced) drinks in the garden obviously contradicted the regulations in place at the time and must surely see him get his jotters.

But despite the Prime Minister insisting that there were “no parties”, the existence of this email inviting staffers to attend this gathering and to bring their own booze provides evidence to the contrary and it would appear to be yet another example of one law for the masses and another for the elite.

Boris Johnson has so far refused to say whether he was there or not, citing an ongoing official inquiry as his reason for keeping shtum but even former Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson has tweeted “nobody needs an official to tell them if they were at a boozy shindig in their own garden”.

Quite so, his avoidance of answering a straightforward question smells of canapes!

It would seem, however, that if witnesses are correct, Carrie misinterpreted the BYOB invitation, not as “bring your own booze,” but as “bring your own buffoon” and duly did so, in the shape of her husband, Boris!

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.