Fines to be issued for Covid Christmas party at Tory HQ

Police have made referrals for 24 fixed penalty notices for people who attended a Christmas party at Conservative Party HQ in 2020, for breaching Covid rules.

The event was held for Tory activists involved in Shaun Bailey's unsuccessful campaign to become London mayor.

Lord Bailey has previously apologised for the gathering, at which people were invited to "jingle and mingle", while indoor socialising was banned.

An inquiry into an event in Parliament six days earlier is continuing.

The Metropolitan Police reopened an investigation into the 14 December party earlier this year after the Daily Mirror published video footage of the "jingle and mingle" event, which took place in the basement of Matthew Parker Street.

In a statement, the Met said they would not be confirming the identity of anyone involved or providing further details of their findings "in line with the approach we took throughout the pandemic".

In June, Lord Bailey, who was given a peerage in Boris Johnson's resignation honours list, apologised "unreservedly" for the 14 December event, describing it as a "serious error of judgement".

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Both Lord Bailey and Tory aide Ben Mallett - who became an OBE in Mr Johnson's honours list - attended the gathering while Covid restrictions were in force. Both have been approached for comment.

At the time, London was under Tier 2 rules, which barred indoor socialising between people from different households.

A Conservative Party spokesman said on Friday: "Senior CCHQ staff became aware of an unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street organised by the Bailey campaign on the evening of 14 December 2020.

"Formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign."

Labour's party chair, Anneliese Dodds, said: "While the British people made huge sacrifices to save lives during the pandemic, we've seen countless examples of Conservatives thinking the rules simply don't apply to them."

She added that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak allowing Lord Bailey to enter the House of Lords despite the incident "clearly demonstrates his promise of professionalism, integrity and accountability is nothing more than a hollow joke."

Officers had previously concluded an investigation into the party without referring people for fines.

They reopened the inquiry in July this year after a video clip published by the Mirror showed staff appearing to dance and raise drinks alongside buffet food.