Downing Street parties: New photos show prime minister at gathering during lockdown

More photographs have come out showing the Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a gathering in Downing Street during lockdown.

Four photographs show the PM drinking with colleagues, they are believed to be taken on 13 November 2020 - a time when a second lockdown was in force in England, and the rules banned indoor gatherings of two or more people.

An exception was allowed if the gathering "was reasonably necessary" for work purposes.

The pictures have raised more accusations that the prime minister deliberately lied to Parliament after previously saying that no Covid rules had been broken in Downing Street.

What's the background?

Gatherings held at Downing Street or other government buildings during the pandemic have recently led to a Metropolitan (Met) Police investigation into 12 events.

The Met Police issued a total of 126 fines to 83 people, for events happening across eight different dates.

Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak all received a fine each for attending a birthday party for the prime minister in June 2020.

But Mr Johnson had been told he faced no further fines after the police closed their investigation into Downing Street parties.

New photos

ITV published four photos from the event

Now Mr Johnson is facing more criticism after ITV News published four new photographs on Monday.

ITV says the pictures were taken at a leaving party for one of the prime minister's colleagues.

The PM is pictured raising a glass while standing by a table that has wine bottles and wine glasses on it.

During the time the pictures were taken, a second coronavirus lockdown was in place in England, with indoor gatherings of two or more people banned, except if "reasonably necessary" for work purposes.

The BBC has been told that at least one person who attended the event has received a fine from the police, but Mr Johnson has not.

The Metropolitan Police are being called to explain why he was not fined.

What's been the reaction?

After the leaked pictures were published, Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner said the PM had "demeaned his office" and "the British people deserve better".

She added: "Boris Johnson said repeatedly that he knew nothing about law-breaking - there's no doubt now, he lied. Boris Johnson made the rules, and then broke them."

Asked in Parliament in December whether a party had taken place on that date, Mr Johnson denied it had and said all rules were followed.

A government source told the BBC that the photos may have been taken by the official Number 10 photographer and prove Boris Johnson was there in a work capacity.

Daisy Cooper, the deputy leader of the the political party the Liberal Democrats, said: "If anyone else had been pictured at a party like this during lockdown, surely this would have been enough evidence for them to be fined.

"It does seem that there has been one rule for the prime minister and another for everyone else."

Labour's leader Sir Keir Starmer is currently under investigation by Durham Police into a gathering he attended, along with Angela Rayner, in the city on 30 April 2021.

Sir Keir has said he will resign if he is fined for breaking covid rules while attending the event.

What will happen next?

The pictures have been released at a time when a report into parties held at government buildings during Covid lockdowns is about to be published.

The report has been written by a senior civil servant called Sue Gray.

A civil servant is someone who helps the government carry out its work, but they are not elected politicians.

A No 10 spokeswoman said the prime minister would address parliament "in full" after Sue Gray published her report into the gatherings "in the coming days".

Sue Gray (pictured) is expected to publish her report into lockdown parties at Downing Street and other government buildings in the coming days

Meanwhile a group of politicians called the Privileges Committee is looking into whether the PM lied to MPs about rule breaking at Downing Street.

Under government guidelines, ministers who knowingly mislead Parliament are expected to resign.