Boris Johnson hosted Tory peer David Brownlow for dinner at No 10 on 6 November 2020, the day after England's second national lockdown came into force, leaked files suggest. Brownlow had provided £58,000 for the refurbishment of Johnson's Downing Street flat, including £2,260 worth of 'gold' wallpaper. The meeting would have been in breach of lockdown rules banning indoor social gatherings.
WhatsApp messages from later that month show Johnson complaining to Lord Brownlow that parts of his flat looked a 'bit of a tip' and asking for 'approvals' so his interior decorator could proceed. Johnson's then ethics adviser, Christopher Geidt, later found no breach of the ministerial code but criticised Johnson for acting 'unwisely'.
The leaked files, obtained by the US non-profit Distributed Denial of Secrets and seen by the Guardian, also reveal other potential lockdown breaches. On 20 June 2020, the day after a surprise birthday party that led to a police fine, Johnson and his then fiancée Carrie Symonds hosted three guests for a 'private appointment' at Downing Street, including a friend specialising in 'vibrational' music treatments and journalist Alex Wickham. Indoor social gatherings were still banned at the time.
Further entries suggest that on 23 March 2020, the day Johnson announced the first lockdown, a heavily pregnant Carrie Symonds hosted close friend Nimco Ali overnight at Chequers. The files also appear to confirm reports of a baby shower at Chequers earlier that month, despite Johnson's warning of the 'worst public health crisis for a generation'.
Johnson resigned as prime minister in July 2022 following the Partygate scandal and stood down as an MP in June 2023 after being found to have misled Parliament. A Downing Street spokesperson declined to comment on the latest revelations.
