The Covid Inquiry's findings into the government's pandemic handling have cast fresh scrutiny on the series of lockdown-breaking gatherings that became known as the Partygate scandal. Boris Johnson and his senior advisers now face the official conclusions about their decision-making during 2020, including the period before the first lockdown was announced in March.
The Downing Street Lockdown Gatherings
15 May 2020: Photographs emerged showing Boris Johnson sitting with his wife Carrie and staff at a table with wine and cheese in the Number 10 garden. At this time, people could not legally leave their home without a reasonable excuse and could only meet one person from another household.
20 May 2020: The Prime Minister's principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, emailed around 200 staff inviting them to "socially distanced drinks in the garden" for a "bring your own booze" event. Sue Gray's report confirmed Mr Johnson attended for approximately 30 minutes, with 30-40 people present. The Metropolitan Police issued fines for this gathering.
18 June 2020: A gathering took place in Number 10 and the 70 Whitehall building to mark a private secretary's departure. Ms Gray's report noted "excessive alcohol consumption by some individuals" where one person was sick and a minor altercation occurred between two others. Police issued fines for this event.
Birthday Parties and Multiple Gatherings
19 June 2020: Downing Street admitted staff "gathered briefly" in the Cabinet Room for what was reportedly a surprise birthday gathering for Mr Johnson organised by his wife. Mr Johnson, his wife and then-chancellor Rishi Sunak all received £50 fixed-penalty notices from Scotland Yard for attending.
13 November 2020: Multiple events occurred on this single day during England's second national lockdown. Carrie Johnson reportedly hosted parties in the official flat, though her spokesman called this "total nonsense." Images showed Mr Johnson raising a glass while surrounded by colleagues and bottles of wine at a leaving party for communications chief Lee Cain. Separately, up to 20 people gathered in the Number 10 press office to say goodbye to a special adviser, with Mr Johnson dropping in.
15 December 2020: Photographs showed Mr Johnson alongside an open bottle of sparkling wine as he took part in a virtual Christmas quiz for Number 10 staff.
Christmas Parties and Ongoing Revelations
17 December 2020: Cabinet Secretary Simon Case removed himself from the inquiry into Whitehall parties after reports emerged of a gathering in the Cabinet Office noted in digital calendars as "Christmas party!" The Met issued fines for this gathering. Two separate leaving events were also held for departing Number 10 officials on the same day.
18 December 2020: Officials and advisers reportedly made speeches, enjoyed a cheese board, drank together and exchanged secret Santa gifts at a Downing Street Christmas party. Ms Gray's report said the gathering lasted "several hours" with 20-45 individuals attending, and cleaners later found "red wine spilled" on a wall.
14 January 2021: A gathering was held in Number 10 to mark the departure of two private secretaries during the third national lockdown, with Mr Johnson attending briefly to give a speech.
16 April 2021: The night before the Queen sat alone at Prince Philip's funeral in compliance with Covid rules, two leaving parties were held in Number 10. Downing Street later apologised to Buckingham Palace after details emerged of boozy drinks parties.
7 May 2021: Boris and Carrie Johnson were reported to have hosted close friend Dixie Maloney at Chequers while some restrictions remained in place, though the couple disputed any suggestion they broke the law.
November 2021: The first reports of parties emerged, followed by a series of denials from Mr Johnson, Downing Street and Cabinet ministers.
12 April 2022: A Number 10 spokeswoman confirmed that Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak would be issued with fines for breaches of Covid-19 regulations, marking the official confirmation of their rule-breaking during the pandemic.
