Boris Johnson has been caught allegedly breaking Covid rules by hosting a Christmas quiz at Downing Street last year.
A photo was leaked by a source at Number 10 who claimed that the Prime Minister hosted part of the event over Zoom, with dozens of staff members taking part from government offices.
The event is said to have taken place on 15 December, when London was in Tier 2 restrictions, which banned social mixing between households.
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According to the Mirror, which broke the story, there were four teams that took part in the quiz, each of which was made up of six players, with aides and staff sinking cheap wine during the evening's event.
And according to official government guidance at the time, that this would certainly have breached the rules.
Guidance stated: "You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier."
More specifically, under paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 to the 'All Tiers' regulations, it stated that no one could participate in an indoors gathering of two or more people.
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Speaking about the quiz, an insider said: "It was just part of the culture. The PM turned a blind eye. He seemed totally comfortable with gatherings."
However, responding to the allegations of the quiz, Number 10 said no rules were broken.
A spokesperson said: "This was a virtual quiz. Staff were often required to be in office to work on pandemic response so those who were in for work may have attended virtually from desks.
"The PM briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for hard work throughout year."
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These are the latest allegations to hit Number 10 in the past week, with reports claiming that a number of parties and gatherings took place in government departments last December.
A party is even said to have happened at Number 10 on 18 December 2020, when London was plunged into Tier 3 restrictions and told to cancel their Christmas plans.
According to reports, around 50 people were at the gathering, where prizes are said to have been given out and party games played.
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Despite initially denying that anything happened, a video was leaked showing a group of Johnson's top aides joking about this 'party'.
Following the shocking revelation, spokesperson Allegra Stratton resigned from her position.
She said at the time: "My remarks seemed to make light of rules, rules that people were doing everything to obey. That was never my intention.
"I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days."
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