Downing Street party: No 10 staff joked about party amid lockdown restrictions

Key Facts

At the time the government's coronavirus guidance specifically stated that people should not have Christmas parties - and gatherings in London of two or more people indoors was banned unless it was "reasonably necessary" for work.
The SNP's Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said the prime minister "must remove himself from office immediately" if it was true there was a Downing Street Christmas party that was not socially distanced last year.
Its guidance for the Christmas period specifically said: "Although there are exemptions for work purposes, 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."
But there may have theoretically been a loophole for government buildings like 10 Downing Street because of the 1984 legislation used to bring in the tier system, according to Adam Wagner - a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and an expert on Covid regulations.