Insiders who were present at Downing Street events during lockdown told BBC that staff crowded together, sat on one another’s laps, and how party debris was left behind overnight.
BBC Panorama has been granted details by insiders who witnessed the events for the first time.
They described arriving at work one morning after a party to find bottles scattered around the building, trash everywhere and empty plates.
There were also stories of parties that went on until the early hours and involved dozens of employees.
They also claim that staff ridiculed others who tried stopping the action.
Official spokesman for the prime minister said that Boris Johnson had taken revelations about Downing Street’s lockdown “very seriously”.
He stated that Sue Gray’s interim report “raised some challenges” and that wholesale changes in No 10’s operation were made as a consequence. He also said there would be “further changes”.
These accounts are available a day before Ms Gray, a senior civil servant, is expected to present her report on lockdown party in No 10.
The Metropolitan Police closed its investigation into rule-breaking last week and issued 126 fines, including one to the prime minister for attending June 2020’s birthday party.
ITV News has obtained images that show the prime minster at a party to thank Lee Cain, his communications chief, for leaving on 13 November 2020. This raises new questions about both the police force and the prime minister.
Three insiders spoke anonymously about the world behind No 10. They described a world where the lockdown rules that the country lived by were routinely ignored and socialising was regular with the implicit approval of the prime minister.
One staffer describes Lee Cain, director of communications, leaving do on the 13th November 2020 at which the prime minister was pictured raising a glass but has not been punished.
Others were found guilty of breaking the law and punished.
Mr Johnson was present and gave a speech to Mr Cain. However, the party grew rapidly and there were “about 30 people in a room, if that is not more.” All were standing shoulder to shoulder, with some people sitting on their laps…one or two.
They portray the party as a lively event… with lots of people dancing at it.
The noise was so strong that security guards had to tell them to get out of the building and enter the No 10 grounds.
One source claims that everyone took all the drinks and food and went into the garden.
“We all sat around tables and drank. Many people stayed there all night.”
They have now admitted that what happened was “unforgivable”.
Insiders acknowledge that these events were routine.
One responds, “They were every week.” “The invites to Friday’s press office drinks were just added to the calendar.”
The invitation was called “WTF”, which stood for Wine-Time Friday and was a reference to a less polite acronym.
Drinks were frequently scheduled at No 10 at 4pm. Whitehall sources claim Friday drinks have been a tradition for some time.
Drinking wasn’t just for Fridays. A former official described how he found “a mess” when he arrived at work in No 10. Bottles, empty bottles, and rubbish were everywhere – sometimes on the table, sometimes in the bin.
It is almost impossible to believe, nearly six months after the first allegations of the parties surfaced, that socialising was occurring on a regular basis at the same buildings where the rules forbidding the rest of the country from doing so.
It’s clear too that some staff were worried about what was going on, describing the “foolish” now notorious BYOB – bring-your-own-bottle – email sent by the prime minister’s top civil servant, Martin Reynolds.
Staff were chatting in instant messages, asking each other what was happening.
A former employee says it was difficult to raise concerns.
View Laura Kuenssberg’s Panorama, Partygate, Inside the Story on BBC Two at 19.00 BST or later on the BBC iPlayer
Another insider reports that a Downing Street security officer was mocked by a custodian when they attempted to stop a full-blown party.
“I can recall when the custodian tried stopping it all, and he was shaking his head in this party. He was like, ‘This shouldn’t be happening.’
People made fun of him because it was a party that was taking place and shouldn’t be taking place.
It was a strange thing to happen, considering that the rest of the country was under tight lockdown.
They all paint a picture that Downing Street is a parallel universe. One says, “We saw it in our own bubble,” where the rules don’t really apply.
“Everything went on as usual. Social distancing didn’t happen. We didn’t wear face masks. It was not like the outside world.”
One employee described the events as a “lifeline”, especially for those who worked long hours and lived alone.
All three points to the culture established by the prime minister, which suggests he wanted to be liked and staff to be able “let their hair down”.
One theory is that they felt the prime minister gave them permission to socialise, even if it meant breaking the rules.
They add that “He might have been just popping in on his way to his flat because that is what would happen.” “He wasn’t there saying that this shouldn’t happen.
He wasn’t asking, “Can everyone get along and go home?” Can everyone socially distance themselves? Can everyone put on masks?
He wasn’t telling anyone that. He was just taking a glass for himself.”
Johnson was fined for attending one of the events, but he denies breaking the law on any other occasions or being aware that Downing Street rules were being violated.
However, insiders are revealing for the first time that many of those working at No 10 at the time find this account difficult to accept.
One staffer described what happened as they watched the prime minster deny, in the House of Commons that anything had gone wrong.
“We were just watching it live, and we looked at each other in disbelief as if to ask why.” They say.
“Why is he lying to us when we have been there all the time? We knew that rules were broken and we saw these parties happen?”
For the prime minister, Partygate had profound political consequences.
For months, the scandal has ravaged the government. His trust has been shaken and he is now being urged by his party to resign.
He has survived so far, but most of his MPs are reluctant to act. His only penalty was a fine. His backers believe that the public cares far more about making ends meets than the number of glasses of Prosecco the prime Minister may have had with his staff.
Downing Street is awaiting the results of the Whitehall inquiry into what happened. This will raise tension once again. The personal consequences for those caught up in this mess are clear.
Many former and present staff were fined. Two of them opened up to Panorama. There is confusion and hurt about their treatment.
A former staffer claims that younger members of the team didn’t think they were breaking any rules because the prime minister was present at [the events],] some of the highest ranking civil servants in this country were there – and were actually organizing some of them.”
Some feel let down and “subject” to the witch hunt, while others believe they are being manipulated by politicians and senior officials.
The saga has caused embarrassment and sadness. It was very distressing, humiliating, and difficult to do every day, especially because the whole thing was so traumatizing.
“We learned that people were dying in hospitals and that people were dying unnecessarily. It was difficult to see that period and believe that this will be the defining moment, not the vaccine program or food parcels that were distributed to people.
“It will be “What were you doing in the garden on 20 May?”
The government knows that many people will never forget this story.
The willingness to forgive will determine the future of Johnson.
