UK housing secretary Michael Gove sorry after clip shows Tory members at lockdown party

UK housing secretary Michael Gove issued a public apology after a video surfaced showing Tory members partying during the 2020 lockdown.

The 45-second video released by Mirror news outlet purportedly shows Tory staff drinkingand dancing as they appear to joke about "bending" Covid lockdown rules in December 2020.

The Metropolitan Police said they were "aware of the footage and are considering it".

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Reacting to the clip, Gove admitted that the footage was in poor taste and was bound to make people "extremely angry".

In an interview with BBC, Gove said he would like to "apologise unreservedly".

Gove says sorry

Defending two Tory members seen in the video, Gove said that both, who were recently given honours by former prime minister Boris Johnson, should not be stripped of them.

The Conservative Party swung into action and said that it has “disciplined” four people over the event, however, it has not named them.

Police investigated the event last year and no fines were issued. The event has been reported before, but only still photographs have previously been published, reports BBC.

Lockdown parties

During the lockdown, London was placed under Tier 2 Covid restrictions, which bar people from socialising indoors, except with members of their household or a support bubble.

But the people who wanted to socialise at that time were allowed to do so in a garden or at a pub with outdoor seating, but the authorities had limited such gatherings to six people.

The infamous lockdown parties at the Tory party's HQ were organised by the campaign team for Shaun Bailey, who was running for London mayor at the time the video was filmed.

Though the Daily Mirror provided still images from the footage, Bailey himself is not visible in the film. He had earlier apologised for attending the party.

Bailey was awarded a peerage in Johnson's resignation honours list last week.

Ben Mallet, a former aide to the ex-prime minister who was awarded an OBE last week, can be seen in the clip chatting with guests.

In November 2022, Scotland Yard confirmed that no action had been taken againstBailey or any other attendees of the gathering.

Opposition reacts

Labour's Angela Rayner said the attendees "openly mocked" the rules of the Covid pandemic.

"The Tories think it's one rule for them and one rule for everyone else," added the deputy leader.

Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said that Tory MPs and ministers should be "sick to their stomachs" seeing this new footage, reported BBC.

(With inputs from agencies)

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