Proof Boris Johnson’s accuser DID go to party in lockdown

Boris Johnson’s chief Partygate inquisitor is facing an investigation over a lockdown-busting drinks party for his wife, after a leaked invitation blew apart claims that it was a ‘work event’.

Tory grandee Sir Bernard Jenkin, the most senior Conservative on the Commons Privileges Committee that so vehemently condemned the former Prime Minister last week, had denied breaking Covid rules at a Commons function.

But his defence that he was attending a work event is torpedoed by an invitation sent out by his wife, the Tory peer Anne Jenkin, which The Mail on Sunday can reveal today. In a WhatsApp message, Baroness Jenkin explicitly invited her ‘favourite people’ to a ‘birthday drinks’ bash.

When the bombshell allegations against Sir Bernard first emerged, Mr Johnson called for his resignation from the committee, accusing him of ‘flagrant and monstrous hypocrisy’. Hours later, the committee ruled that the former PM had deliberately misled the Commons over gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic.

But an ally of Mr Johnson, who quit as an MP before the report was published, said The Mail on Sunday’s revelation ‘invalidates the findings’ of the 14-month investigation.

Tory grandee Sir Bernard Jenkin had denied breaking Covid rules at a Commons function. Sir Bernard is pictured in the Commons, September 30, 2020

Boris Johnson quit as an MP before the report was published. He is pictured returning to Downing Street following a cabinet meeting on December 8, 2020

The gathering Sir Bernard attended was in Deputy Speaker Dame Eleanor Laing’s office on December 8, 2020, when indoor socialising was banned in England. In her invitation, Baroness Jenkin offered ‘birthday drinks’ for ‘a few of our favourite people next Wednesday 8th 6.30 to 7.30 in Eleanor Laing’s conference room in [the] Commons’.

The message concluded ‘x anne.’

Although the invitation said the drinks would be ‘v small and socially distanced’, this newspaper has been told that at least ten people were in the room throughout, preventing effective social distancing. At the time, all indoor social gatherings were against the regulations.

A Johnson ally said last night: ‘Bernard Jenkin appears to have attended an unlawful social event. If so, he has withheld this crucial information from Parliament while sitting in judgment over Boris Johnson for more than a year.

‘This revelation invalidates the findings of the Privileges Committee because its process has been corrupted. Sir Bernard’s entire case was that Boris ‘must have known’ he was attending an allegedly illegal gathering. Well, clearly Sir Bernard must have known he was attending one too. This matter must be investigated by Parliament immediately.’

One of the people who witnessed the event said they had made a formal complaint to Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle yesterday – and were planning to offer their evidence to the police. Scotland Yard has so far only received a ‘third party’ complaint, rather than from someone claiming to have direct evidence of wrongdoing, and say they are ‘assessing’ it.

Sir Bernard Jenkin’s defence that he was attending a work event is torpedoed by an invitation sent out by his wife, the Tory peer Anne Jenkin (pictured together), which The Mail on Sunday can reveal today

Sir Bernard Jenkin has refused to answer any more questions since, and neither he, his wife (pictured together), nor Dame Eleanor would comment last night

A Johnson backer last night said the revelation about the true nature of the party would increase pressure on police to investigate.

When Sir Bernard was confronted about his attendance at the event last week, an ‘ally’ was quoted in The Guardian as saying that it was ‘a work event held by senior figures in the Women2Win network, which encourages more Tory women to stand for political office’ and that Sir Bernard ‘arrived to collect his wife’.

Speaking briefly to the Guido Fawkes website, Sir Bernard said: ‘I did not attend any drinks parties during lockdown.’ Asked to confirm whether he had drunk at his wife’s party, he replied: ‘I don’t recall.’

He has refused to answer any more questions since, and neither he, his wife, nor Dame Eleanor would comment last night.

But a source told The Mail on Sunday: ‘That is absolute rubbish. He was there at the start and for the whole thing. Drinking.’ Dame Eleanor told Guido Fawkes she had held a ‘business meeting’, where ‘I was so strict with my two metre ruler and told everyone we will adhere to those rules and be very careful’. When asked whether any drinks were served, she said: ‘I don’t know. I will have to check.’

However, a source said: ‘There were at least ten people in a small room, so social distancing went out of the window. There was no sign of that ruler. People were quite close to each other. There were four or five bottles of prosecco and nibbles were laid out, and everyone was given a piece of birthday cake.’

Mr Johnson is pictured as he returns to his home after running Oxfordshire, June 14, 2023

Sir Bernard Jenkin responds to then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s statement to MPs in the House of Commons on the Sue Gray report, January 31, 2022

Two MPs said to have been present – former Cabinet Minister Maria Miller and backbencher Miriam Cates – did not respond to a request for comment last night.

Mr Johnson, who branded the inquiry into his conduct a ‘witch-hunt’, told the committee Sir Bernard should have recused himself as he could not be considered ‘a valid judge or investigator’.

MPs will debate the report tomorrow and are expected to approve it, including the recommendation Mr Johnson be denied the pass to the Palace of Westminster usually given to ex-MPs. To the relief of many Tories fearful of an angry reaction from grassroots members still loyal to Mr Johnson, the report may be approved without a formal vote.

During the investigation, headed by former Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman, Sir Bernard said: ‘The rules were clear, they were there for everyone, and no one is above the law’ and that ‘it’s only right that those in power should lead by example’.