Carrie gives birth to second baby with Boris Johnson

Boris Johnson is back on fatherly duties today as a series of crises engulfed No 10 while his wife Carrie gave birth to his at least seventh child today – a baby girl.

Mr Johnson has also revealed that he will take some time off work – but not two weeks of paternity leave – despite the turmoil triggered by launching ‘Plan B’ on Omicron and new allegations he lied to Lord Geidt, his new adviser on ministerial standards, about the donor-funded refurbishment of his Downing Street flat including its £840-a-roll gold wallpaper.

The furore over Christmas parties at No 10 also got worse for the PM today as the probe into alleged Covid rule-busting parties was widened to include another festive celebration and a reported staff leaving do where the PM is alleged to have given a speech.

Hours after rebel Tories called on him to resign, Boris and Carrie walked into a central London NHS hospital at 7.40am this morning – around two hours after police officers turned up to secure the site ahead of their arrival, MailOnline can reveal.

A masked Mrs Johnson, 33, was accompanied into a side entrance by a bodyguard carrying an overnight bag. Her husband, 57, wearing a mask and a trademark wooly hat, was flanked by two policemen as he followed her in carrying a suitcase and what appeared to be a bluetooth speaker.

The baby girl, a younger sister to their son Wilf, one, was born within a couple of hours with Mr Johnson at his third wife’s side throughout the labour and birth. The PM returned to Downing Street at lunchtime after leaving the maternity ward at around 11.45am. He later returned at 3pm with his hair even more ruffled than usual, suggesting he may have caught up on some sleep.

In a statement the couple said: ‘The Prime Minister and Mrs Johnson are delighted to announce the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital earlier today. Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support.’

The Prime Minister will not take two weeks of paternity leave, his spokesman said, but added the father-of-seven will ‘take some time with his family’ and ‘balance that’ with his responsibilities including his daily red boxes and PMQs next week.

‘You can expect the Prime Minister to take some time with his family. As ever he has to balance that with his responsibilities as Prime Minister in leading the country, which he will continue to do’, the spokesman said.

‘I think there’s a recognition the Prime Minister has a unique role and this is a particularly challenging time for the country and the Prime Minister will continue to lead, as the public would expect, while making time for his family.’ Put to him that it did not sound like the Prime Minister was taking paternity leave, the spokesman said: ‘I’m not sure what the strict definitions of that are.’

Mr Johnson’s deputy prime minister is Dominic Raab, who stood in for him when the Tory leader was in ICU with covid last year. Mr Raab is currently self-isolating after coming into contact earlier in the week with the Australian Deputy Prime Minister, who has since tested positive for coronavirus.

Mrs Johnson has called their newborn girl their ‘rainbow baby’ – a term used by parents having a child after losing a baby to miscarriage, stillbirth or neonatal death and coined to signify the arrival of something beautiful after a storm.

The couple announced they were expecting at the end of July, as Carrie, an environmental campaigner and former director of communications for the Conservatives, described her own ‘heartbreak’ following a miscarriage in early 2021.

Their little girl’s name has not been revealed but Charlotte and Maggie are the two monikers being heavily backed by bookies at 3/1. It is 12/1 that the Johnsons opt for Elizabeth, with Theresa at 33/1, Allegra at 50/1 and Borissa at 100/1 among the unlikely outsiders.

As the PM welcomed his seventh child, although he has frequently obfuscated when asked exactly how many he has, it also emerged today:

• The Cabinet Secretary’s investigation into Government Christmas parties has been widened to probe three alleged Christmas parties – but will not look at claims of a party being held in Boris Johnson’s flat allegedly thrown to celebrate the exit of Dominic Cummings on November 13; 
• The PM is also facing questions over whether he misled an investigation into a donation for refurbishments to his Downing Street flat after a watchdog fined the Tories £17,800;
• Mr Johnson is struggling to contain a Tory revolt today amid fury at ‘non-sensical’ new Covid restrictions and his handling of the No10 Christmas party debacle. Rebels are threatening to vote against Plan B next week but it is expected to pass because Labour is backing vaccine certificates, the wider use of masks and asking millions to work from home;
• The UK could breach 1million Omicron cases by the end of December, Health Secretary Sajid Javid warned;
• Britain’s hospitality venues face losing £8billion over the Christmas season amid new Covid-19 restrictions with pubs and restaurants facing mass cancellations under Plan B, and concerns that measures could be ‘catastrophic’;

Boris’ happy news came after a day of bedlam in government where he is struggling to contain a Tory revolt today amid fury at ‘non-sensical’ new Covid restrictions and his handling of the No10 Christmas party debacle, which forced the tearful resignation of senior Government aide Allegra Stratton.

Last night the PM dramatically triggered ‘Plan B’ measures to control the rampant Omicron strain at a press conference, with fears that infections are now doubling every few days and the NHS could be crippled.  But critics says the restrictions are ‘mental’ as he urged 66million Britons to work from home if they can to slow the spread of Omicron – but still head into town for Christmas parties as well as festive drinks and dinners.

And amid more scandal at No 10, Baby Johnson entered the world just as the Conservatives were fined £17,800 over the controversial donation to help cover the lavish refurbishments to the couple’s Downing Street flat.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer tweeted: ‘Congratulations to Carrie and Boris Johnson on the birth of their daughter. ‘Wishing your family health and happiness.’

Wilfred Lawrie Nicholas Johnson was born in April last year and was named in partly in tribute to two doctors, Nick Hart and Nick Price, who helped saved the Prime Minister’s life when he was admitted to hospital with Covid-19 earlier that month.

The couple married during a secretly-planned wedding at Westminster Cathedral in May.

Mr Johnson, 57, has four children with his barrister ex-wife Marina Wheeler.

It emerged during a court hearing in 2013 that he had fathered a daughter during an affair when he was London mayor in 2009.

The PM dramatically triggered ‘Plan B’ measures to control the rampant Omicron strain at a press conference last night, with fears that infections are now doubling every few days and the NHS could be crippled.

But critics says the restrictions are ‘mental’ as he urged 66million Britons to work from home if they can to slow the spread of Omicron – but still head into town for Christmas parties as well as festive drinks and dinners.

Millions of office staff will be urged to work from home from Monday, while masks will be required in theatres and cinemas, and Covid passports are being introduced for nightclubs and large venues.

But Mr Johnson stressed that office Christmas parties should go ahead, sparking derision from critics. Desperate businesses have complained that the differing restrictions for venues ‘don’t make any sense’.

Dozens of Conservative MPs are now threatening to rebel against the measures when a Commons vote is held next week – although support from Labour means they will still pass.

In October Carrie Johnson opened up about the ‘constant worry’ she felt during her current pregnancy after suffering a miscarriage earlier this year.

The Prime Minister’s 33-year-old wife candidly shared her experience as part of Britain’s Baby Loss Awareness Week.

In a post on Instagram, she highlighted the work of Tommy’s Baby Charity – which provides pregnancy information and research – and admitted she has found ‘this pregnancy very different to my first’.

She wrote: ‘The stories of other people’s experiences shared on their website provided me much comfort after our loss earlier this year.

‘It’s also a helpful resource if you have friends or family that have experienced baby loss and you’re not sure what to say or how best to be supportive.

‘I’ve found this pregnancy very different to my first. Pregnancy after loss is totally wonderful but the worry is constant. Tommy’s has shown me that’s completely normal.’

Carrie took to Instagram this summer to reveal she had suffered a miscarriage at the beginning of the year that she says left her ‘heartbroken.’

She said that she and husband Boris were expecting a rainbow baby – a term for a child born to a family that has previously lost another due to stillbirth or death during infancy.

Being candid with her over 5,000 followers, she wrote: ‘Hoping for our rainbow baby this Christmas. At the beginning of the year, I had a miscarriage which left me heartbroken. 

‘I feel incredibly blessed to be pregnant again but I’ve also felt like a bag of nerves. Fertility issues can be really hard for many people, particularly when on platforms like Instagram it can look like everything is only ever going well. 

‘I found it a real comfort to hear from people who had also experienced loss so I hope that in some very small way sharing this might help others too.’

In September Boris Johnson finally admitted that he is the father of six children after years of speculation.

The Prime Minister is notoriously reluctant to discuss his often colourful private life but let down his guard on American television.

In an interview with NBC on a trip to New York, Mr Johnson admitted for the first time that he has six children – from three different relationships – although there has been some suggestion that there may actually be a seventh. With the birth of his new baby, he may even have eight.

The PM now has two children with his third wife Carrie Johnson and four with his second wife Marina Wheeler. He also has a daughter from an affair in 2009 with journalist and art critic Helen Macintyre – although a court case in 2013 hinted that there may be a second.

Boris has never previously put a figure on the size of his family. Speaking to the Today morning show, he was asked if he was a father of six, replying, ‘yes’. Asked what it was like being a father to a young child while in power he added: ‘It’s fantastic. It’s a lot of work, I’ll tell you that much.  But I love it, I absolutely love it. I change a lot of nappies.’

Mr Johnson has wed three times, with both previous marriages ending in divorce after he had an affair with his future wife.

The PM  – who once dismissed reports of his cheating as ‘an inverted pyramid of piffle’ – married Oxford University sweetheart Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987, but they divorced in 1993 after he cheated on her with Wheeler.

In 2004, his four-year affair with journalist and society author Petronella Wyatt, the daughter of Labour grandee Lord Wyatt, became public. She later told how she had an abortion and suffered a miscarriage.

Mr Johnson was sacked from his role as shadow arts minister by then-Tory leader Michael Howard for lying about the relationship.

The following year he fathered a child with art consultant Helen Macintyre but again was reconciled with his then wife.  They finally announced plans to divorce in 2019 year after his relationship with Carrie came to light.

Boris Johnson‘s second wife Marina was reportedly ‘crushed’ and their four children ‘furious’ about news he was having his first child with Carrie in March 2020.

Ms Wheeler divorced Mr Johnson after throwing him out in 2018 amid claims he was having an affair with Ms Symonds.

She is also said to be aggrieved that Boris became engaged and tried for a baby while they were divorcing.

Mr Johnson is thought to have tried to tell their four children Lara Lettice, 26, Milo Arthur, 24, Cassia Peaches, 22, and Theodore Apollo, 20, in person that he and Carrie were having a baby, born later that year.

But not all of his children reportedly bothered to turn up for their father’s announcement and are said to be ‘furious’ because they believe Carrie and Boris got together after an affair.

On discovering his relationship with with Carrie, who is 24 years Boris’ junior, Lara told friends he was a ‘selfish b*****d’ and all the children are said to have been supporting their mother through the divorce.

Boris had a fifth child from an affair with art consultant Helen Macintyre.

At first he denied he was the father and even sought a High Court injunction in 2013 to prevent her existence becoming public. He lost, and also the case led to claims there was another secret love child.

The confusion sprang from the judgment that suggested he may have fathered two children as a result of the affair with Ms Macintyre.

It read: ‘What was material was that the father’s infidelities resulted in the conception of children on two occasions.’

Boris and Carrie’s announcement they were getting engaged was made just 11 days after his divorce settlement with Marina Wheeler was agreed in court.  The couple had been married for 27 years and have four children, with Ms Wheeler – a successful barrister – reportedly in line to receive £4million from her husband.

Britain wakes up to Plan B: PM faces mass Tory revolt over ‘work from home but go to Christmas parties’ message, vaccine pass chaos as website crashes – and businesses face devastation from crippling restrictions

Boris Johnson is struggling to contain a Tory revolt today amid fury at ‘non-sensical’ new Covid restrictions and his handling of the No10 Christmas party debacle.

The PM dramatically triggered ‘Plan B’ measures to control the rampant Omicron strain at a press conference last night, with fears that infections are now doubling every few days and the NHS could be crippled.

Millions of office staff will be urged to work from home from Monday, while masks will be required in theatres and cinemas, and Covid passports are being introduced for nightclubs and large venues.

But Mr Johnson stressed that office Christmas parties should go ahead, sparking derision from critics. Desperate businesses have complained that the differing restrictions for venues ‘don’t make any sense’.

Dozens of Conservative MPs are now threatening to rebel against the measures when a Commons vote is held next week – although support from Labour means they will still pass.

Backbencher Marcus Fysh said today that the latest curbs are an ‘utter disgrace’, while former chief whip Mark Harper has questioned whether the government has the moral authority to impose the limits given the row over rules being flouted in Downing Street.

There was a further setback when the NHS Covid pass website crashed for several hours last night.

In signs of Cabinet tensions, Sajid Javid this morning dismissed a hint from the PM that mandatory vaccination might be looked at in future, saying that would be ‘ethically wrong’.

And the Health Secretary revealed that he refused to continue with a scheduled round of broadcast interviews yesterday because he was ‘upset’ by the bombshell video of No10 aides giggling about an alleged lockdown-busting festive gathering last year.

Mr Javid insisted it is ‘proportionate’ to urge people not to go to the office

The scale of the damage to the Tories from the partying revelations, which followed the sleaze row, has been underlined with a poll showing 63 per cent of voters think the PM should resign.

Labour also had a four-point lead in the Redfield & Wilton poll, the largest since the 2019 general election.

At a downbeat Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson said the new restrictions were a ‘proportionate and responsible’ reaction to a surge in Omicron cases.

But he faced accusations that he had accelerated the move to Plan B restrictions in order to shift the news agenda away from public outrage over claims that No10 staff held a Christmas party last December in defiance of tough lockdown rules.

William Wragg, Tory chairman of the Commons public administration committee, called the move a ‘diversionary tactic’. Other MPs asked how the Government could expect people to abide by Covid rules when No10 staff were accused of recklessly breaking them.

Many Conservative backbenchers were also furious over the likely economic impact of the new curbs, with some even heckling Health Secretary Sajid Javid in the Commons to shouts of ‘resign’.

The public appeared to have already voted with their feet today as pictures showed London stations eerily quiet.

Questioned in a round of interviews this morning over whether it makes sense to instruct staff to work from home but go to parties and other social events, Mr Javid said: ‘I think it is proportionate, actually, when you look at these measures, whether it is the working-from-home guidance, the rules around face masks, the NHS Covid pass, and all of these.

‘It is a real sort of spectrum of response that you can have.

‘It could be guidance, you could have Covid passes clearly in more settings, you could have face masks in more settings, but you have to take a balanced decision that takes into account a number of factors and, of course, the key here is to slow the spread of the new variant, and these measures will help do that.’

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘We, of course, keep them under review, but they will have a significant impact in slowing the spread of the variant.’

Economic experts have criticised the restrictions ahead of the crucial pre-Christmas period, warning they could cost the economy £4billion a month and ‘easily’ knock two per cent off the size of the economy.

The hospitality industry said Plan B will kill off festive trade – a period when pubs, nightclubs and restaurants make a third of their annual profits. There are calls for a return to furlough and cash grants for restaurants, pubs, cafes, and bars.

Clive Wilson, Chairman of The City Pub Company, said together with rising energy costs and other pressures he expected to price of a pint to rise by around 40p.

‘For restaurants and the late night economy – a third of your profit is made in December. People have described this as a body blow – it’s more than that – it’s taking off the life support machine yet again,’ he said.

‘And I notice that the Chancellor is not providing any further state aid.

‘The current state aid is not enough. Please please give us that enhanced state aid to help us get through those leaner months otherwise a lot of businesses in our sector will run out of cash.’

Economic experts also criticised the move ahead of the crucial pre-Christmas period, warning they could cost the economy £4 billion a month and ‘easily’ knock 2 per cent off the size of the economy.

Lord Sugar tweeted that the Prime Minister must be removed from office, saying: ‘Plan B. Boris is mental. Work from home but you can go to nightclubs and football matches if you are double vax. The man must go. Correct me if I am wrong but I have not heard of any one who had to go to hospital with this new strain let alone die. Small BIZ will collapse’.

Among the latest dramatic events:

• Ms Stratton resigned from her £125,000-a-year job; 
• The PM asked Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to investigate the party allegations and warned of disciplinary action; 
• Scotland Yard said its officers would be taking no action ‘at this stage’; 
• Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross suggested the PM would have to quit if his claim that no party was held proved to be untrue; 
• Hospitality trade leaders warned that Plan B could deliver a £2billion a month economic hit; 
• It emerged that the new Covid rules will not be reviewed until January 5; 
• Ministers eased ‘Pingdemic’ rules to allow people to take daily tests rather than self-isolate.

In the Commons last night, Mr Harper said the evidence on the spread of Omicron, which has yet to hospitalise a single person in the UK, simply ‘doesn’t support the introduction of these measures’.

He told MPs: ‘Over the past couple of weeks the Government’s credibility, whether it’s on Paterson or on the Christmas parties, has taken a hit.

‘Why should people at home, listening to the Prime Minister and the Health Secretary, do things that people working in No10 are not prepared to do?’

Fellow Tory Philip Davies criticised the ‘latest in a long line of arbitrary, unnecessary, socialist measures’ and suggested Mr Javid had ‘gone native’.

The Covid clampdown came just hours after the PM issued a rare apology over a leaked video that showed his former press secretary Allegra Stratton and other No10 aides appearing to laugh and joke about the alleged Christmas party during a mock press conference.

The video infuriated relatives of Covid victims who pointed out they had been unable to visit their dying loved ones under lockdown rules in place at the time when No10 staff were partying.

Mr Johnson yesterday repeated his claim that no rules had been broken.

But Professor Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance, the chief scientist, appeared to take a swipe at No 10’s conduct when they stood alongside Mr Johnson last night imploring people to follow the restrictions.

Sir Patrick said: ‘The rules are quite carefully thought through … and they’re there for everybody to stick to.’

Professor Whitty added: ‘We all know that people get very angry, including colleagues and friends, when they feel that it’s unfair.’

At a stormy session of Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Mr Johnson issued a rare apology for the Christmas party video row, saying he was ‘furious’ to see the clip of No 10 aides ‘seeming to make light of lockdown measures’.

He added: ‘I apologise unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country, and I apologise for the impression that it gives.’ ‘But I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken, and that is what I have been repeatedly assured.’

No 10 said that it was ‘categorically untrue’ to suggest the move to Plan B had been accelerated to divert attention from the disastrous coverage of alleged rule-breaking by the PM’s staff.

Mr Johnson also insisted that the emerging evidence about the rapid spread of the virus had left him with no choice but to move now: ‘You’ve got to act to protect public health when you’ve got the clear evidence. The best way to ensure we all have a Christmas as close to normal as possible is to get on with Plan B. Irritating though it may be, it is not a lockdown.’

He also said that the best way to avoid a huge wave of the virus next month was for people to follow the new rules and get their booster jabs.

A Whitehall source last night said the introduction of Plan B was designed to slow the spread of the new variant and shift the expected peak next month back to February or March, by which time many more people will have had their booster jabs.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister’s apology ‘raises more questions than answers’ because he had been ‘caught red-handed’.

He added: ‘Millions of people now think the Prime Minister was taking them for fools, that they were lied to.’

Wes Streeting, Labour’s health spokesman, said Labour supported the new restrictions as being ‘in the national interest’, meaning they will almost certainly be approved in the Commons.

But Mr Johnson is certain to face a Tory backlash when MPs vote on the measures on Tuesday while party members have threatened to quit.

‘I wonder if there’ll be a No10 party to celebrate?’: Twitter raises an eyebrow at Boris’s baby joy… as PM battles backlash over ‘illegal’ festive bashes

It was an extraordinary announcement after a tumultuous 24 hours for Downing Street that has led many observers to see the funny side.

And Twitter was abuzz today with a light-hearted look at how Boris Johnson‘s wife Carrie has given birth to her second child with the Prime Minister.

Some described it as ‘Plan C’, following Mr Johnson’s announcement last night that England is entering Plan B to combat the spread of the Omicron variant.

And others referenced the fallout of an allegedly rule-breaking Number 10 party last December which forced the resignation of senior aide Allegra Stratton.

Among them was a Twitter user who said: ‘I wonder if there will be another party at Downing Street to celebrate the birth of the PM and Carrie Johnson’s daughter?’

A second said: ‘Plan B hasn’t worked in deflection. Quick, Carrie, go for Plan C, drop the sprog. Now!’ A third added: ‘I don’t care Carrie! You’re having this baby tonight.’

And a fourth tweeted: ‘Plan C. Squeeze that kid out Carrie, I’m in a bit of bother.’ Meanwhile a fifth added: ‘What timing. F**kinellll [sic], what’s next, a meteor strike?’

And a sixth said: ‘Carrie, it’s Bobo here, any chance you can sort out a baby this morning… yes, another f**k up… no, it was the parties this this time, see you later.’

Mr and Mrs Johnson announced the birth of a ‘healthy baby girl’ at a London hospital this morning. The Prime Minister was present throughout the birth.

A spokesman for the couple said: ‘Both mother and daughter are doing very well. The couple would like to thank the brilliant NHS maternity team for all their care and support.’

The couple announced they were expecting their second child together at the end of July, as the 33-year-old environmental campaigner spoke of having a miscarriage earlier in the year.

The birth of a sister for Wilfred came the morning after the Prime Minister announced England is entering Plan B to combat the spread of the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

As well as facing Tory anger over the latest restrictions, Mr Johnson was battling the fallout of an allegedly rule-breaking Number 10 Christmas party last year which forced the resignation of senior Government aide Allegra Stratton.

Also this morning, the Conservatives were fined £17,800 over a controversial donation which helped cover the lavish refurbishments to the couple’s Downing Street flat.

The pair were photographed walking into the hospital, reportedly at 7.40am.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer sent his congratulations to the couple on the arrival of their baby, and added: ‘Wishing your family health and happiness.’

Boris is accused of lying in ANOTHER sleaze row as it is revealed PM DID know Tory donor gave £52k for ‘wallpaper-gate’ revamp of Downing Street flat despite denying it – as Tories are fined just £17,800 after probe

Boris Johnson was at the centre of another sleaze row today as he was accused of lying about funding for a lavish renovation of his Downing Street flat.

The Conservatives have been fined £17,800 by the Electoral Commission for failing to register a five-figure cash donation from businessman and Tory peer Lord Brownlow in October last year.

The probe revealed that the payment of £52,000 connected to redecorating the No11 apartment was kept off the books, with worried staff told ‘don’t worry’.

But the investigation also suggested Mr Johnson could have been aware the cash was from Lord Brownlow and his firm Huntwood Associates in November last year.

It also showed that the PM successfully tapped him up via WhatsApp for another £60,000. In total the Tory peer gave £112,549.12 towards the renovation of the private flat.

However, in evidence to his adviser on ministerial standards Lord Geidt earlier this year, No10 said the PM told him he was unaware of the source of the money until February.

The peer’s own probe cleared Mr Johnson of wrongdoing, saying there was ‘no evidence that the Prime Minister had been informed by Lord Brownlow that he had personally settled the total costs’.

Mr Johnson’s former top aide Dominic Cummings today said the PM had ‘obviously lied to Geidt’.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner today wrote to Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Kathryn Stone to ask her to investigate the donations.

Ms Rayner said: ‘Boris Johnson’s sleaze is corroding the office of Prime Minister.

‘The Paterson scandal, illicit Christmas parties in Number 10 and now dodgy payments from a multimillionaire Conservative Party donor to fund his luxury Downing Street refurb.

‘It is one rule for them, and one rule for the rest of us, and Boris Johnson is at the heart of it.’

Downing Street insisted today that the PM knew Lord Brownlow was in charge of a blind trust being used to fund the flat renovation, not that he was also the source of the donation.

‘The PM was not aware of the details of the underlying donor until prior to media reports (in February),’ Mr Johnson’s spokesman told reporters, saying the PM had not lied to Lord Geidt.

However the Commission report today noted that at the time in November ‘the proposed trust had not yet been set up’.

It found that the Conservative Party failed to ‘fully report’ a donation of £67,801.72 from Brownlow made in October 2020, of which £52,801 which was connected to the refurbishment of the 11 Downing Street flat where Boris Johnson lives.

The probe found that when the payment was flagged by a junior member of Conservative staff, they were told the cash was for ‘something else’ and ‘don’t worry’.

It also revealed that the PM personally begged Lord Brownlow for more cash via Whatsapp just weeks after his initial donation.

The result of its investigation is also likely to lead to a new probe by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner Kathryn Stone.

The commission’s investigation found that decisions relating to the handling and recording of the donation reflected ‘serious failings in the party’s compliance systems’.

A fine of £17,800 was levied for ‘failing to accurately report a donation and keep a proper accounting record’.

Louise Edwards, director of regulation at the Electoral Commission, said: ‘The party’s decisions and actions reflected serious failings in its compliance systems.

‘As a large and well-resourced political party that employs compliance and finance experts, and that has substantial sums of money going through its accounts, the Conservative Party should have sufficiently robust systems in place to meet its legal reporting requirements.’

The Daily Mail revealed details of the lavish redecoration of the apartment shared by the PM and his then fiancée in March.

The revamp at No11 by upmarket designer Lulu Lytle is said to have included gold wall coverings.

But the funding of the work did not appear in the list of political donations published by the Commission or in Mr Johnson’s Commons register of interests.

It prompted demands from the Labour Party for a full investigation into how the extravagant work was paid for and whether rules were broken.

The Electoral Commission said that Huntswood Associates transferred £67,801.72 to the Conservative Party on October 19, 2020.

Some £15,000 of that amount was for an event, but the commission said he ‘specifically identified the remaining £52,801.72 as a donation to cover an earlier payment of that value made by the party to the Cabinet Office’.

The Cabinet Office had paid three invoices over summer 2020, totalling the same amount, for the refurbishment of the Prime Minister’s flat at 11 Downing Street, and these were made on the agreement that the sum would be repaid by the party.

But the commission said that in donation records submitted on January 27, 2021, while the party reported the £15,000 from Huntswood Associates, it failed to report the £52,801.72.

The commission also concluded that the reference in the party’s financial records to the payment of £52,801.72 made by the party for the refurbishment was not accurate as it was referred to as a ‘blind trust loan’.

However a trust to refurbish the flat had not been created.

The Tories are considering whether to appeal against the Electoral Commission fine over the donation linked to Boris Johnson’s flat refurbishment.

A party spokesman said: ‘The Conservative Party has received notification from the Electoral Commission that, in their judgment, the manner in which a payment was reported represented a technical breach of reporting requirements under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act.

‘We have been in constant contact with the Electoral Commission with regards to this matter and have sought their advice as to how the transaction should be reported since it was made.

‘We are considering whether to appeal this decision and will make a decision within 28 working days.’

Liberal Democrat MP Alistair Carmichael said it remained to be seen if Lord Geidt will feel able to continue in his role, adding whoever does that role they will have to ‘exhibit perhaps a greater degree of curiosity, and perhaps a little less trust, than has been the case to date’.

The MP for Orkney and Shetland said in the Commons: ‘The report of the Electoral Commission today in relation to donations for the refurbishment of the Downing Street flat states that the Prime Minister was WhatsApping Lord Brownlow asking for money in November 2020.

‘But it would appear that the Prime Minister also told Lord Geidt, the independent advisor, that he had only become aware of the funding source in February 2021.

‘Now it remains to be seen whether in these circumstances Lord Geidt will feel able to continue in the role of independent advisor.

‘But whoever does that job will have to do it with every assiduousness, shall we say, and exhibit perhaps a greater degree of curiosity, and perhaps a little less trust, than has been the case to date.’

Cummings drags CARRIE into partygate: Ex-No10 chief says probe must look at gathering in PM’s own flat attended by his wife as official investigation focuses on two OTHER Downing Street bashes – while aide from notorious video blanks questions

• Ed Oldfield, 23-year-old former public schoolboy, kept head down as he strode purposely through Whitehall 
• Journalists shouted questions including, ‘Was there a party at Downing Street?’, ‘Are you planning to resign?’
• Mr Oldfield seen joking about bash with the PM’s former £125,000-a-year press secretary Allegra Stratton 
• Now reports of four parties in total – as Health Secretary Sajid Javid calls for the official probe to be widened   

Dominic Cummings today dragged Carrie Johnson into the raging ‘partygate’ row demanding that the Cabinet Secretary probes an alleged gathering at the PM’s grace-and-favour flat.

Boris Johnson announced yesterday that top civil servant Simon Case will look into claims of a lockdown-busting party in No10 last Christmas, as he apologised for a bombshell leaked video of aides giggling about the event.

The probe is also expected to cover a leaving do that took place on November 27 last year, where Mr Johnson is said to have given a speech, as well as a separate Department for Education drinks do.

But Mr Cummings insisted that the ‘focus’ for the probe should be another alleged party on November 13, after he and ally Lee Cain had been ousted following an apparent power struggle with Mrs Johnson – who has just given birth to her second child.

The adviser said the leaving event – thought to have been for another Vote Leave friend Cleo Watson – was merely someone ‘walking into the press office to say bye’ before the PM ‘bumbled in a started babbling’.

He said the focus ‘shd be actual party in PM’s flat Fri 13/11’.

That is alleged to have been attended by a number of Mrs Johnson’s friends – but Downing Street and her spokeswoman have denied that any rules were breached.

The intervention came as the aide who joked about the Downing Street Christmas party in a notorious video refused to answer questions as he fled a media scrum.

Ed Oldfield, a 23-year-old former public schoolboy, kept his head down as he strode purposely through Whitehall pursued by a press pack.

Journalists shouted questions including, ‘Was there a party at Downing Street?’, ‘Are you planning to resign?’ and ‘Have you got anything to say about the party’ before giving up and letting him walk off.

Mr Oldfield was heard on leaked footage joking about the bash with Boris Johnson‘s former £125,000-a-year press secretary Allegra Stratton during a mock news conference.

Sajid Javid suggested this morning that the investigation into allegations of the Christmas party at No10 could be widened to include other claims.

The Health Secretary said he had been given ‘assurances’ by ‘senior’ officials that no Covid rules were broken by Downing Street staff on December 18, but that it is for Mr Case to use his investigation to ‘get to the bottom’ of whether lockdown-busting events were held last year.

The Cabinet minister told LBC: ‘If the rules were not broken, then a party could not take place.

‘But having this investigation, having the Cabinet Secretary look into this, is the right response because this is the individual who can talk to anyone, can get the data, the evidence together and establish the facts.’

In the mock news conference video, Mr Oldfield asked: ‘I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas Party on Friday night – do you recognise those reports?’

Ms Stratton initially replied: ‘I went home..’ then laughs, adds, ‘hold on’, to which Mr Oldfield adds: ‘Would the Prime Minister condone having a Christmas Party?’

She laughed and said ‘What’s the answer?’ to which Mr Oldfield, also laughing, replies ‘I don’t know’, and another staffer suggests ‘It wasn’t a party… it was cheese and wine’.

The row over last year’s ‘illicit’ Downing Street Christmas party has rocked Westminster over the last week and led Ms Stratton to announce her resignation yesterday.

But it has now emerged that the December 18 event may have been only one of as many as six Whitehall bashes held in the run-up to Christmas – at a time when the country was under stringent Covid restrictions.

Ministers this morning set out the scope of the investigation which is being carried out by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

Paymaster General Michael Ellis confirmed the probe will look at allegations of a Christmas party being held in Number 10 on December 18 last year.

But he told MPs it will also examine reports of a leaving do in Number 10 on November 27 which the Prime Minister is said to have delivered a speech at.

A gathering at the Department for Education hosted by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson on December 10 will also included in Mr Case’s review.

The Department for Education has already admitted that event, which included food and drink, did take place.

It was alleged there was a leaving do where the PM reportedly gave a speech, a quiz night and even a celebration in the Downing Street flat on the night Dominic Cummings left No10. There were also said to have been other parties in Whitehall departments and at Tory headquarters.

The ‘raucous’ dos, at which several officials were said to have been seen ‘rat-a**ed’ on copious amounts of wine, have certainly left Whitehall with a lasting hangover as the events are probed by the Cabinet Secretary and the Met Police.

Here the Mail details just what is known about what went on in Whitehall while the rest of Britain faced swingeing virus rules.

TABLE GROANING WITH BOTTLES OF WINE AND THE ‘CHRISTMAS PARTY’

At the end of the corridor that leads from the famous black door of 10 Downing Street it had become a tradition.

Every Friday, on a table in the hallway, No10 officials would place bottle of wines to be cracked open at the end of the day.

In the wood-panelled press office – once used as Gordon Brown’s ‘war room’ during his time as PM – staff would toast the end of the week with drink at their desks.

But yesterday Boris Johnson was forced to order Cabinet Secretary Simon Case to investigate allegations that on the final Friday before Christmas last year things got rather out of hand.

In WhatsApp messages and emails in the week leading up to December 18, staff had allegedly coordinated plans.

Alongside the impressive line-up of wine bottles, the table was groaning with party food including wheels of camembert cheese and crusty baguettes. In the grand room overlooking St James’s Park, where chandeliers hang from the ceiling, officials gathered to celebrate the end of a difficult year.

As many as 40 people attended the ‘unofficial’ Christmas bash with some wearing festive jumpers, it is claimed. Sources said most of those present were civil servants drawn from the press office and events teams, but special advisers – the PM’s political appointees – were also invited. According to one of those asked to go, staff were told to bring in Secret Santa presents.

As the night went on, officials from other parts of the building came down to join. But the Prime Minister’s press secretary yesterday insisted Mr Johnson was not one of them.

‘He was working all evening,’ she told reporters.

The event took place two days after London was placed into what was the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions at the time, meaning people were not allowed to mix indoors with anyone outside their household or support bubble.

At that time, the Government website stated: ‘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.’

Since news of the gathering broke last week, Mr Johnson and his ministers had steadfastly insisted that no party had taken place and no rules had been broken. But by yesterday the denials had become impossible to reconcile with the mounting evidence, after footage emerged of Allegra Stratton joking about what had happened.

THE ‘DOM’S GONE’ BASH IN PM’S No10 FLAT

A party is also alleged to have been held in the Prime Minister’s Downing Street flat on November 13 – the day that Dominic Cummings quit.

The festivities are said to have kicked off earlier, with the leaving do for Lee Cain, the Prime Minister’s departing director of communications. Mr Johnson is said to have given a speech at the event. 

Cain resigned alongside Cummings after they clashed and ultimately lost in a battle for control with the PM’s now wife Carrie Symonds. This event is facing questions over whether it breached the rules.

However, the party is believed to have carried on upstairs that evening after Cummings unceremoniously walked out of Downing Street carrying a cardboard box.

On social media yesterday, Mr Cummings asked if the Cabinet Secretary’s investigation into the Downing Street pre-Christmas bash would also look into the ‘flat party on Fri 13 Nov’ as well as ‘the other flat parties, and the flat’s ‘bubble’ policy’. 

The bubble reference is thought to refer to the decision to allow the PM’s then fiancee – and now wife – Carrie Symonds’ best friend Nimco Ali at No10 over the festive period ‘to help support and look after’ baby Wilfred.

Asked during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday if a party took place on that date, Boris Johnson said: ‘No, but I’m sure that whatever happened the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.’

Mr Johnson shares the flat with Carrie and Wilfred. It was alleged there were ‘always parties’ in the flat, with a source claiming: ‘Carrie’s addicted to them.’

Insiders yesterday claimed staff in the press office saw guests going up the nearby staircase to the flat on the evening of November 13 and could hear loud music coming from the flat which is directly above. ‘They were making the kind of racket that could only have come from a party,’ said one official.

The Mail has been given the names of as many as six current and former senior Government officials as well as other people known to be close to Mrs Johnson who were alleged to have been present. However, several fiercely denied the claims when approached yesterday.

But a spokesman for Mrs Johnson gave an emphatic denial, saying: ‘This is total nonsense. Mrs Johnson has followed coronavirus rules at all times and it is categorically untrue to suggest otherwise.’

The PM’s spokesman later confirmed that the alleged November 13 party would not be looked into.

Mr Cummings quit following a power struggle, and has since been highly critical of the Government.

‘CRAMMED CHEEK BY JOWL’ AT LEAVING DO

Up to 50 people packed into Downing Street for a leaving do on November 27 last year where Boris Johnson gave a speech for an outgoing aide, it is claimed.

No10 staff reportedly crammed ‘cheek by jowl’ into a medium-sized room in what was described as a ‘Covid nightmare’ – while England was in its second lockdown.

A source told the Daily Mail that the event had been an impromptu leaving do for Cleo Watson, an adviser who had effectively been Mr Cummings’ sidekick during his time in Downing Street. The aide is nicknamed the ‘gazelle’ because of her long legs.

‘It wasn’t a party as such, certainly not a Christmas party. It was a whole bunch of people who work in the same building coming together to say goodbye to a very popular member of staff,’ said the source.

‘Was drink taken? Yes. Did the PM drop in? Yes. Did people think they were doing anything wrong? No, but in hindsight it’s not a great look.’

Today, Dominic Cummings insisted the November 27 gathering was a ‘red herring’, tweeting: ‘A staff member left their job. Walked to press office to say bye, PM bumbled in & started babbling, everyone embarrassed, dispersed.’

A BROKEN DOOR AS TORY STAFF PARTY ON AT HEADQUARTERS 

Outside of the confines of Downing Street there have been reports of parties in government departments, as well as at Tory HQ.

The Times reported last night that advisers at Conservative campaign headquarters held an event with Shaun Bailey, the party’s unsuccessful candidate for mayor of London this May.

Bailey himself attended the party – at which people wore festive hats and he received a Lego set as a Christmas present from a donor.

On December 14, with London in Tier 2 restrictions, about 25 people gathered in the basement of the party’s Matthew Parker St offices in Westminster.

Attendees at the ‘raucous’ bash are said to have worn ‘festive hats’ and danced and drank which resulted in a door being damaged.

Hours before the party Matt Hancock, the then Health Secretary, gave a press conference announcing that the capital would move into Tier 3.

A Conservative spokesman last night confirmed the ‘unauthorised social gathering in the basement of Matthew Parker Street’ and said that ‘formal disciplinary action was taken against the four CCHQ staff who were seconded to the Bailey campaign’.

A FESTIVE QUIZ IN THE CABINET OFFICE

A Christmas quiz was reportedly held in the Cabinet Office for No10 staff at another point in December, although the specific date is not clear.

Emails were sent out to everyone in No10 inviting them to the quiz and to form teams, a source told the BBC.

Staff were said to have arrived at the office wearing Christmas jumpers ahead of the event, and were unaware ‘how ridiculous’ it was to hold a quiz while the country was in lockdown.

While some people joined the quiz via Zoom, the BBC reported that those who attended in person sat in groups of six.

One source said that Dan Rosenfield, the Prime Minister’s newly-appointed chief of staff, took part, telling The Times that ‘it was the first time many of us met him’.

Downing Street yesterday insisted the quiz was ‘virtual’.

PS… DON’T FORGET WILLIAMSON’S PARTY

In the Department for Education’s canteen, then-Cabinet minister Gavin Williamson gathered officials for a Christmas party on December 10 last year.

Mr Williamson is said to have given a short speech at the ‘drinks and canapes’ event before officials ‘mingled’ and knocked back wine. One source described it as ‘reckless’.

Susan Acland-Hood, the permanent secretary, yesterday admitted that she attended the event where ‘drinks and snacks’ were served.

In an appearance before MPs, she told how around ‘two dozen’ people had joined the gathering that was instigated by the then education secretary as he wanted to ‘thank staff’ for their work during the pandemic. But she insisted ‘no outside guests’ were present.

When asked if it was an organised event, she said: ‘While this was a work-related gathering, looking back we accept it would have been better not to have gathered in this way at that particular time.’

A spokesman for the department said: ‘On December 10 2020 a gathering of colleagues who were already present at the office – and who had worked together throughout the pandemic, as they couldn’t work from home – took place in the DfE office building in London at a time when the city was subject to Tier 2 restrictions.’