Police are in contact with the Cabinet Office after a leaked email ‘showed 100 Downing Street staff were invited’ to a party allegedly held in the first lockdown.
Boris and Carrie Johnson are accused of attending the event along with roughly 40 others on May 20, 2020 – when Brits were banned from meeting more than one other person outdoors.
A spokesman for Scotland Yard said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office.’
The Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds is said to have sent the email which ‘encouraged staff to make the most of the lovely weather’.
First seen by ITV, it reads: ‘Hi all, After what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening.
‘Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!’
The PM’s former top advisor Dominic Cummings first suggested such an event had taken place in a blog post on Friday.
He claimed he protested against it, warning it would break Covid regulations – but the event ‘definitely happened’ regardless.
It comes after the Met refused to investigate an alleged Government gathering on December 18, 2020.
The police watchdog later declined to investigate a complaint about the force’s handling of the case.
Downing Street said they would not be commenting on the email due to the Sue Gray inquiry.
The senior civil servant is currently investigating parties allegedly held by the Government as millions in the UK poured all their efforts into stopping Covid spreading.
Ms Gray took over the investigation from Cabinet Secretary Simon Case in December after claims he knew of at least one gathering.
Asked on Monday if he and his wife attended the May 20 event, the prime minister replied: ‘All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray’.
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