18 December 2020: A gathering in No 10 Downing Street ahead of the Christmas break
Extracts from regulations and guidance
On 5 November 2020, a second national lockdown was introduced which required people to stay at home and prohibited indoor gatherings of two or more people from other households except for permitted exceptions, including where the "gathering is reasonably necessary … for work purposes".
On 2 December 2020, England was divided into three tiers, with London in Tier 2 in which gatherings of two or more people indoors continued to be prohibited unless an exception applied, such as where the gathering was reasonably necessary for work purposes. Government guidance, issued on 30 November 2020 for the Christmas period, on visiting pubs and restaurants advised: "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 our tier."
On 16 December 2020, London was moved to Tier 3. Indoor gatherings of two or more people from different households continued to be prohibited. Social distancing remained the rule at work, with offices advised "to maintain social distancing guidelines (2m, or 1m with risk mitigation where 2m is not viable), wherever possible, including while arriving at and departing from work, while in work and hen travelling between sites". The Christmas part guidance issued on the 30 November 2020 remained unchanged.
Summary
On 18 December 2020 a gathering lasting several hours took place in the No 10 Press Office. Between 20 and 45 individuals attended over the course of the evening to celebrate the end of year and Christmas. The event included a Secret Santa and an awards ceremony. There was alcohol and food.
Preparations
The investigation was told that members of the Press Office have, for some time (including before the pandemic), brought in wine on Fridays to mark the end of the week. This was known as Wine Time Friday where bottles of wine were placed on a table in a small room adjacent to the main Press Office and people could help themselves. On Fridays senior officials would routinely recognise the efforts of staff by handing out some awards and a small trophy cup to recognise weekly achievements. The No 10 Press Office maintained almost full staff attendance in
