Since we broke the story about Anne Jenkin’s party in Parliament, we have been getting snippets of tips about other lockdown legislators’ lawbreaking parties in Westminster. We know of other parties held by Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing in her offices on other days. We know of other MPs attending those parties. We also know of other parties held elsewhere. Guido believes that there is a cover-up being quietly organised by senior MPs who realise that on this issue “We must all hang together, or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately.”
This is a call for information to add to our dossier. If you have evidence, invitations via WhatsApp or emails, better still photos. These parties were not held in total secrecy. Staff in Parliament will have known…
Guido relies on co-conspirators for information, and makes every technological effort to make it easy and safe to blow the whistle on politicians:
- If you call the number above (020 7931 9310) you won’t have to give a name if you don’t want to.
- If you want to send a tip without giving an email (though it is handy if we want to get back to you) use the tip off box .
- If you want to forward an email or leak a document, DO NOT send it from your Parliament, government or party account. COPY and PASTE the text into a personal email and send it from there. Email: GuidoFawkes@Order-Order.com
- DO NOT forward attachments as your bosses may use tracking software to determine where it has gone. Download the file first, then upload it to your personal account.
- An easy way to leak digital information without getting caught is to take a screenshot on your phone camera, documents can be photographed by most smartphone cameras. No way for your bosses to track it back to you if it’s your personal phone.
We may even send tipster co-conspirators a Guido-branded mouse mat if your tip is used!
Sources are anonymous (unless you want credit). Who is covering up? Who is lying? If you know “the line” is a lie, ask yourself why you got into politics; was it to cover up the truth or to tell it?
Guido can now reveal that the MP for Ynys Môn, Virginia Crosbie, was the co-host of the Anne Jenkin birthday drinks party held in Deputy Speaker Eleanor Laing’s parliamentary offices during lockdown. Virginia Crosbie was then the Parliamentary Private Secretary (PPS) to Health Secretary Matt Hancock, who was at the time urging us all to stay at home and not socialise. Despite being given every opportunity to do so, Virginia Crosbie’s office is refusing to comment and has not issued a denial.
In the WhatsApp invitation from Anne Jenkin, the party is described as “joint birthday drinks“. It was both Virginia Crosbie’s 54th and Anne Jenkin’s 65th birthdays on December 8, 2020.* Why let a little thing like lockdown get in the way of having a party?
Guido should say that on the list of MPs invited, there are three current cabinet minister’s names and the name of one former PM. Guido has managed to speak to only one of those names. She got her SpAd to deny her attendance after claiming she couldn’t remember. The others are refusing to comment.
The obvious thing for the Metropolitan Police to do is the same they did with the suspected attendees at the Downing Street parties. Send a formal letter inviting them to pay a Fixed Notice Penalty or risk more serious consequences in Court if they deny attending and the evidence shows otherwise. As Bernard Jenkin sanctimoniously reminded us on the Privileges Committee: no matter how high we are, none of us are above the law…
UPDATE 22:26: Crosbie has now apologised for attending this event:
“The invitation for this event was not sent out by me. I attended the event briefly, I did not drink and I did not celebrate my birthday. I went home shortly after to be with my family. I apologise unreservedly for a momentary error of judgment in attending the event.”
*We are aware that date per the text message was a Tuesday not a Wednesday. We have other meta-data evidence confirming the time and place was Tuesday evening December 8, 2020.
Guido understands that the Metropolitan Police have confirmed to the Speaker’s Office they will investigate, despite the passage of time, if a formal complaint is made about Bernard Jenkin following our exclusive report. Guido also understands that Eleanor Laing has changed her story and given conflicting explanations for the events of December 8, 2020. There is a “list of attendees” circulating in Westminster, they are not answering their phones to the media…
UPDATE: The complaint would have to be from a first person witness, not from a third party based on media reports.
CORRECTION: A previous version of this article erroneously reported the Speaker’s Office had been told an investigation was already under way.
Guido has just got off the phone with Bernard Jenkin. Our conversation was short. We got to the point of the call pretty quickly:
Guido: Cast your mind back to December 8th, 2020 during lockdown, do you remember attending a drinks party in parliament held by Eleanor Laing?
Bernard: I did not attend any drinks parties during lockdown.
Guido: It was your wife’s birthday celebration, are you saying you did not have anything to drink?
Bernard: I don’t recall.
Our chat came to a curt end. Fortunately prior to speaking to Sir Bernard, Guido had a longer conversation with Dame Eleanor Laing, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons. She conceded that she held a “business meeting” on that evening, where “I was so strict with my 2 metre ruler and told everyone we will adhere to those rules and be very careful.” Guido laughed when Dame Eleanor claimed she had her 2 metre ruler in front of her right there and then.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons dictated the following statement to Guido
At the beginning of the pandemic I took advice on how many could be present in a room, I had the room measured and I kept a 2 metre ruler so that I could always verify that nobody who was working here was put at risk.
Guido asked her again:
Guido: Were any drinks served?
Eleanor: I don’t know. I will have to check.
No need Eleanor, Guido has already checked. Eleanor hosted a drinks party to celebrate her friend Anne Jenkin’s 65th birthday on that day. There was a cake for Baroness Jenkin and people were invited by WhatsApp for “drinks”. There was a spread of food, other MPs attended including some of the 2019 intake and others. It was not an impromptu affair – the nibbles had been bought in.
One source says that Dame Eleanor did mention the need for social distancing – to some amusement – windows and doors were open, although initial attempts to social distance “went out the window”. The crowd included those typically involved with Anne Jenkin and the Women2Win campaign, such as Maria Miller. A co-conspirator says there was “loads of drink” and that they specifically remember Bernard Jenkin with drink in hand at a jolly affair.
On that day December 8th 2020, London was in Tier 2 lockdown. Gatherings of more than 6 indoors either in a public or private building were against the regulations. No Christmas exception applied and breaches of the regulations were offences which could be prosecuted or dealt with by fixed penalty notices with penalties ranging up to £10,000. The guidance was clear:
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.
This was a birthday party, in breach of the legal regulations, and to top it off there was even birthday cake.
UPDATE: Boris Calls on Bernard Jenkin to Resign Over His Own Drinks Party
Sometimes Labour MPs make it very obvious why their party hasn’t had the political nous to win a general election in 17 years. Yesterday afternoon Labour York MP Rachael Maskell stood up to ask a point of order, after Grant Shapps had spent an hour having fun pointing out all the Labour MPs who stood up to ask questions in defence of the strikes, without declaring their interests after pocketing thousands from the RMT Union. Following the question session Maskell stood up to complain to the deputy speaker that this was very unfair:
“You will know, Madam Deputy Speaker, that many members of the Labour party have a relationship with the trade unions that we are incredibly proud of, including with the RMT. The advice that I received from the Standards Commissioner ahead of that debate, and therefore ahead of today, stated under the requirements for declaration:
“Members are required, subject to the paragraphs below, to declare any financial interests which satisfy the test of relevance, including:
a) past financial interests (normally limited to those active within the last twelve months)”.
It is my recollection that the general election was two and a half years ago, so can you advise, Madam Deputy Speaker, on whether a declaration in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests should keep being raised two and a half years after it has been made?”
To paraphrase Eleanor Laing’s no-nonsense response, she told MPs to present the whole truth when representing their union paymasters, not just try and get away without a declaration because of a small technicality in the members’ rule book. A cracking misjudged intervention from Maskell all round…
