In a WhatsApp’d invitation from Anne Jenkin a party during lockdown was 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?
Today Guido learnt that the Standards Commissioner will report he has “insufficient evidence” that the event was a lockdown rule breaching party. In this Guido Talks podcast we cast our minds back to what we know about the birthday bash and tell the story behind the story. Co-conspirators can decide for themselves whether they think they broke the rules…
Guido has heard that the investigations undertaken by the Standards Commissioner into lockdown party-goers Virginia Crosbie, Eleanor Laing, Bernard Jenkin and Miriam Cates have been closed. The reports are expected to be publicly released in around two weeks time. Timed for just before recess…
The suspicion is that all four of the rule-breaking MPs will get off, and wanting to avoid an inevitable wave of outrage that will inevitably ensue, parliamentary authorities are waiting to release the report until everyone is off on their Easter holiday and it’s swept under the rug. Staff of the party-going MPs have been rather jubilant recently, presumably gleeful that it looks like their bosses have managed to get away with it…
The four were being investigated following Guido’s revelation that they attended a lockdown-breaking birthday bash on December 8th 2020. There were WhatsApp invites to the “joint birthday party” for Bernard Jenkin’s wife Anne and Virgina Crosbie. There was birthday cake. There was booze. This was clearly a party and not a work event, and it is an appalling case of “one rule for them and another rule for us” if they have been cleared…
Tory Sarah Atherton MP is said to be fuming this morning after discovering her Wrexham constituents had been bombarded with “Wrexham News” pamphlets which, when opened, were full of exciting news about… Gloucestershire. Which happens to be about 100 miles away…
Fingers are already being pointed at CCHQ, although Guido understands it was a suspected ‘printer error’ which is currently being corrected. It’ll have to be corrected quickly, because hundreds of the botched leaflets are already on constituents’ doorsteps. At least the people of Wrexham know Gloucestershire is now protected by 164 new police officers. According to The Sun’s Jack Elsom, Atherton seethed over being made a “laughing stock” in a Tory WhatsApp group…
There have been reports Virginia Crosbie’s literature also had the wrong constituency info inside, though Guido hears this was actually spotted in a pre-release proof, and was corrected before printing. Jane Stevenson’s initially had a freepost address error too, which has also been corrected. They got there in the end…
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.”
