Matt Hancock and his lover Gina Coladangelo have been dragged into Downing Street’s ‘partygate’ row after it emerged they were at a ‘cheese and wine’ gathering with Boris Johnson during the first national lockdown.
Mr Hancock, who was then Health Secretary, is to be quizzed in the next few days about the event by Sue Gray, the senior civil servant who is investigating whether Covid restrictions were broken by members of the Government at a series of alleged parties. Ms Coladangelo has indicated that she is also prepared to be interviewed as part of the inquiry.
A picture of the event, which was held in the No 10 garden on May 15, 2020, appears to show Mr Hancock talking in a group that included Ms Coladangelo.
Matt Hancock and his lover Gina Coladangelo, pictured left, have been dragged into the 'cheese and wine' gathering scandal which took place in the garden of Number 10 Downing Street on May 15, 2020
Matt Hancock was in the Downing Street garden on the evening of the Number 10 'cheese and wine' gathering but is unable to say if he is pictured in a leaked photograph which showed aides chatting
Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo are believed to with the group of people standing in a group at the far end of the garden. PM Boris Johnson, his wife Carrie and his then aide Dominic Cummings were photographed sitting around a table with a bottle of wine, some cheese and several glasses
The hunt is on for the so-called 'snappy rat'. The Treasury angrily denied it was responsible, with a source saying: 'It was not anyone in the No 11 team. That room is accessible to anyone working in Downing Street'
At the time, people were only allowed to socialise outside with one other and they had to keep apart. Thousands could not see dying loved ones in hospital or in care homes.
Earlier on May 15 at a press conference, Mr Hancock ordered the public: ‘You can meet one other person from outside your household in an outdoor, public place. But please keep two metres apart.’
Ms Coladangelo was working as an unpaid adviser to Mr Hancock, who is married with three children, at the Health Department. News of their closer relationship emerged 13 months later when CCTV footage showing them kissing was leaked to the newspapers.
Last night, a source close to Mr Hancock said the garden event was held ‘a long time before anything happened between’ Mr Hancock and Ms Coladangelo, and that she had attended along with other advisers after debriefing the Prime Minister’.
The source added: ‘It’s impossible to say with any certainty who the blurred figures in the photo are. What we can confirm is that Ms Coladangelo was an adviser to the Health Secretary at the time and part of the team that accompanied Mr Hancock to the Downing Street Press Conference that day. After the press conference finished at 5.53pm, Mr Hancock’s team went to the Downing Street garden to debrief the Prime Minister.
‘Ms Coladangelo left with Mr Hancock and other members of his team at 6.32pm. There is no suggestion Ms Coladangelo or Mr Hancock did anything wrong, but both will obviously gladly help with any investigation. Ms Coladangelo – like the rest of Mr Hancock’s team – was doing her job, helping vital public health communications in the teeth of a global pandemic’.
The leaked image of the garden gathering shows Mr Johnson and his then fiancee Carrie Symonds sitting at a table with cheese and wine and in the company of advisers including Dominic Cummings. Seventeen people can be seen huddled in groups in the background.
Mr Johnson defended the event by saying: ‘This is where I live, this is where I work. Those were meetings of people at work, talking about work.’ But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘To suggest that it is a work meeting is a bit of a stretch by anybody’s analysis.’ Twitter users contrasted the photo with their own stories of being separated from loved ones at the time.
It is one of at least a dozen gatherings reportedly held across Whitehall despite Covid restrictions, including an event inside No 10 on December 18, 2020 with prize-givings, cheese and wine and music, that went on until 2am. No 10 denies the event was a Christmas party.
Ms Gray has caused tremors in No 10 and beyond by emailing more than a dozen people, including Mr Hancock, about the events. She took over the investigation from Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, after it emerged that a Christmas party had been held in his own office during lockdown.
Mr Hancock, who has been tipped by some senior Tories for an unlikely political comeback by running for leader if Mr Johnson resigns or is ousted by party rebels, is said by friends to be ‘very happily’ building a new life with Ms Coladangelo.
BORIS JOHNSON, Prime Minister
CARRIE JOHNSON, PM's wife
Carrie was Mr Johnson's fiancee at the time of the photo, and she was pictured holding their baby Wilf.
MATT HANCOCK, Health Secretary and his unpaid adviser and lover Gina Coladangelo
Matt Hancock
Mr Hancock was Health Secretary at the time of the photo and had earlier that day told the daily coronavirus briefing: 'People can now spend time outdoors and exercise as often as you like - and you can meet one other person from outside your household in an outdoor, public place. But please keep two metres apart.' His lover Gina Coladangelo is also believed to be in the photograph
DOMINIC CUMMINGS, PM's Chief Advisor?
Dominic Cummings
Spent a controversial 16 months in Downing Street before quitting last December after losing a power struggle with Carrie Johnson.
MARTIN REYNOLDS, PM's Principal Private Secretary?
Martin Reynolds
Mr Reynolds has worked in government for over a decade, with him serving as the PM's PPS since October 2019 after four years in the same role at the Foreign Office.
JAMES SLACK, PM's Official spokesperson?
James Slack
Mr Slack served as the PM's Director of Communications from the beginning of this year after nearly four years as Mr Johnson's official spokesperson. Office.
JESS SELDON: PM's Chief Press Officer on Foreign Affairs?
IMRAN SHAFI, PM's Private Secretary ?
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By James Gant and Rory Tingle for MailOnline
A photograph exposing Boris Johnson, his wife and his aides at a lockdown-busting Downing Street gathering last summer was taken from a room used by Rishi Sunak and his team, it was claimed.
Sources said the picture of the supposed party was likely captured near one of the state rooms used by the Chancellor and his staffers.
Meanwhile former shadow chancellor Ed Balls claimed the image was shot from 'the 11 Downing Street first floor balcony', which is thought to be outside Mr Sunak's office.
It comes as names for some of those at the event - where guests drank wine and dined out on a cheeseboard - were put forward.
The revellers apparently included some of Mr Johnson's top team - such as his principal private secretary, his private secretary and his political secretary.
Dominic Raab defended the Government this morning after the picture emerged last night of the 'party' during the first national lockdown.
The Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary stressed the garden was a 'place of work' and sometimes staff would have a 'drink after a long day or a long week'.
The photo, obtained by the Guardian, showed Mr Johnson, his then-fiancee Carrie, and 17 other staff members in the garden on May 15, 2020, with bottles of wine and a cheeseboard on a table in front of the PM.
The PM and his wife - apparently holding their newborn baby Wilf - were seen sitting at a table with two people, while another four were pictured with bottles of alcohol at a nearby table and the rest on the lawn.
At the time - Friday May 15, 2020 - only two people were allowed to socialise outside, which has infuriated anti-lockdown politicians and Britons who suffered under tight restrictions.
Insiders claimed the angle of the photograph being just above the terrace at the back of 10 Downing Street suggested it was taken from one of the rooms used by Mr Sunak and his team.
One told MailOnline the picture was most likely shot next to some state rooms used by the Chancellor and his team for 'ceremonial duties'.
Meanwhile former shadow chancellor of the exchequer and economic secretary to the Treasury Ed Balls tweeted he was 'pretty sure' it was taken from the No 11 first floor balcony.
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Will Partygate blow up Boris' Red Wall? Tory MPs panic as support plunges over 'rule-breaking' at Downing Street and voter trust in the PM wanes - with Rishi Sunak backed to take over
BY GLENN OWEN
The mid-term crash in support for the Conservatives in the 57 seats Boris Johnson gained in 2019 has led to panic among MPs who fear that they are doomed to sit in the Commons for only one term.
The results of today's Mail on Sunday poll are likely to fan the frenzy of bitching and back- stabbing that dominates messaging sites used by the MPs as they speculate about which of them would be most likely to lose if an Election were held tomorrow – and debate whether
