Boris Party Broke Covid Rules

Mirror

The Mirror’s revelation that Boris Johnson had broken his own Covid rules was the biggest political story of the year.

It was launched with a confident front page in the best traditions of bold tabloid journalism. The headline was simple but direct. Anyone who picked up a copy of the paper was left in no doubt the Mirror had scored a bull’s eye. The scoop by political editor Pippa Crerar became known as the Partygate scandal. It resulted in Boris Johnson becoming the first serving Prime Minister to be issued with a police fine and played a pivotal role in his subsequent departure from office. Over the following months, Crerar published further revelations about lockdown-busting events in Government, several with the PM present. These included: a raucous Christmas bash at CCHQ; images of the PM with an open bottle of bubbly on his desk; No 10 aides holding 'wine time Fridays' with suitcases of booze; staff buying a wine fridge; fed up Downing Street custodians complaining about late night socialising; aides messaging "the bar is open". It was painstaking work that required trust-building, uncovering fresh leads and forensically piecing together evidence. This was a blockbuster of a story that was launched with a blockbuster front page.