The prime minister declined to say whether he was at the November 13, 2020 rally to mark the departure of Dominic Cummings – but now privately admits he was there. The soundtrack to The Winner Takes It All is said to have opened the building, making it one of the most controversial of the six events that Mr. Johnson witnessed in an apparent breach of Covid law. Last week, Mr. Johnson told Tory lawmakers it was “a work event” – removing the cover from information he may have given to police and the Sue Gray Cabinet investigation. Now, he is expected to claim that he invited Henry Newman – then an adviser to Michael Gove – to accompany him to apartment No. 11 where he lives with his wife and children. A government source told the Times that Mr Johnson claimed he had not broken the law by conducting an interview about his work with the consultant elsewhere in the apartment. The prime minister called on Mr Newman to move into the apartment to distance the couple from leaving drinks in the building for Lee Kane, who had just been fired from his post of communications director. Separately, Downing Street has not denied that the prime minister effectively turned Mr. Kane’s event into a retirement party. “He said he wanted to say a few words about Lee and started pouring drinks for people and drinking himself,” a source told the Sunday Times. Carrie Johnson has previously described her close friend Newman as her political “best man” and is said to be a regular visitor to Downing Street. The prime minister is expected to avoid a fine for the “bring your own drink” party in which he participated in the garden No. 10, predicted a legal expert – despite the punishment of others. But his troubles have deepened after he failed to block a Commons inquiry into whether he lied to lawmakers when he mistakenly told them that Covid rules had not been violated. Leading Conservatives predict a post-election dispute over Johnson’s leadership is inevitable as lawmakers think the controversy will not end. And a senior Tory executive, Steve Baker, has warned that the Conservatives will “reap the whirlwind” of public outrage over the May 5 ballot.
