Shaun Bailey admits he WAS in the same building as lockdown-breaking boozy Xmas party after previously saying he left before his aides were filmed dancing and drinking – as Labour call for him to be stripped of Lords seat
- Timestamps from BBC interview and party video suggest he was in the building
The former Tory London mayoral candidate whose campaign team enjoyed a boozy Christmas party at the height of lockdown was in the building when they were caught on camera dancing and socialising, it has been revealed.
Shaun Bailey previously claimed that he gave a short speech to his team and then left them to it before the party was fully underway.
Shocking footage, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, shows a Christmas party involving at least 24 revellers at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London in December 2020.
Now evidence has come to light that their boss, Lord Bailey, remained in the building while his staff were dancing, as the paper has investigated the timestamps of the film and his BBC News appearance recorded in another room.
Just days after the party took place, then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a raft of tighter restrictions which meant people in the areas worst hit by Covid could not see their loved ones over Christmas.
Shaun Bailey previously claimed that he gave a short speech to his team and then left them to appear on BBC News before the party was fully underway
Watches worn by partygoers show the time the film was taken to have been 7.50pm, while Lord Bailey appeared on BBC News for an interview at 9.08pm while in the building – over an hour later.
He has now reportedly said, through his lawyers, that his claim that he left the building was ‘unintentionally inaccurate’.
He had told GB News last year that he left the building to appear on Newsnight, but has since admitted he mixed up his two BBC appearances.
A picture of a large group gathered in Lord Bailey’s campaign headquarters also shows the mayoral hopeful smiling with his team as they donned party hats and enjoyed nibbles and drinks.
He has now reportedly said, through his lawyers, that his claim that he left the building was ‘unintentionally inaccurate’
Lord Bailey, who was made a life peer in Boris Johnson’s resignation honours, has apologised after footage showed Tory activists dancing and drinking at the event during Covid lockdown in 2020.
Asked if Mr Bailey should think about turning down his peerage, Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said: ‘Absolutely he needs to consider that, if I’m frank.
‘You can’t simply have prime ministers stuffing the Lords with their friends’.
Now Labour has called for the peerage to be revoked by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in light of the revelations.
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