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People have different stories
about what happened in Downing Street during lockdown.
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Your callers seem to agree with you,
but I think you're completely wrong. Tell me why.
Just... just sit down here? Yeah, that's good.
Here's your paper.
If you need that document. OK.
You call it Partygate, yeah? Mm-hm.
The Government kept working - they had to.
They were running the country.
If, during their working time, they take ten minutes, whatever,
to have a drink, have a cup of tea,
to wish the Prime Minister happy birthday -
and it was never more than 10-15 minutes, was it?
That's not a party. Well, you...
It never has been a party. OK.
Hello, I'm Grace Greenwood,
former special adviser in the Brexit Unit
at Number 10 Downing Street.
I loved him from the start.
He wasn't like the others.
What do you do to relax?
What do you do to switch off? Er, I...
I - well, I like to...
...paint, erm, or I make things.
I like to... What do you make? I make...
I have a thing where I make models of...
...buses. I put passengers...
You really want to know this?
You're making buses, you're making cardboard buses. I paint...
OK, that's what you do to enjoy yourself.
I paint, no, I paint the passengers...
...enjoying themselves. OK.
Sedgefield!
He got Brexit done.
And now, he was giving the North the chance to take back control.
Darlington! CHEERING
...Once-in-a-lifetime chance for us to take back control.
And, even more amazing...
SHE SCREAMS ...I had a job in his Government.
My bracket is more to do with, erm, implementing struc... Yes.
I'm not really qualified to be having this kind
of conversation, because...
I couldn't actually believe it,
but I had always wanted to make a difference.
I didn't know anyone else in Number 10.
I think the scientific evidence is, well...
And, to be honest, people weren't that friendly.
Our judgment is wash, er,
washing your hands is the crucial thing.
But then, after a few weeks,
the events started to happen.
I'm shaking hands continuous...
I was at a hospital the other night where,
I think there were actually a few coronavirus patients,
and I shook hands with everybody, you'll be pleased to know,
and I continue to shake hands and, er...
Our judgment is wash. Er...
...before you shake hands, obviously.
Good afternoon. Here's the latest on the coronavirus outbreak...
There are now 90 confirmed cases of the corona...
...bringing the total to 500...
...After nearly 300 deaths,
the Italian Prime Minister announced drastic limits on...
...In Denmark, schools, libraries, and leisure facilities are shut,
and most schools are also closed in Spain.
The UK increasingly looking alone in Europe...
Other European countries were locking down,
but the boss was resisting.
...Seems to go against the freedom-loving instincts
of the British people.
French President Emmanuel Macron has announced that France
and most European Union...
Death rates were rising fast.
In the end, there was no choice.
Will this square be empty in two weeks' time?
And should it, like Italy, be empty now?
Good evening.
From this evening, you must stay at home.
If your friends ask you to meet,
you should say no.
You should not be meeting family members who do not live
in your home.
This is a message from the Port Talbot Council.
Please follow the Government rules at this time.
If you don't follow the rules, the police will enforce them
through fines and dispersing gatherings.
Go home, please. It's not a holiday.
It's a lockdown, which means you don't just come in and sunbathe.
Can you please just leave?
When they started,
it was really nice.
If this, if this virus were a, erm, were a physical mugger...
I'm Annabel. Hello.
I'm Grace. Hi. Erm...
I'm in the Brexit unit, doing COVID, like everyone else.
Yeah, I'm on COVID messaging, along with...
...being the deputy head of the PM's diary and visits, which...
Oh, wow. It's not "wow", it's a fancy way of saying nanny.
I essentially schedule his nap times and take his temperature,
walk the dog, that sort of thing.
A-Are we, erm, are we still in a meeting?
Yeah, but, I mean, we're having a drink now.
OK. It's lovely to meet you.
BORIS JOHNSON CONTINUES SPEAKING
Through the protective doors,
down a corridor, and on to a unit
that few will even know exists.
There are six of these centres in the UK.
All have been striving to keep some of the very sickest
COVID-19 patients alive after ventilators have failed.
It's no wonder they're sometimes called the Hail Mary wards.
ALARM BLARES
We're interrupted by the cardiac arrest alarm
going off in a side bay.
Staff who we hadn't even seen before, suddenly appear.
Everyone now well-versed in an emergency.
A few days after drinks in the garden,
I got an invitation from the boss's principal private secretary.
"Hi, all.
"After what has been an incredibly busy period,
"we thought it would be nice to make the most of this lovely weather
"and have some socially distanced
"drinks in the Number 10 garden
"this evening.
"Please join us from 6pm,
"and bring your own booze."
Martin Reynolds had actually invited 200 people,
and there were a few things to organise.
"Could you please pop out
"a couple of tables for us to host
"these drinks in the garden
"on Weds eve?"
Stay safe. Thank you.
"Just to flag that
"the press conference will probably
"be finishing around that time.
"So, helpful if people can be mindful of that
"as speakers and cameras are leaving,
"not walking around,
"waving bottles of wine, etc."
"Will do my... best."
OK, who wants to come with me to get some booze for tonight?
Josh?
I mean, Martin said to bring your own bottle.
I know, but in case you run out.
Yeah, of course.
Yeah. Yeah, I'll go.
Yep, great. Come on, then.
Ooh.
One, six, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, 11, 12...
So, are we...
Are we - are we having a party?
No, just socially distanced drinks.
Er, it's for a work event, actually.
That's an increase of 2,472 cases since yesterday.
9,953 people are currently in hospital with coronavirus.
That is down 13%, from 11,443 this time last week.
And sadly, of those who have...
THEY LAUGH ...tested positive for coronavirus
across all settings,
35,704 have now sadly died.
That is an increase of 363 fatalities since yesterday.
But, as the Prime Minister announced this week,
you can spend time outdoors and you can meet one person
outside your household in a public place,
provided that you stay two metres apart.
BORIS JOHNSON: I-I implicitly believe this to be a work event.
So, where are you from? Er, Darlington.
Right near Durham.
Oh, the famous Red Wall. Yeah.
So who do you know? Here? Yeah.
No, I don't know anyone.
You don't know anyone?
How'd you end up in Number 10?
Erm, I worked at Vote Leave for a bit.
So, is this a job for you, or something more?
N-No, I...I really want to help change things.
...Speech, but cometh the hour.
In the seventh week of the lockdown,
the United Kingdom has now recorded
Europe's highest number of deaths linked to the coronavirus.
We have overtaken Italy, the first country in the world
to instigate a national lockdown.
This is a gathering that cannot happen under the current COVID-19
legislation and restrictions!
HIGH-PITCHED:Hello! WOMAN CHUCKLES
Hello.
I'm holding her - mine's all steamed up cos...
Drop your head. ...the air thing's...
Just drop your head.
So it's now one metre-plus, not two metres.
And they've just spent the last 15 years renovating
this huge chateau in France.
No, I-I don't think that's actually the case.
I think we've all done different figures here.
We're not, kind of - yeah, we all have different ways
of measuring our death rates.
"Leaving drinks - can we discuss handling?
"Is it safe to do a larger event indoors,
"but with some people carrying on
"outside afterwards?"
"Well, I'm not sure it works at all for me.
"I don't see how we can have any kind of party."
"So, you're saying nothing?"
"Well, it's your decision,
"but it obviously comes with
"rather substantial comms risks."
What a knob end.
Oh, it's nice, it's like -
it's basically just like...
How do I get from being jolly, having a glass of wine...
There's no blend, it's literally...
...to not remembering running through St Vincent portmanteau?
Sounds nice! Really beautiful at this time of year. Great food.
I just literally just, like, jumped...
ALL GASP
Oh, dear. Yeah, that's not good.
Erm, do you think maybe we switch rooms? Yeah.
Guys, we're going to...
We're going to move next door.
Shall I get my...
Shall I get the karaoke machine?
Ooh!
Highest standards, highest standards...
Highest standards of integrity.
I'm delighted to be taking on this important role.
I'm looking forward to building on the excellent work of Sue Gray,
and supporting the Prime Minister in upholding the highest standards
of integrity within Government.
♪ The power of love
♪ A force from above... ♪
♪ Every now and then I fall apart!
CHEERING
ALL: # And I need you now tonight
♪ And I need you more than ever... ♪
CHANTING: One more song! OK, OK, OK. One more song!
♪ Some people think I'm bonkers
♪ But I just think I'm free
♪ Man, I'm just living my life
♪ There's nothing crazy about me...
♪ Bonkers! ♪
CHEERING
MUSIC: Shape Of You by Ed Sheeran
Pretty much all this lot, actually,
have tried to cop off with me at some point,
whether at school, your think tanks.
Right.
That's Josh Fitzmaurice.
He is incredibly available.
Eton, loves a party, clearly.
Oh, he knows Alice, from the Taxpayers' Alliance -
and Oxford, of course.
I think, actually, they used to go out together.
Oh, my God, Hermione Villers.
She is a complete bitch.
She went to Westminster with Josh, and she goes on and on about
how she's a far-back, and she fucking isn't.
"Far-back?" Oh, far-back.
Says her family go far back in history, when they don't.
My father, however, is a peer, and you d...
All right, Rory, you know Rory - Oxford, one of Dom's boys,
Policy Exchange, Vote Leave, that kind of thing.
Do you want me to add you to the WhatsApp?
Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Oh, I don't have your number. Oh, sacrilege!
Here. Put it in.
Don't fake-number me.
I don't think I've never done that in my whole life.
Oh, you will here.
MUFFLED DANCE MUSIC
MUSIC: One More Time by Daft Punk
MUSIC: Easy Love by Sigala
MUSIC DROWNS OUT SPEECH
Where did - where did you say you were from, again?
From D... From Darlington. Darlington, yeah.
Like, you don't know what - where I'm talking about.
No-one goes there.
Just even, like, repatriating power to the North,
like, we used to be, like...
They need to... We need to level up.
They need to be given back control.
Yeah. And I just think, you know, Brexit's our chance to do that.
I feel like places like Darlington could become, like, tech hubs,
and it, you know... Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. Darlington could be, like, the new Cheltenham.
Yes. You know, like...
What it's done for Cheltenham - it was already good, you know...
We have to peg back globalisation, like...
Could you believe those fucking cunts tried to pull down
the statue of Churchill? Yeah.
And essentially, like, "Oh, you're a racist -
"if you don't celebrate, like, every other culture
"other than your own, then sorry, you're a racist."
Like... It's dog shit. It-It's a coup.
We're witnessing a cultural coup.
It's humiliating working people.
Boris doesn't talk down to people.
He's on our side. D'you know what I mean? It's like...
He's amazing, and you could just go to the pub with him, maybe.
I can actually picture my grandad, like, sitting down and having
a pint with Boris, and they would,
like, talk about actual, real things.
Your grandad would've fucking loved Boris.
Boris would've loved your fucking grandad.
He worked in a steel mill.
Your grandad sounds fucking amazing. He was. To your grandad.
Thank you. What a lege.
TEARFULLY: Like, sorry, but I have moved on.
Like, I just want to, like, have fun and live my life.
Yeah. Maybe we should stop drinking now.
Does it taste... taste nice? What?
Boris's massive... penis.
Oh, fuck off. What the fuck?
...Penis. You're such a prick. I don't...
WHISPERING: I don't fucking suck up to Boris. Fuck off.
We see him for, like, once a week, maybe,
like, we can get him to focus for, like, eight, nine seconds?
We still don't have any PPE. We haven't got enough.
And fucking Track or Trace is a total fucking fuck-up.
I know, I know.
Yeah, and all you want to do is talk about Festival of Brexit.
Rory, he wants it delivered.
He's Prime Minister and...
You're constantly up his arse. It's fucking...
Mate... It's fucking pathetic. ...fuck off.
No, you fuck off. Fuck off. Fuck off.
You fuck off. No, you tell him to fuck...
Don't fucking touch me.
Fuck off! Actually fuck off.
You've gotta stop. OK, OK, OK, OK, OK.
He's in my face! Don't, don't...
I'm sorry, he's in my face the entire fucking time.
He's telling me I'm up Boris's fucking arse. That's bollocks.
We can all agree that you're up Boris's arse.
It's not even a criticism. Stop goading him!
MUSIC: Praise You by Fatboy Slim
THEY VOCALISE
VOCALISING CONTINUES
VOCALISING INTENSIFIES
VOCALISING CONTINUES
Oh, my God. Oh...
VOMITING CONTINUES
DISTANT DOGS BARKING
When Ruby's cancer had returned
and we knew she was going to die,
she couldn't see anybody.
The rules were very, very strict.
And I actually said to her at that point, "There are...
"There are friends of yours, your grandparents,
"they would so love to see you.
"I'm sure if we asked them, they would come and see you,"
even though at that point, it wasn't allowed.
There was no socialising allowed.
You weren't allowed to have anybody in your house.
But actually, Ruby said...
She said, "No, it's...
"The rules are there for a reason. We're not taking that risk.
"I know I'm going to die,
"but I don't want to take anyone with me."
She had to say goodbye to them on Zoom.
And so, on the 15th of May,
she died at home, with just myself
and her father, and her sister with her.
OK. Well, maybe that's something we could say is, you know,
two metres is id-ideal. No, I think that's implied.
Just one metre-plus, I think.
The-The "plus" implies it, I think. Yeah. Yeah.
Down from - two metres was the minimum,
and that's no longer the minimum, that's the ideal.
But that's not the minimum. So, erm... I don't know, just,
one metre-plus is the key messaging we've been given,
so let's just stick with that.
HE SIGHS
So...
...just to confirm...
...someone's been dancing on my desk?
Erm...
HE STAMMERS
I mean, I...
Grace?
I think just, just a drink. Yeah.
End of the day, drink wind-down...
...seeing the state of play for tomorrow sort of situation.
What was an office is now a shithole.
Yeah, I'm so sorry, I am...
I don't know what to say, this is...
This is awful. This is shocking.
I mean, we-we'll get over this and we'll, erm, find out.
Yeah, I can go and...
Get someone to clean it up.
Mm-hm. Yeah.
Well, off you go. Yes. Thank you.
DOOR SHUTS
WHISPERING: God, it was genuinely like being told off at
the headmaster's office. SHE EXHALES
WHISPERING: Why is it us?
Why did we go in there? I don't know.
I have to go. Just remember.
What happens in Number 10...
...stays in Number 10. OK.
"Hi.
"PM birthday today.
"Have organised sandwiches
"and cake for around 1pm in the Cabinet Room.
"Do you mind letting peeps know?"
Ooh!
"Will do."
SHE GASPS
IN FRENCH
Yeah?
So, are we - we're having another party today?
No, it's a working lunch, on the PM's birthday.
So, do we get to hang out with Boris?
We do.
THEY LAUGH
CHEERING ♪ Happy birthday to you
ALL: # Happy birthday to you
♪ Happy birthday, dear Boris
♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪
CHEERING
BORIS JOHNSON: I'm really humbled, greatly, deeply, erm...
...lots of everything that... LAUGHTER
...you should've gathered in this way for this morale-boosting...
Hear, hear! THEY CHEER
It is a morale-boosting work event.
I-I suppose this is your doing, isn't it, my dear?
Shush. Quiet, all of you. LAUGHTER
I do think...
...the spirit that we are gathered in today is very much at odds
with the kind of spirit we are seeing not too far from here,
at the statue of Winston Churchill,
where protesters and -
yobbos would be my description for them -
where they threatened to deface and destroy the statue
of Winston Churchill.
Just as, erm, our great leader, Churchill, led the nation,
he was a beacon at our most perilous time, our darkest hour,
I do feel an incumbency upon myself, at this time,
where we face different, but-but perilous challenges.
I believe, with every fibre of my being, that I-I must do...
...I-I must...
...I must do, erm, that, er, as well.
Hear, hear. Cheers. Well said.
Well done. Well done. CLAPPING
ALL: # For he's a jolly good fellow
♪ For he's a jolly good fellow
♪ For he's a jolly good fellooow
♪ And so say all of us
♪ For he's a jolly good fellow, For he's a jolly good fellow
♪ For he's a jolly good fellooow
♪ And so say all of us! ♪
CHEERING
No, don't praise me, I'll become unbearable.
Never! LAUGHTER
CAR HORNS BEEPING So, it was my birthday two days ago,
and I'm really sad because I wasn't able to have a party,
as the UK is still very much in lockdown.
But I'm told to go on the balcony,
and two of my best friends are beeping, and they're in my road,
they're driven a really long way to come and see me.
And we had a socially distanced meet-up with,
Yasmin on the laptop, as she's up in Manchester
and it's way too far to come.
It was so lovely.
And hey, a lockdown birthday isn't so bad if you have
amazing friends like mine.
Made my day so special.
MUFFLED BAGPIPES PLAYING
BAGPIPES ON PHONE
BAGPIPES PLAY "HAPPY BIRTHDAY"
People had been locked in their homes for months.
And finally, COVID deaths had begun to drop.
So, in June, the boss decided it was time to start
relaxing the lockdown laws.
BORIS JOHNSON: Good evening.
From the 4th of July, the following premises will be
allowed to reopen, provided they are COVID-secure.
Restaurants and cafes.
Bars. Pubs.
And, of course, it goes without saying they should do so in a way
that is COVID-secure,
keeping customers and staff safe.
At all times, you should maintain social distancing from anyone
outside your household.
This obviously requires everyone to act responsibly,
which I have no doubt they will do.
But, as people took advantage of the new freedoms,
COVID cases started to rise.
The last two days, it's been almost 3,000 cases per day.
People have relaxed too much.
Now is the time for us to re-engage and realise that
this is a continuing threat to us.
We've got to change this now.
We've got to start taking it seriously, very seriously again.
Coronavirus is now spreading faster through England
than the Government's own worst-case scenario...
...10,000 cases a day.
Now, that is potentially very scary.
Today's figures will increase pressure on the Government
for wider national restrictions.
BORIS: We cannot lockdown again.
Lockdown was a dreadful, appalling, horrible mistake.
We cannot go there again.
Dom and the boss weren't really talking any more.
And if they were, it was to have a row.
I should be like the mayor of Jaws, keeping the beaches open.
Dom Cummings says he was saying that,
but it's not been confirmed.
...set of circumstances would be...
Anyway, deaths kept rising.
I-I think to revisit that set of circumstances...
In the end, he had no choice.
No responsible Prime Minister can ignore
the message of those figures.
And, unless we act, we could see deaths in this country
running at several thousand a day.
And so, now is the time to take action,
because there is no alternative.
Stay at home, protect the NHS,
and save lives.
The boss wasn't happy about the national lockdown.
We got the feeling he'd been pushed into it by Dom Cummings.
Infighting at the heart of Government spilled out into
the public eye this week,
as Dominic Cummings left Downing Street.
And one night in November, things finally came to the boil.
...Propelled out of the door after
a power struggle that erupted publicly,
and left Downing Street in turmoil.
MUFFLED CHEERING
CHANTING: Boris! Boris! Boris!
Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris!
We must cope and adapt to the Lee Cain and, indeed,
Dominic Cummings-shaped holes...
THEY CHEER ...in-in our midst.
I do think that what humanity, yes, humanity really does need
at this moment is a nation that is willing to throw off
its Clark Kent spectacles...
LAUGHTER
...and dive into the nearest phone booth and emerge,
yes, emerge with its cloak flowing
as the supercharged champion.
I-I should add, I think this is probably the most
unsocially distanced party
in the country right now. LAUGHTER
I thank you for your morale and dedication,
and long may it continue. Bravo.
MUFFLED CHEERING
MUFFLED CHANTING: Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris!
MUSIC: The Winner Takes It All by Abba
KNOCK ON DOOR
SHE SHOUTS: He's got the sack!
I can tell you're devastated. Absolutely.
SHE LAUGHS
Gracie, sorry, Gracie, can you help me get a bit more booze?
Yeah? I think we're running a little bit dry. Yeah.
Gracie.
MUFFLED MUSIC: The Winner Takes It All, by Abba
MUSIC CONTINUES
"Dear sirs and madams..."
Hm.
"..I'm writing to express our concern about
"recent parties in the building."
"Recent gatherings...
"Custodians...
"Our concern that these...
"..events are creating an actual COVID hazard
"for Number 10 staff.
"The custodians request...
"..that all meetings be...
"..concluded by 8.07."
"I'm writing to express our concern about staff staying late
"in the building.
"We are concerned about the noise levels within Number 10 at night,
"and ask you to respect that 9pm is the latest
"that anyone should be here.
"Please refrain from staying any later.
"Yours sincerely, Michael Port."
MUFFLED MUSIC CONTINUES
SILENCE
We had the phone call to say that
it could be...
...it could be hours, or it could be days,
but there was nothing else they could do for my gran.
Being told to stay at home,
"You've got to stay at home."
And I remember seeing Boris saying,
"You must stay at home."
I couldn't go and see her.
And my gran died of COVID.
She caught COVID in her care home, and she died alone.
And that breaks my heart.
If I could go back,
I would've gone to see my gran...
...if I knew now what happened.
BORIS: You do me proud, but, erm...
We are all here to say - and we've got Cleo,
Cleo Watson with us. CHEERING
We wish you well. Thank you, Cleo. Cleo!
CHEERING
So, leaving dos, birthdays, Christmas...
Yeah, lovely weather.
Is there anything that we don't have a party for?
International Workers' Day?
Putin's birthday. Oh, Lent.
Veganuary. THEY LAUGH
A-A gracefulness, which, of course, earned you the name The Gazelle.
The Gazelle!
Are you going to go to the Christmas quiz on the 15th? Mm!
Oh, I don't think I've been invited to the...
Oh, no, I think everyone's invited, actually, yeah, check your messages.
OK. Can we be a team for the quiz, then?
Where did you go to school?
Er, Durham Cathedral.
Yeah, that'll do, that'll do.
BORIS: ..A cavernous void where your wonderful...
LOUD THUD Oh, my God!
The fuck is that?
It's a wine fridge.
EXCITED GASPS
It fits 34 bottles.
142 quid. Let's get it, get it...
This is very heavy. OK.
INDISTINCT WHISPERING
"..And, depending on how full it gets,
"we can put Friday's cheese in there.
"Looking forward to a chilled WTF."
"Wine Time Fridays."
Wine Time Fridays were built into the Downing Street calendar.
And when the fridge arrived,
everyone started getting really excited about Christmas.
"A-Team.
"Do you want to participate
"in press office Secret Santa?"
"We will do gift exchange and cheese,
"and lots of wine on 18th December."
"And the people in Wellbeing Group
"have arranged a Christmas quiz
"on the 15th.
More and more countries are
applying travel bans with the UK, after it reported a more infectious
and out-of-control variant of coronavirus.
Denmark, Italy, and...
The boss said he was going to relax COVID restrictions for Christmas.
EU ambassadors will meet for...
The problem was, we had a new variant,
and deaths were back up to around 500 people a day.
BORIS: We don't want to, as I say,
to ban Christmas, to-to cancel it.
And I think that would be, frankly, inhuman,
and against the instincts of many people in this country.
We did go ahead with the Christmas quiz.
Some teams were online and some were in various offices.
And we got to sit with the boss.
BORIS: You've excelled yourself with the names.
Hands, Face, Space, the Six Masketeers,
Team Next Slide Please,
er, the PPE All Stars.
So, let's test you out with some of these.
OK, complete the line.
"It's Christmas-time.
"There's no need to be afraid. ♪ It's Christmas-time...
"At Christmas-time, we let in light, and we...?"
♪ Banish aid? ♪
Not aid. Aid? Banish aid? We don't banish aid.
Banishing aid? LAUGHTER
Carpe diem...
Oh! Erm...
Oh! Oh, my God. Sorry.
Quam, quam, quam minimum credula... postero?
Is it that one? I just loved the way you pronounced that.
That was such a flourish, such flair. Thank you very much.
I-I could imagine that being sung by Dean Martin,
such was the, er, yes...
Bravo! Bravo!
The 15th of December
was the day of Susan's funeral.
Only eight family members were permitted to attend.
Ordered to sit two metres apart.
We couldn't view Susan before the ceremony.
We couldn't dress her.
We couldn't place cherished keepsakes with her.
Everything was sealed.
And that's all we could do,
or I could - was allowed to do.
After having a cherished life together for 47 years,
it was all condensed into a final goodbye
in 20 minutes.
It's quite simply abhorrent.
People were confused about whether or not COVID laws
were changing for Christmas.
Josh was replying to questions from the public.
Hi there.
Can a Christmas party be held in a workplace
at the end of a working day, with staff members only?
"Hi.
"Although there are exemptions for work purposes,
"you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party..."
Oh, my God.
"..where that's primarily social activity,
"and is not otherwise permitted. Thanks."
I wanted to explain...
We actually had three parties that night.
Steve Higham had his leaving do...
Captain Higham! Let's have it right, Captain Higham!
...the head of the civil service, Simon Case, had his quiz night...
...and the head of the COVID task force had sent out
40 invitations to her leaving do.
"We'd love it if you could join us for a COVID-secure drink."
The intention is to follow the social-distancing guidance
by observing a one-way system, social distancing,
and any other precautionary measures.
♪ I'll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
♪ So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
♪ I wanna ha, I wanna ha, I wanna ha, I wanna ha
♪ I wanna really, really, really wanna zigazig ah... ♪
♪ And I'll miss your ginger hair
♪ And the way you like to dress
♪ Oh, won't you come on over?
♪ Stop making a fool out of me
♪ Valerie... ♪
CHEERING
I had, like, the most amazing...
Which one's... which one's that?
Oh, my God.
It's quite hard to tell...
My head was just like...
Oh, is that...? I think it's vegan.
Am I the only one who's, am I...?
I'm the only one who's staying in London?
I think so, yeah. I don't know, I'm...
Alice hasn't been back home since two of her dogs died
this year, didn't they? Oh, no...
LAUGHTER
That is so mean, George.
So, Grace, even if we...
Even if we, erm, don't lock down, are you staying in London?
I don't know.
We've also - we've...
We've also been doing this, so it just makes me a bit...
...And I would just be so worried. The house is enormous.
You know, I won't even be in the same room...
Yeah. I'm going...
LAUGHTER
It's an estate, actually, but, yeah.
Are you in Hampshire? No.
SAMANTHA: I was working in Manchester as a very junior doctor
when the pandemic hit.
I have a stepson who's very vulnerable.
But eat... egg boiling...
I can't finally eat eggs,
because it's too tricky!
So, I moved out to a hotel in Manchester,
and lived there for about ten weeks.
I didn't see any of my family or my friends.
Look!
I didn't say goodbye to him, because he wasn't there,
cos we were trying to protect him...
...from me being at work.
Those first couple of months were just...
It was awful.
I think there was one weekend where,
the one Saturday night, I lost five patients in two hours.
If I wasn't at work, I was in a hotel room.
And the rest of the time, it was the high-dependency COVID patients.
Right, you coming?
What are you doing?
I'm just going to clean up a little bit.
Why?
Erm, you know, we-we've really made a mess,
so I think it's good to just clean up.
This isn't your job.
I know, but, you know, I-I don't think it's fair.
Sorry?
I don't think it's fair to the cleaners.
To clean? No, if we just don't clean up after ourselves.
So, I really don't - I really don't mind doing it.
Tomorrow night is going to be huge.
And, yeah, there are cabs downstairs.
I don't mind doing it.
You guys go. Honestly, it's fine.
Mm-hm.
OK.
Well, enjoy.
OK.
MUTTERING: She's always so weird.
Bye. Bye.
CHEERING
Four years on from the Brexit vote,
we were still trying to work out
what the border between the EU and Britain was going to look like.
There's no border between, erm,
Islington, or Camden and Westminster.
There's no border between Camden and Westminster.
But when I was Mayor of London,
we, anaesthetically and invisibly,
took hundreds of millions of pounds
from the accounts of people travelling between
those two boroughs without any need for border checks whatever,
there are all sorts of...
Come on, you can't compare two boroughs of London with
the kinds of difference in the arrangements that would be
in place between the UK... No, I think, I think...
...I think it's a very relevant comparison.
People were confused by the boss's idea
for an invisible smart border in Ireland.
Without a deal on this, we were going to be crashing out of the EU
in 13 days' time.
We'd been looking into how the smart border was going to operate.
Grace, where are we on smart borders?
Erm...
...so I've been talking to the guys at the Policy Exchange, and...
...they just haven't been able to point to anywhere that actually
has a smart border.
So, so, like, it's like borders 2.0.
OK? So it's like borders, which embraces...
Don't write that down. ...innovation.
Well, they just haven't got, you know, they just haven't got,
like, customs posts or, like, cameras and stuff. Yeah.
It's like a fully joined-up approach to border design.
Yes. Yeah. I mean, I-I feel like they're just smart...
They're smart. ..smart borders. Stop saying "smart borders".
Doesn't mean anything. Frictionless.
So, it's literally a case of just, like... What?
It's innovative, erm... border tech.
Yeah, they're primed to flex to changing circumstances
using technology.
What technology?
I don't actually know.
I think, leave that to the tech guys.
What - essentially, what I'm going with is just a case of, like,
scanning and, erm...
Yeah, tap in, tap out. Yeah, it's, it's...
What, like, you want like an Oyster card?
Can I just confirm that Big Ben's going to bong on the 31st?
Oh, my God. No, no, we're not talking about Big Ben.
Because, on actual Brexit Day this year... No, thank you,
we are not talking about Big Ben again. ..it only bonged once.
And it wasn't even a real bong. It was a light display...
You and your obsession with bonging Bens!
It's got nothing to do with anything.
Can we get back to the subject of this meeting? It was...
It was a projection. Thank you. It was a projection.
I'm just saying... the boss would like an update.
Right, come here! No, Sarah, we're in the middle of a meeting.
Wine Time Friday? Yes!
No, I'm sorry, we're in the middle of a meeting. At last.
Look, we're getting absolutely nowhere and it's 4pm,
so we know what that is.
GRACE: But we also need to sort it.
It's not going to get sorted, we need - we do need to sort it.
And the first prize...
...for the Best Dressed SpAd of the Year, 2020,
goes to, perhaps inevitably, the...
I-It's for Eleanor, there you go.
LAUGHTER
There you go, Eleanor.
CHEERING
MUSIC: Last Christmas by Wham!
ALL: # But the very next day, you gave it away... ♪
MUSIC: Fairytale of New York by The Pogues
ALL: # ..Singing Galway Bay
♪ And the bells are ringing out for Christmas Day... ♪
MUSIC: Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley
MUSIC: Music Sounds Better With You by Stardust
Jeez!
ALARM BLARES
MUFFLED MUSIC PLAYS
MUSIC: Dance Wiv Me by Dizzee Rascal
Has anyone triggered an alarm?
Oh, it's fine, just have fun!
Relax! Alice, Alice, Alice...
THEY MOUTH
...You need to fuck off him, Alice!
You need to get the fuck off him. OK, OK, OK.
Sue Gray doesn't say what happened next,
so we don't know what the police officer did or was said.
But officers from the Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Unit
were here at Downing Street 24 hours a day,
all through the lockdowns.
And it is believed that there's CCTV cameras inside Downing Street,
and there is evidence that Sue Gray gave the police,
over 300 photographs from the various parties, so...
It was just such a frenzy. Honestly, I wouldn't go...
Cos honestly, I think she's slightly unhinged...
Oh! Mate, we've...
Honestly, mate, we can just get -
we'll get cleaners.
IN FRENCH
BORIS JOHNSON:
...to protect the people of this country.
Emphasise "heavy heart".
That's clear...
No, no, no, it's perfect. ...all very good.
Are you a natural blonde? I really have no idea.
OK.
Good afternoon, everybody, and thank you for joining
the latest coronavirus press conference.
As Prime Minister, it's my duty to take difficult decisions,
to do what is right to protect the people of this country.
It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you,
we cannot continue with Christmas as planned.
The boss was not happy with the PR train wreck
of his cancelled Christmas.
He decided he wanted an American-style press secretary
to handle the media.
And we were asked to sit in on rehearsals before
she went live to the nation.
We were supposed to lob in random questions,
so she could practise her answers.
SHE CHUCKLES
I went home. LAUGHTER
Hold on, hold on. Erm...
Er, ah...
Don't answer that.
What's the answer?
Is cheese and wine all right?
It was a business meeting!
LAUGHTER
Is this recorded?
This fictional party - it was a business meeting.
And it was not socially distanced.
Erm, one more, and then, we'll, one more...
Ask - anybody have any questions today?
INTERVIEWER: So, did you go home for Christmas?
I...no.
So, who'd you spend it with?
I was just on my own.
I was...
To be honest, I was really worried about giving it to my mum and dad.
So, it was about the 27th of December.
Erm...
I've come home from work, I've gone to the garden,
and the police was there.
My niece was having a gathering in the shed,
away from the house.
Erm, the police asked me for my details and I gave them my details.
And then, I ended up with a £14,300 fine.
Like, I've never seen £14,300 in my life.
Like, probably I could work for a year and probably potentially
could make that amount of money.
But I've never seen 14,300, and I haven't got it.
I don't know where that's going to come from.
And wh-what scares me the most is the fact that, potentially,
I could spend three months in prison for that.
LAUGHING Hold on, hold on...
It definitely wasn't meant for public consumption,
but Allegra's rehearsal video was doing the rounds inside Number 10.
Er, I, er...
I was just rewatching... Allegra.
Yeah, I don't really think she answered everything.
Erm, I know it's not really my department...
Well, I think that ship sailed, so...
Thank you.
Do you want to...?
Close it? Yeah.
OK.OK.Yeah. NERVOUS CHUCKLING
The new variant was 70% more transmissible.
And, by the start of January,
1,000 people a day were dying.
The boss had no other option but a third national lockdown.
BORIS: We now have a new variant of the virus,
and it's been both frustrating and alarming to see
the speed with which the new variant is spreading.
We must therefore go into a national lockdown
which is tough enough to contain this variant.
That means the Government is once again
instructing you to stay at home.
They released a new ad campaign to make sure people got the message.
It was on the 14th of January, 2021.
I organised a snowball fight on Facebook at the local park.
A few days later, police were at my door.
They were like, "OK, yeah, we're going to issue you
"with a £10,000 fine."
So... Sorry, how much?
£10,000.
Erm...
Yeah, I-I actually don't know what to do, really.
I've not being given any support or guidance, or anything.
Just been chased.
Yeah. I don't know what to do. I genuinely don't.
CHANTING: Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris! Boris!
CHANTING CONTINUES
CHEERING
BORIS: I always feel humbled by, er, by such greetings.
I consider that your reaction is a microcosm of the reaction
of the nation itself. WHISPERING: What are you doing?
I'm tired.
What? Don't be so silly.
It's, he's...
He's going to finish rambling in a minute.
You know, we're having a drink. Yeah, I-I'm going to go.
Why, what's wrong? What's wrong?
Are you all right?
Those who were left, are frankly...
SHE WHISPERS: Crazy.
Look, this is fine.
We are allowed to have a drink. It-It's...
We're just letting off steam.
We are here every single day, slogging our guts out.
Look, the...
OK, I don't want to sound patronising, but...
...people need boundaries.
They...
They respond well to boundaries.
And it's our job to give them those boundaries.
That is what we are doing.
Bu-But they are not...
They're not meant for us.
BORIS CONTINUES
It's our job to make the rules,
but it's not up to us to follow those rules. It just...
It's just not realistic.
You do you get that?
...And this is a girl who can...
SHE WHISPERS: You're one of us now.
It's OK. SHE CHUCKLES
...We are to get them right!
ALL: Hear, hear! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
Come on.
Thank you, Boris!
Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow.
CHEERING CONTINUES
We have just received a statement from Buckingham Palace
confirming that the Duke of Edinburgh has died.
Prince Philip had died.
The night before his funeral, we had two parties.
Upstairs, there was a leaving do for James Slack...
To James! ALL: To James!
CHEERING
...and down in the basement,
Shelley Williams-Walker was throwing down a DJ set
for the cool people.
♪ I'm never gonna dance again
♪ Guilty feet have got no rhythm... ♪
Shelley was the boss's head of operations.
She followed him around
and made sure he didn't make any PR blunders.
Back in Downing Street, she was the cool DJ.
Sue Gray doesn't actually say that I actually DJd at this party.
Erm, and the real me hasn't commented.
But it's been widely reported that they called me "DJ SWW".
And the Mirror and the Telegraph said that I was
in charge of the music.
No comment.
Anyway, whatevs.
There was definitely music. SHE LAUGHS
ALL: # I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before
♪ I get a good feeling... ♪
Do you think people knew it was wrong?
No.
MUSIC: Good Feeling by Flo Rida
Excuse me.
I need everybody in the garden now!
Could you go outside, please, to the garden?
What?!
There are too many people in here!
I'm just saying, if I can touch this many people,
you know what I mean?
I really touch people with my music...
...and could I make a go of it?
Do you know what I mean?
Cos, OK, I have done mainly children's parties,
but, you know, six-year-olds respond to my set, as well,
like, if it's... LOUD SNAP
Hey! Wahey!
SCATTERED CHEERING Thank you, everyone.
Oh, my God, Wilf is going to have a meltdown!
SCATTERED LAUGHTER
Wilf is going to go crazy.
He's going to have you all beheaded.
INDISTINCT CHATTER
Do you... do you think we should go back inside and get another drink?
I think it's... EXCITED CHATTER
♪ ..Guilty feet have got no rhythm
♪ But it's easy to pretend... ♪
Oh. We'll go in there.
OK, we've had a call to say there's a party at this location.
I'll be reporting you all for breaching COVID conditions, OK?
You're not under arrest, but I'm going to caution you, OK?
So, you don't have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you
do not mention now something which you later rely on in court, OK? OK.
MUSIC: Careless Whisper by George Michael
It's definitely not in the Gray Report...
But, to be fair, widely reported.
Yeah, we were actually in The Times.
Although I think it first emerged
in Paul Brand's ITN podcast?
Oh, that was such a good podcast.
Yeah, it was really cool.
It was so good.
MUFFLED MOANING
Hugh texted me the other day.
Did you meet him?
No, I don't think so.
Leaky Hugh.
He was the one who had to resign...
...after, I think it was two weeks,
because he was disloyal.
No. I don't think anyone was talking to me then.
Hm.
Well, I don't think he's found anything.
Because people who...
...talk to journalists -
I mean, all of us talk to journalists, that's...
But people who talk to the wrong journalists,
unhelpful ones, disloyal ones...
...Grace, they just, they don't work again.
I mean, not people like Govie.
They're so slippery, they always seem to land on their feet,
I mean, but for people like us...
Look, this lot, they just make you pay a price
if you ever cross them.
Yeah. What happens in Number 10 stays in Number 10.
Yes.
Because if any of us talk,
they'll just see us for what we are, right?
Like, they'll see that...
...we're just taking the piss out of them,
the people who actually follow the rules, they'd see that
those same rules don't apply to people like us, or...
...actually, people like you.
SHAKY BREATHING And they'd...
...they'd probably wonder why that was.
Do you think?
How did the truth about these parties come out?
Do you know?
Erm...
I don't work at Number 10 anymore.
I'm not sure how much more I can say.
COMPUTER CHIMES
IN FRENCH
To be honest, we were confused,
unable to say what this white powder was.
But The Guardian newspaper reported that it was found,
along with some old plastic bags, the morning after the party.
We were pleased to dispose of it
and restore the Number 10 Downing Street to its usual shipshape.
Well, last night, ITV News obtained video of a mock press conference
that was chaired by Stratton last December.
TEARFULLY: Can you stop, please? Can you stop?
I'm going to make a statement. You don't...
Erm, the British people have made immense sacrifices in
the ongoing battle against COVID-19.
I now fear that my comments in
the leaked video of the 20th of December last year
have become a distraction in that fight.
My remarks seemed to make light of the rules -
rules that people were doing everything to obey.
That was never my intention.
I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days,
and this afternoon,
I am offering my resignation to the Prime Minister.
Thanks for your time.
I have been repeatedly assured that there was no party.
I can tell you, once again, that I certainly broke no rules.
I want, I want to repeat that, er, I thought it was a work event.
Will the Prime Minister tell the House whether there was
a party in Downing Street on the 13th of November?
No, but I'm sure that - whatever happened,
the guidance was followed,
and the rules were followed at all times.
Let me begin, in all humility,
by saying... JEERING
...that on the 12th of April,
I received a fixed penalty notice relating to an event
in Downing Street on the 19th of June, 2020.
I paid the fine immediately,
and I offer the British people a full apology.
And I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day
to repeat my wholehearted apology to the House.
I know that people around the country will look at those events
and think they look like the very kind of events that we,
or I were forbidding to everyone else.
It was not a large social gathering, it was, it was...
...it was a gathering intended -
and I really must insist on this point.
People who say that we were partying in lockdown,
simply do not know what they are talking about.
Subtitles by Red Bee Media