Minister insists No 10 did not break Xmas rules, but has ‘no idea’ if party happened

Science minister George Freeman has said that “all the guidance was observed” by Downing Street last year, after accusations that a Christmas party breached Covid guidelines last year.

However George Freeman alleged to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that he had “no idea” if the gathering, which No 10 has not denied, had occurred.

“I have no idea, I wasn’t there – but I was told that all the guidance was observed,” he said. “I am not going to get drawn into who was and wasn’t in a room in Downing Street last year. I wasn’t there.

“I wasn’t there, I can’t tell you what happened at an event I wasn’t at and wasn’t party to but I have checked and I was told by those who were that all the rules were followed.”