Senior Downing Street staff have been filmed joking about holding a Christmas party last December when much of the country was in lockdown, the Metro is reporting. In the video, obtained by ITV News, the PM’s then press secretary Allegra Stratton is asked by colleagues about reports of a party, as they rehearse a news conference. In jokey exchanges, she says: “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.” Downing Street continues to insist no party took place but a source told the BBC a party with “several dozen” people did take place days before this footage was shot.