U.K. PM apologizes, aide resigns, as scandal over alleged Christmas party intensifies

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday ordered an inquiry and said he was "furious" after a leaked video showed senior members of his staff joking about holding a lockdown-breaching Christmas party.

The video has poured fuel on allegations that government officials flouted coronavirus rules they imposed on everyone else.

"I understand and share the anger up and down the country" at staff members seeming to make light of lockdown rules, Johnson said.

"I was also furious to see that clip," he told lawmakers in the House of Commons. "I apologize unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country, and I apologize for the impression it gives."

For days, the prime minister's office has been trying to rebut reports that Johnson's staff held a December 2020 office party — complete with wine, food, games and a festive gift exchange — when pandemic regulations banned most social gatherings.

According to multiple British media outlets, the party took place on Dec. 18, when restrictions in London prohibited most indoor gatherings, and a day before Johnson tightened the rules even further, ruling out family Christmas celebrations for millions of people.

The video, recorded on Dec. 22, 2020, and aired late Tuesday by broadcaster ITV, shows then-press secretary Allegra Stratton appearing to joke about an illicit party at the prime minister's Downing Street office.

The recording appears to be a mock news conference, held as a rehearsal for televised daily government media briefings.

Another aide, playing a journalist, says: "I've just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognize those reports?"

As laughter is heard, Stratton, the press secretary, says: "I went home," and asks colleagues: "What's the answer?" Another voice can be heard saying: "It wasn't a party, it was cheese and wine."

"Is cheese and wine all right? It was a business meeting," a laughing Stratton says.

Addressing the media outside her home on Wednesday, Stratton apologized, stating that she "will regret those remarks for the rest of my days."

For several days, Johnson's spokespeople have insisted that no party was held and no rules were broken. But on Wednesday, Johnson said he had ordered Britain's top civil servant, Simon Case, to investigate. He said anyone found to have broken the rules would be disciplined.

Thousands of people in Britain have been fined since early 2020 for breaking restrictions by holding illegal gatherings. London's Metropolitan Police force said officers were reviewing the leaked video in relation to "alleged breaches" of coronavirus regulations.