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Boris Johnson’s former deputy chief of staff has reignited the latest Partygate allegations about the former prime minister, saying the scandal risks being the “final nail in the coffin” of his political career.
Cleo Watson, who says she was like a “nanny” to the former prime minister during the Covid lockdown, also gave him just five out of 10 for morality in her first TV interview to launch her new book Whips, a light-hearted bonkbuster set in Westminster.
He warned that “dozens” of more people could face investigations if police decide to launch a new investigation into alleged Covid-19 breaches at Chequers.
Nicknamed the Gazelle because of her graceful 6ft height, she worked alongside Mr Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings and like him, was sacked by Mr Johnson.
Cleao Watson lifts the lid on what it was really like working for Boris Johnson
(The Independent)
In his interview with Independent TV, he talks candidly and revealingly about life inside Number 10 with its tensions, infighting and partying. While criticizing Johnson, he expressed shame at his own police fine for attending a Number 10 party during the Covid lockdown.
He also suggested it would be “respectful” of the Covid-19 pandemic for Mr Johnson to pay his own legal fees now that he earns more than £1m a month from his speeches.
She also:
claimed the former prime minister was “defined by Partygate”, revealed illicit encounters were common at party conferences and warned No 10 was the kind of building where it was hard not to “rub to each other.”
The Partygate scandal erupted again when it emerged that Mr Johnson had been referred to the police over fresh claims he had breached lockdown rules.
The allegations focus on a dozen meetings at number 10 and the Prime Minister’s grace and favor country house, Chequers.
The Cabinet Office sent fresh details to police, sparking feverish speculation about who may have been at the alleged events, including Johnson’s closest allies and his wife Carrie.
Boris’ former aide gives him a moral rating of 5/10
Asked how many people could face a police investigation if an investigation is launched, Watson said the figure could be in the “dozens”.
She said: “It is up to them to decide if they want to investigate this, but they are two different things [police] forces And as I understand it, they are looking at multiple events. So you know, it could be dozens [of people].”
The latest development could be the final blow to Mr Johnson’s political career, he said.
“I think so,” he said. “My view is that he’s making money, he’s writing his books, he’s got a lovely baby on the way, why would he want another political career? But if he does, that’s potentially the final nail in the coffin.”
Describing the man he saw in Downing Street every day, he painted a vivid picture of someone who was “disorganized… an interesting and ambitious character study”.
Asked what the former prime minister would rate out of 10 for morality, she said: “Five.”
And she warned she could never escape the Partygate scandal.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Cleo Watson in Downing Street, London, before a cabinet meeting
(PA)
Mr Johnson was fined by police after stories emerged of parties in No 10 during the lockdown and the resulting furore saw him eventually ousted from his post by his own Tory MPs. An inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray later ruled that there had been a “serious failure” of leadership to meet the “standards expected of the entire British population” during the pandemic.
His long-awaited report also concluded that there was “too little thought” in Johnson’s No 10 about the public health risks the gatherings posed and how they might appear to the public.
Asked about her breaking of the rules, Ms Watson said: “Obviously it’s defined by Partygate, so that’s a pretty obvious part of the rules. But in terms of political rules over the years, it’s challenged at all times, and it has worked for him”.
He also suggested that the former London mayor was a tragic figure.
“I think there’s always something quite tragic about things not working out for someone the way they wanted,” he said.
“Obviously he wanted it badly and yes, that’s hard, but those are his own mistakes.”
Covid had offered him “an opportunity to defy his naysayers and show himself as someone incredibly diligent, hardworking and determined, and so as difficult as it is and I feel for him in that, it must be pretty devastating to be 60 years old. having to reevaluate a lot of your life. But it stops with him.”
Cleo Watson reveals Downing Street is a fun place where peers ‘rub each other’
Ms Watson said she “couldn’t apologize more” for the Downing Street event for which she was also fined by the police. But he said it was a “big shock” to read about instances of events at No 10 when people were “partying, being sick and throwing wine on the walls”.
He suggested Mr Johnson, who has made millions of pounds since leaving office, should pay his own legal fees as part of the parliamentary inquiry into Partygate.
“I think it would be very respectful, especially with these new allegations, if you picked up the bill personally … I think it would be respectful to a lot of grieving families in particular.”
It emerged on Wednesday that Johnson had sacked his government-appointed defense team after the Cabinet Office passed information to the police about the latest alleged breaches.
Watson also suggested that the annual conferences held by political parties each autumn were hotbeds of illicit sex.
There was, he said, “the opportunity” for sex in parliament, adding: “Obviously it has nooks and crannies. There’s alcohol, MPs are late. I mean, sure there’s that kind of opportunities”.
“At every party conference, regardless of party, people make fools of themselves,” he added.
He also described No 10 as a “strange building” in which it was difficult “not to literally rub against each other”. And I think that’s where some of these {Partygate} problems occurred. Perhaps not helped by the culture that is set from the top.”
