THE Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced calls to "come clean" after a shock video last night emerged showing Downing Street staff laughing about an alleged Christmas party.

Leaked footage from Number 10's £2.6m press briefing room emerged which showed former press secretary Allegra Stratton laughing.

In the video, first revealed by ITV News, Stratton appears to rehearse answers to mock questions about a lockdown-busting Christmas party.

Read more: Downing Street Christmas Party: Boris Johnson to face questions after new statement

The video, reported to be from December 22 last year, refers to a party on “Friday” – which would have been December 18.

This was the same day The Daily Mirror reported there was a staff party where games were played, food and drinks were served, and revelries went on past midnight.

See the video here

Number 10 denied any parties took place

Number 10 initially did not say the reports were inaccurate but said all rules had been followed, before later denying any party had taken place.

But the emergence of the video is likely to put the PM under increasing pressure as he faces Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

The challenge for Downing Street was laid bare by no Cabinet minister being offered to represent the Government in morning broadcast interviews, and there were questions over whether a suggested press conference to mark one year since the first coronavirus vaccine was delivered would go ahead.

Ministers pull out of interviews after video emerges

As well as Health Secretary Sajid Javid pulling out of national interviews, vaccines minister Maggie Throup is understood to have pulled out of a planned round of regional television interviews.

Labour’s shadow foreign secretary David Lammy called on the Prime Minister to “come clean” with the British public.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “It really is quite unacceptable that this is seen as something that is sort of humorous, or something that isn’t serious, or something that suggests that there can be one rule for a Prime Minister and those in Number 10 and another rule for the British public.”

Former Health Secretary Matt Hancock told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “What I know is that the Prime Minister said that no rules were broken. And nobody’s suggesting that he was at this party.”

Fears rules will not be taken seriously

But a former chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs has said the Government is likely to now find it “almost impossible” to introduce “very proscriptive” Covid restrictions due to the saga.

Sir Charles Walker, MP for Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, told Times Radio: “I think now that, going forward, any measures will be advisory. I think it would be very difficult to enshrine them in law and then once again ask our poor police forces to enforce them.”

He added: “To be very proscriptive about this now, particularly as we’ve had such a successful vaccine rollout… is much more difficult, and was always going to be much more difficult. And the events of the last 24 hours make it probably almost impossible now.”

Asked about the row, NHS England medical director Stephen Powis told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “It’s important the public follow the guidelines, I think they have done that magnificently.”

What happens in the video

In the footage obtained by ITV News, Ms Stratton and adviser Ed Oldfield, along with other aides, were filmed joking about a “fictional” Downing Street party.

Mr Oldfield can be heard asking Ms Stratton: “I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognise those reports?”

Ms Stratton replied “I went home” before appearing to consider what the correct answer should be.

During the rehearsal, filmed as part of a subsequently-abandoned plan for Ms Stratton to lead televised press briefings, one aide is heard saying: “It wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine.”

“Is cheese and wine all right? It was a business meeting,” Ms Stratton replied, to laughter in the room.

Ms Stratton then noted “this is recorded”, adding: “This fictional party was a business meeting … and it was not socially distanced.”

'Covid rules have been followed at all times'

In response to ITV’s report, a Downing Street spokesman said: “There was no Christmas party. Covid rules have been followed at all times.”

Ministers are yet to explain how the alleged bash complied with the rules in place at the time, despite coming under pressure since an initial report in the Daily Mirror.

The newspaper said two events took place in Number 10 in the run-up to the festive season last year, including Mr Johnson giving a speech at a leaving do during November’s lockdown.

The other was said to be the staff party in December.

At the time, the Tier 3 rules explicitly banned work Christmas lunches and parties where it is “a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted”.

The Metropolitan Police confirmed officers are reviewing the leaked video in relation to “alleged breaches” of coronavirus regulations.