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Tobias Ellwood has responded to the latest allegations of a Downing Street party held on Boris Johnson's birthday in 2020 in an exclusive interview with GB News.
Boris Johnson was facing fresh allegations of breaking coronavirus rules after it emerged a gathering to wish him a happy birthday was held inside No 10 during the first lockdown.
Downing Street said staff “gathered briefly” in the Cabinet Room after a meeting, in response to a report from ITV News which suggested up to 30 people attended what it described as a birthday party.
But the broadcaster suggested the Prime Minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, had organised the surprise get-together complete with a chorus of “happy birthday” on the afternoon of June 19 2020, when indoor social mixing was banned.
Conservative MP Tobias Ellwood said: "It's very sad to read these latest headlines.
“The nation is rightly very angry by what has happened.
“It’s all a massive distraction from where we really should be focusing.
“There are both domestic issues, huge challenges nationally but also internationally that require our attention.
"So it is very sad to see this latest twist in quite a horrible series of events rolling out for the last three or four months."
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “A group of staff working in No 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than 10 minutes.”
It came as senior civil servant Sue Gray was working on her inquiry into a series of claims of rule-breaking parties in No 10 as Mr Johnson faces calls to resign as Prime Minister, including from some of his own Conservative MPs.
She was already aware of the birthday party allegations and therefore their emergence will not further delay the publication of her investigation, which is still expected this week.
Social gatherings indoors were forbidden under lockdown laws at the time, with a relaxation of the regulations permitting gatherings of up to six people to take place outside.
Around 17 allegations of rule-breaking events have now been levelled across Downing Street, wider Government and the Tory party.
A spokeswoman for Mrs Johnson declined to comment.