Boris Johnson will clean up Downing Street drinking culture, says minister

Boris Johnson will clean up an "underlying culture" of drinking and rule-breaking in Downing Street in an attempt to salvage his premiership and win back the support of his party, the Conservative chairman has suggested.

Oliver Dowden said the Prime Minister was "contrite" over allegations that staff members held raucous gatherings while Britain was in lockdown, and appeared to confirm reports he was planning reforms that have internally been dubbed "Operation Save Big Dog".

Mr Dowden said the Government plans to "address the kind of culture that has allowed" the reported flouting of coronavirus laws to happen, as he admitted "failings" had taken place in Downing Street throughout the pandemic.

The Sunday Times reported that the Government is planning a series of feel-good announcements in an attempt to win back public support, while senior civil servants including Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s principal private secretary, may be sacked from Downing Street as evidence that change has taken place.

Mr Reynolds has been accused of organising a garden party in Downing Street on May 20, 2020, while the rest of the country was subject to strict Covid measures.

Mr Johnson’s chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, is also thought to be at risk of losing his job.

In the coming weeks the Prime Minister will focus on reducing the NHS backlog and tackling the small boat crossings in the Channel, while freezing the BBC licence fee for two years, it was reported.

He could also put in place a "booze ban" in No 10, bringing an end to the "wine time Fridays" reportedly held by advisers and civil servants every week.

PM 'very contrite and deeply apologetic'

Speaking to the BBC's Sunday Morning programme, Mr Dowden said: "I can assure you the Prime Minister is both very contrite and deeply apologetic for what happened.

"But, more importantly, he is determined to make sure that this can't be allowed to happen and that we address the underlying culture in Downing Street.

"There were failings: we should have done better, much, much better. We need to up our game, and that needs to be addressed, and I know the Prime Minister is committed to addressing that."

Speaking later to Sky News, Mr Dowden added that he did not think the Prime Minister should resign, regardless of the outcome of a civil service inquiry led by Sue Gray, a former head of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office.

The proposed reforms at the heart of Government come after six Tory MPs have said they believe Mr Johnson should resign, while many more are thought to have submitted letters of no confidence to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 committee.

For a leadership contest to be triggered, 54 letters of no confidence in Mr Johnson have to be submitted to Sir Graham, who does not publicly state how many letters he has received.

Reports suggest about 20 might have been handed in, with the backbencher Tim Loughton indicating he could be persuaded to put his own thoughts into writing should the Prime Minister not quit in the "next few days".

"It is not down to a simple government policy change or a sacking of ministers or officials to put things right,” Mr Loughton wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.

"In this case all roads lead back to Downing Street and the person whose name is on the front door."

Boris Johnson has 'lost all authority'

Meanwhile, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer repeated his assertion that Mr Johnson should resign, arguing he had "degraded" the office of Prime Minister and "lost all authority".

Sir Keir said his rival "broke the law" and recommended that Ms Gray's findings be "passed to the police to look at" once finalised.

The Metropolitan Police have said they will hold back on investigating until the review is over.

Mr Dowden, who attends Cabinet as minister without portfolio, said the Government thought the "full extent" of lockdown-busting claims were known about, but that Ms Gray had the power to delve into any further allegations.

The Liberal Democrats have suggested that the House of Commons holds a no-confidence vote in the Prime Minister over the parties.

Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, said such a move would only “galvanise” the Conservatives because critical backbenchers would be forced to either break cover or publicly back Mr Johnson.

At least two Labour MPs have said they would support the vote nonetheless.