No 10 aide resigns after Johnson orders party inquiry

Allegra Stratton has resigned as a government adviser and offered her “profound apologies” after footage emerged of her joking about a Downing Street Christmas party while the country was under Covid restrictions.

In the video obtained by ITV News, Ms Stratton joked that a supposed party at No 10 was “was not socially distanced” and suggested passing it off as “a business meeting”.

The former journalist, who was serving as a Cop26 spokesperson, said she would regret the remarks “for the rest of my days”, adding: “To all of you who lost loved ones, who endured intolerable loneliness and who struggled with your businesses, I’m truly sorry.”

It comes as more than half of voters believe Boris Johnson should resign amid claims parties were hosted at No 10 last year. Worryingly for the prime minister, one in three of those who voted Conservative at the last general election in 2019 said he should stand down.