A party held at Conservative headquarters in London last year in breach of Covid rules was “unacceptable”, a minister has said.
Grant Shapps said the Tories had disciplined four staff members and warned further action could be taken.
The party was organised by the team of Shaun Bailey, who at the time was running to be London mayor.
Mr Bailey resigned as a committee chair in the London Assembly after the Mirror published a photo of the party.
Responding to the picture, a spokesperson for Mr Bailey’s campaign said: “On the evening of 14 December 2020, at the end of the working day, the campaign hosted a post-work event to thank campaign staff for their efforts over the course of the year.
“This was a serious error of judgement and we fully accept that a gathering like this at that time was wrong and we apologise unreservedly”.
The image shows 24 people including Tory aides and the billionaire Tory donor Nick Candy who can be seen raising a glass of wine.
The event, described as a “raucous” party, was held in the basement of the Conservative’s Westminster head office on 14 December 2020 when coronavirus restrictions banned socialising indoors.
A picture of the party shows 24 people gathered together in a small room, with catered food visible on the side.
Asked about the event, minister Mr Shapps in a interview today with the BC “that scene is absolutely unacceptable” and added that it “was not authorised by the Conservative Party”.
Mr Bailey had been the Conservative candidate in the race to become London mayor but he lost out to Labour’s Sadiq Khan, who secured 55% of the vote compared to Mr Bailey’s 44%.
Following the release of the photograph, a spokesperson for the Greater London Authority Conservatives said Mr Bailey would step down as chair of the police and crime committee, to prevent the “unauthorised social gathering” distracting from the committee’s work of holding the Mayor of London to account.