Prince William's ex-private secretary hosted two parties during lockdown: report

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tasked Simon Case—Cabinet Secretary and former private secretary to Prince William—to investigate alleged Covid lockdown breaches by politicians last December.

A latest report has claimed that Case's own office hosted two parties during that time.

The report shared by journalist Omid Scobie said Simon Case's office had two parties last December. Citing sources, the report said one party was  was pre-planned and one was impromptu. 

Boris Johnson apologised last week after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking about a party in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID-19 lockdown last year when such festivities were banned.

Hours later the main aide featured in the video, Johnson's press secretary at the time, Allegra Stratton, resigned as an adviser to the prime minister. In a tearful statement, she said she would regret the remarks she made in the video for the rest of her days.

For more than a week, Johnson and his team have repeated that no rules were broken in late 2020 after the Mirror newspaper reported there had been several parties including a wine-fuelled gathering of 40 to 50 people to mark Christmas. 

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth has cancelled a pre-Christmas lunch with her family as a precaution while cases of COVID-19 soar in Britain, a Buckingham Palace source said.

"The decision is a precautionary one as it is felt to put too many people's Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.

"While there is regret that it is cancelled, there is a belief it is the right thing to do for all."

England's chief medical officer warned people on Wednesday not to mix with others unless they have to in the run-up to Christmas after Britain recorded its most daily coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.