DWP staff ‘drank into the night in private offices during lockdown’
Some of these boozy evenings took place while office parties were banned under Covid-19 restrictions.
Special advisors at the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) regularly drank alcohol late into the night throughout the pandemic, it has been revealed.
While people in the UK were stopped from spending Christmas with their families, staff are said to have frequently drank after work and ordered takeaway to Tory minister Therese Coffey’s office.
A report from the Sunday Mirror details how some of these evenings took place while office parties and hospitality were banned under Covid-19 restrictions.
A ‘core team’ of Ms Coffey’s private staff who continued to work from the departmental HQ allegedly carried on the informal soirees until the early hours of the morning – with booze ‘constantly flowing’.
On one occasion, Ms Coffey handed out Christmas presents to her top team, it’s claimed.
The department has confirmed there were times when alcohol was consumed but stressed it took place while work was continuing past normal employment hours.
It comes as pressure mounts on the Tory Party over a number of alleged lockdown-breaking parties in Whitehall and Downing Street.
The DWP late-night gatherings have been branded as ‘yet another grotesque breach’ of restrictions by Scottish MP John Nicolson.
A DWP spokesperson said: ‘Throughout the pandemic, DWP officials have followed government guidance while continuing to deliver vital services for millions of people.
‘Staff worked from home where possible but a core team working directly to the Secretary of State regularly worked from the office, in accordance with the Covid-19 rules as they evolved.
‘The team regularly worked late into the evening and on a number of occasions they ate takeaway food and drank some alcohol. No karaoke took place.
‘On one occasion close to Christmas, the Secretary of State gave gifts to her core team, as she does every year.’
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