Simon Case has been told he must step back from the investigation into alleged parties in Downing Street amid allegations that officials held drinks events in his own office on two occasions last Christmas.
Senior Tory MPs on Friday warned that the Cabinet Secretary would need to “recuse himself” while the latest allegations were investigated, while Labour warned his judgment had now been called “into question”.
Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, went further and called for Mr Case to be suspended pending an investigation.
It came amid claims that an alleged party involving at least 15 people was planned and organised by staff in Mr Case’s private office last December.
According to the Guido Fawkes website, the event involved alcohol and music, and while Mr Case did not participate, a source who claimed to have attended alleged that he was seen “sticking his head into the room to call staff out at various points during the party to talk with them”.
The same source also alleged that a second event took place that month, with staff said to have been drinking in Mr Case’s office before departing to attend an event elsewhere.
Invitation listed as a ‘Christmas party’
A senior Whitehall insider told The Telegraph they had also been told about the events in 70 Whitehall by colleagues.
Meanwhile, The Times reported that one of the events allegedly took place on December 17 in room 103 of the Cabinet Office, and was listed in a digital calendar invitation as a “Christmas party!”
It was reportedly organised by the private secretary in Mr Case’s team.
Both allegedly took place in the days before the alleged Christmas Party took place in Number 10 on December 18, which is now the subject of Mr Case’s investigation, along with three more alleged gatherings in November and December.
At the time of the controversy, the public were subject to draconian Covid-19 restrictions on household mixing and prohibited from holding parties.
A Cabinet Office spokesman told Politico that the allegations were “categorically untrue”.
While The Telegraph is still awaiting comment, a source also insisted that no member of the Cabinet Office’s propriety and ethics team, which is leading the investigation into the Downing Street allegations, took part in the alleged events in 70 Whitehall.
However, the explosive claims raise significant questions about the ability of Mr Case to oversee the investigation and will ratchet up political pressure on the Prime Minister at a time when his future is already the subject of mounting speculation.
Describing the allegations as “shocking”, a senior Tory MP said: “He’s the head of the civil service. If that is true then he needs to recuse himself. I’m not often shocked but I am shocked about this.
“Unless the Cabinet Office issues a complete denial he needs to step aside.
“More widely it just goes to show that the entire operation in Downing Street is worryingly chaotic. It really does need to be reformed. We need a strong hand at the tiller.”
‘A culture of turning a blind eye to the rules’
Echoing their comments, a second MP said that until the allegations were disproved categorically, Mr Case would have no option but to step aside.
In a statement, Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, said: “Boris Johnson as Prime Minister has set the tone for the civil service and the rest of Government.
“With each new revelation there is growing evidence of a culture of turning a blind eye to the rules.
“Labour made it clear when the investigation was launched that the person in charge should be uncompromised and able to make a fair and independent judgment. These fresh revelations put that into question.”
Mr Blackford said: “Given the serious nature of the allegations, it would be proper for the Cabinet Secretary to be suspended while the investigation takes place.
“The Cabinet Secretary’s internal investigation cannot be trusted and it must now be scrapped. The public cannot possibly have any confidence in an inquiry led by someone alleged to have been involved in the very matter being investigated.”