Keir Starmer's adviser attended No10 lockdown ‘party’ that PM blasted

Sir Keir Starmer’s top business adviser reportedly attended a lockdown party at 10 Downing Street.

The accusation comes just days after the Prime Minister made reference to the controversial gathering that rocked Boris Johnson's Government. On Monday, Sir Keir - standing in the rose garden at number 10 - used the incident as an excuse to shame the Tories.

However, it's now being claimed that one of Sir Keir's most senior political aides was at the now infamous 'cheese and wine party'. Varun Chandra was reportedly a guest in No10 on May 15, 2020 - and appears in the background of the controversial photograph, with Boris Johnson and Dominic Cummings, that exposed the incident to a furious British public.

This week, Sir Keir  held an event for frontline workers and ordinary members of the public in the number 10 rose garden. It was here that  Dominic Cummings held a press conference as he tried to explain away his apparent breaches of Covid rules by claiming that he drove nearly 50km to test his eyesight.

At the gathering on Monday, the PM said: “That’s why I wanted to invite you here today. To show [you] that decent, hard-working people who make up the backbone of this country belong here.

"This is a government for you. A garden and a building that were once used for lockdown parties; remember the pictures just over there, of the wine and the food. Well, this garden and this building are now back in your service.”

However, the stunt appears to now have backfired on Sir Keir. He is being accused of "rank hypocrisy and double standards" after The Sun reported that Varun Chandra - who Sir Keir hired last month to liaise with city bosses and big business on behalf of the Government - was at the lockdown bash.

Downing Street declined to comment on The Sun's claims. However, the newspaper quotes sources who say Mr Chandra was attending a meeting with civil service officials in the garden that evening.

This has not placated shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Alex Burghart. He fumed: "This the sort of rank hypocrisy and double standards that we have already come to expect from this dreary government.

“The question now is whether Sir Keir Starmer and Sue Gray, his Partygate inquisitor, knew about it this when Mr Chandra was hired - and what due diligence they did?”

Sue Gray - who investigated the lockdown parties - was later hired by Labour to be the No10 Chief of Staff. Her report found that staff partied in Downing Street while the rest of the UK was in lockdown, with the approval of their bosses.

However, she also said the 'party' referenced by Sir Keir did not breach lockdown rules. She, did, however, say many events "should not have been allowed" and PM Johnson and his officials "must bear responsibility for this culture".  

Express.co.uk has contacted Downing Street for comment.