What the papers say – January 15

The Guardian carries Downing Street’s apology to the Queen after it was revealed government staff held two parties the night before she buried her husband. The paper also writes that Conservative MPs will hold crisis talks over the weekend amid mounting public outrage over lockdown-busting party allegations.

The Daily Mirror reports No10 staff held “weekly wine time Fridays” while the rest of the nation was under strict lockdown.

The “raucous bash” which was held on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral and prompted Mr Johnson’s apology to the Queen had involved Downing Street staff hauling “a suitcase full of wine” into No10 and resulted in revellers breaking a child’s swing, The Sun claims.

The Independent carries an exclusive about the “partygate” saga, reporting that the Prime Minister has drawn up a list of Tory MPs he will ask to take the fall over the scandal to save his leadership.

i weekend writes that Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak have been attempting to “woo” Tory MPs as pressure mounts within the PM’s own party for him to quit.

The Daily Express writes that the “devoted Queen deserves better” than the alleged conduct of No10 during a lockdown which saw her forced to solitarily mourn her husband.

The Times reports cabinet ministers have warned Boris Johnson he is in a “last chance saloon” as those still backing the PM find it increasingly difficult to defend the conduct of Downing Street staff.

The FT Weekend also splashes with the scandal engulfing the PM, writing that his “future hangs by (a) thread”.

The Daily Star continues in the same vein, carrying the headline: “Will the last of Bozo’s flunkies caught having a lockdown party please turn out the lights”.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail accuses Sir Keir Starmer of hypocrisy and features a blurry image of the Labour leader appearing to hold an alcoholic drink in the company of colleagues which the paper claims was taken in April 2021 while the UK was under strict lockdown.