Boris Johnson’s former aide ‘Party Marty’ gets honors in public service

A former Prime Minister of Boris Johnson, who was nicknamed ‘Party Marty’ after hosting a ‘brown-your-own-booze’ garden party at Downing Street during Covid restrictions, has received a public service honor at Windsor Castle .

Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s former private secretary, was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath in a ceremony led by the Princess Royal.

Reynolds was included on Johnson’s honors list announced in June 2023.

In May 2020, Reynolds had sent an invitation to around 200 staff at No. your own drink!” A number of people were later fined for attending the event in breach of lockdown rules.

Campaign group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) has called the honor an insult to the memory of those who died, saying Reynolds “failed to serve the public” and that his “mistakes denied him this honor should cost”.

Reynolds appeared before the UK Covid-19 inquiry in October 2023 and apologized “unreservedly” when asked about the party, saying he “deeply regrets” “my part in those events and the email message that went out that day.”

He said that because news about the party only emerged “about 15 months later,” he did not believe it had a major impact on the public at the time during the pandemic. “So while I fully accept that I was completely wrong in the way I circulated the email and for the event, I think the impact on public confidence – although now obviously in terms of public confidence in overall had a serious impact – in terms of the pandemic at the time… it had less impact,” he told the inquiry.

The CBFFJ said: “The fact that Martin Reynolds is being given a public service honor for inviting staff to a ‘bring your own booze party’ in Number 10 during lockdown is an insult to the memories of those who died because the government has failed to protect them. , to everyone who died and mourned alone during the lockdown, and to every key figure who sacrificed so much to keep people safe in the absence of a government capable of dealing with the Covid-19 crisis.”

Others recognized with awards included former Conservative deputy prime ministers Thérèse Coffey and Oliver Dowden, for both political and public service, who were on Rishi Sunak’s honors list for dissolution in July.

On receiving the honour, Coffey said: “I am proud to be doing my best to help the environment and help people get through Covid-19. We have tried to put the public first in everything we do, just like the Royal Family.”