Despite the imminent demise of the Great British boozer there is one well-known address where recently the inhabitants’ drinking has been nothing short of heroic.
Whether it be unofficial birthday parties, bring-your-own booze garden parties or using suitcases to smuggle your booze in 10 Downing Street has been awash with alcohol.
The ferocity and illegality of their drinking has in part led to one Prime Minister leaving office and the present incumbent being fined for attending a party – despite being teetotal.
More than 10 years ago I asked what wines from the Government’s own wine cellar were used at No.10 official functions and I wrote a piece for the Daily Express on what vintages US President Barak Obama had enjoyed in Downing Street.
Fast forward to 2022 and the row about Downing Street parties and I thought I would ask the question again and how many bottles were opened when Boris Johnson was the PM.
To my surprise the Foreign Office, who have responsibility for the Government’s massive wine cellar, refused to give me a response.
Although it took them ages to come up with a reason why I shouldn’t have the information they did eventually come up with some mealy-mouthed excuse.
I appealed the decision, the Foreign Office turned me down again, so I took the case to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Sadly, when the ICO examined the case, it also decided that the number of bottles consumed at No.10 should stay secret.
By this time more than a year had passed but I decided to appeal to the Information Tribunal where an independent panel look at the details of the case to give what is normally a final decision.
Fortunately, they decided in my favour and the details were released – which revealed dozens of bottles of taxpayer-funded “champagne” were popped open and consumed by guests invited to No.10 for a party to celebrate Brexit. I wonder why they had been so reluctant to release the details.
As the case trundled to its conclusion, I did this story (Cutting 1) for the Daily Mirror and then at the end of the saga the same paper were good enough to publish the final revelation (Cutting 2).
If you’d like to read the decision of the Information Tribunal as to why the Government were wrong in trying to keep the details secret, you can find it here. (PdF)
