A former Boris Johnson prime ministerial aide who was dubbed “Party Marty” after arranging a bring-your-own-booze garden party in Downing Street during Covid restrictions has received an honour at Windsor Castle for public service. Martin Reynolds, Johnson’s former principal private secretary, was made a companion of the Order of the Bath at a ceremony led by the Princess Royal. Reynolds was included in Johnson’s resignation honours list announced in June 2023. In May 2020 Reynolds had sent an invite during lockdown to about 200 No 10 staff inviting them to enjoy the “lovely weather” with some “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening”, adding: “Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!” A number of people were later fined for attending the event in breach of lockdown rules. The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ) campaign group has called the honour an insult to the memories of those who died, saying Reynolds had “failed in serving the public” and that his “mistakes should cost him this honour”. Appearing before the UK Covid-19 inquiry in October 2023, Reynolds apologised “unreservedly” when asked about the party, saying he was “deeply sorry” for “my part in those events and for the email message which went out that day”.
He said because news of the party did not emerge until “about 15 months later”, he did not believe it had a major impact on the public during the pandemic at the time. “So while I totally accept I was totally wrong in the way I sent the email around and for the event, I think the impact on public confidence – although obviously now in terms of public confidence more generally it did have a serious impact – in terms of the pandemic at that time it … had less impact,” he told the inquiry. The CBFFJ said: “The fact that Martin Reynolds is being given an honour for public service having invited staff to a bring your own booze party in No 10 during lockdown is an insult to the memories of those who died because the government failed to protect them, to all who died and grieved alone during lockdown, and to every key worker who sacrificed so much to keep people safe in the absence of a government capable of handling the crisis of Covid-19.” Others presented with honours included the former Conservative deputy prime ministers Thérèse Coffey and Oliver Dowden, both for political and public service, having been named in Rishi Sunak’s dissolution honours list in July. On receiving the honour, Coffey said: “I am proud of doing my best to try to help the environment and helping people get through Covid. We have tried to put the public first in everything we do, much like the royal family.”