It was one of the major factors that saw the resignation of Boris Johnson as Prime Minister and saw much criticism aimed at the Conservative-led Government.
Rules during lockdown meant that people could not meet for social gatherings but this was not always followed by the party that set the rules in the first place.
Some time on from the investigations being concluded into Partygate Channel 4 has now produced its own dramatisation of the scandal which is to air on Tuesday, October 3.
But what was the timeline of the Partygate scandal and how did it all unfold?
Timeline of Partygate gatherings
May 15, 2020: Cheese and wine at Downing Street
A photo from May 2020 showed Boris Johnson and several staff members enjoying bottles of wine and a cheeseboard in the garden at Downing Street.
When asked about it later, Johnson said: “Those people were at work talking about work.” The event was not investigated by the police.
May 20, 2020: ‘Bring your own booze’
Around 100 people were invited by email to “socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening” by Mr Johnson’s private secretary Martin Reynolds.
This is where the infamous “bring your own booze” line came from and Mr Johnson spent around 25 minutes at the event thanking staff before returning to his office.
June 18, 2020: Farewell gathering
A gathering took place in the Cabinet Office to mark the departure of a No 10 private secretary.
BBC News reports that one fine was issued for this event the government’s former head of ethics admitted receiving one and apologised for attending the event.
June 19, 2020: Boris Johnson’s birthday
Around 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room at Downing Street to present the Prime Minister with a birthday cake.
No 10 said staff had “gathered briefly” to “wish the prime minister a happy birthday”, adding that he had been there “for less than 10 minutes”.
Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie Symonds and then Chancellor Rishi Sunak all paid fixed penalty notices for this incident.
November 13, 2020: Two gatherings in one night
Two gatherings are said to have taken place on this night, including one to celebrate the departure of Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson‘s former senior adviser.
November 27, 2020: Leaving drinks for aide
A leaving event was held for No 10 aide Cleo Watson where people were drinking and Mr Johnson made a speech, according to sources.
December 10, 2020: More drinks
The Department for Education confirmed it had an office gathering on this date to thank staff for their work during the pandemic.
December 14, 2020: Party at Conservative HQ
The Conservative Party admitted that an “unauthorised gathering” took place at its headquarters in Westminster, which was held by the party’s London mayoral candidate, Shaun Bailey.
He later stepped down as chair of the London Assembly police and crime committee.
This event was not included in Sue Gray’s report.
December 15, 2020: Christmas Quiz
A photo published in the Sunday Mirror showed Boris Johnson taking part in a quiz at Downing Street.
December 17, 2020: Multiple gatherings
A leaving party was held at the Cabinet Office for the outgoing head of the civil service Covid taskforce.
A second gathering was held in the Cabinet Office for an online Christmas quiz for the Cabinet Secretary’s private office.
A third gathering was held in No 10 to mark the departure of a Downing Street official
December 18, 2020: Christmas Party
A Christmas party took place on this date, with food and drink allegedly served.
A video later obtained by ITV News showed Mr Johnson’s then press secretary Allegra Stratton joking about reports of the event saying: “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”
Ms Stratton resigned following an angry backlash to this video.
January 14, 2021: More leaving drinks
A gathering was held in No 10 to mark the departure of two private secretaries.
April 16, 2021: Parties on eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
Two parties were held by Downing Street staff at No 10, the night before Prince Philip’s funeral.
The police investigation determined that an event on this date did breach the rules in place at the time but they did not confirm whether it was one or both of the events.
Some fines were issued to people who attended one of the events.
Timeline of investigation into Partygate
November 30, 2021: Reports of gatherings emerge
On this date, The Daily Mirror accused Boris Johnson and his Downing Street staff of breaking Covid rules during the lockdown period.
December 7, 2021: Allegra Stratton video leaked
The ITV News video showing Allegra Stratton joking about one of the gatherings was released.
Not long after Mr Johnson instructed Simon Case, the cabinet secretary and head of the civil service, to investigate claims of a Christmas party in Downing Street.
Reports then emerged that Case was found to have attended one of the parties and he was forced to remove himself from the investigation.
He was replaced by experienced civil servant Sue Gray.
January 25, 2022: Met Police investigation
The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into 12 of the 16 events examined by the Sue Gray inquiry, as reported by The Week.
April 12, 2022: Boris Johnson fined
Mr Johnson was issued with a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police for lockdown breaches.
His wife Carrie Symonds and Chancellor Rishi Sunak also received a fine
April 21, 2022: Johnson referred to Privileges committee
The House of Commons passed a motion to refer Mr Johnson to its Privileges Committee, to consider whether he had deliberately misled the Commons when he said no Covid guidance or rules were breached in Downing Street.
May 19, 2022: Met Police dish out fines
The Metropolitan Police concluded its investigation which had examined evidence from Sue Gray’s inquiry.
Overall, it made 126 referrals for fixed penalty notices, to 83 people, with 28 people receiving between two and five fines.
May 25, 2022: Sue Gray’s report
Sue Gray’s report into Partygate was published and she said there had been “failures of leadership and judgment in No 10 and the Cabinet Office”.
She added: “The events that I investigated were attended by leaders in government. Many of these events should not have been allowed to happen.”
June 6, 2022: Vote of no confidence
Boris Johnson wins a vote of no confidence brought against him, partly because of the Partygate findings.
July 7, 2022: Boris Johnson resigns
Mr Johnson announces his resignation as Prime Minister following mass resignation from Cabinet positions.
March 22, 2023: Johnson appears before Privileges Committee
During a televised hearing lasting nearly five hours Mr Johnson appeared before the Privileges Committee.
June 15, 2023: Boris Johnson found to have misled Parliament
The 108-page final report of the Privileges Committee found that Boris Johnson committed “repeated contempts of parliament”.
Days before the announcement Mr Johnson resigned as an MP.
Had he remained as an MP the report would have recommended a suspension of 90 days, rather than the anticipated 10 days.
A suspension of any more than 10 days could have triggered a by-election.
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