No 10 staff joked about Covid rules-breaking party

The Independent's Morning Headlines email [View online]( December 08, 2021 [Morning Headlines]( 1 / [Leaked recording shows Downing Street staff joking about Christmas party in No 10]( Senior Downing Street staff recorded themselves joking about holding a banned Christmas party in No 10, leaked footage shows. In the video from last December obtained by ITV News, Boris Johnson's then-spokesperson Allegra Stratton joked that the party was “was not socially distanced” and suggested passing it off as “a business meeting”. The footage was recorded as a rehearsal for planned televised press briefings, with mock questions posted by the prime minister's special adviser Ed Oldfield and other staff. 2 / [Letter suggests Boris Johnson’s involvement in Pen Farthing evacuation despite denials]( PM's parliamentary aide wrote personally to Kabul animal shelter boss 3 / [UK could reach 90,000 Covid infections a day by Christmas, experts warn]( Whitehall increasingly worried by emerging data on omicron variant 4 / [Brexit delays to cross-Channel trade still worsening as 79% of firms report hold-ups]( 'Teething problems have become a chronic condition,' says business owner 5 / [‘Weather bomb’ forces schools to shut as snow and 68mph winds hit]( Tens of thousands still without power The Big Question Who is Germany’s new chancellor Olaf Scholz? Germany finally has a successor to Angela Merkel as Olaf Scholz of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) agreed a deal to form a power-sharing coalition government with the pro-business Free Democrats and Greens, ending weeks of uncertainty following the inconclusive outcome of September’s election. Ms Merkel did not seek re-election for a fifth term and her parliamentary bloc, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany and Christian Social Union of Bavaria performed poorly at the polls. However, while both the centre-left SDP and Greens made record gains, neither secured a majority. Mr Scholz’s own party overwhelmingly backed the coalition proposal at a conference on Saturday, followed by the conservative Free Democrats and the Greens at gatherings of their own, clearing the path for the lower house of the Bundestag to elect its new chancellor on Wednesday. So what do we know about him? [Read the full story >]( Watch / [Leaked recording shows Downing Street staff joking about Christmas party in No.10]( NUMBER OF THE DAY 437 The number of nurses and doctors working in the intensive care unit at a Spanish hospital who tested positive for Covid-19 after attending a Christmas party. QUOTE OF THE DAY “What we’re most concerned about are the reduced numbers of young people having access to career opportunities on both side of the Channel – youth mobility is a critical issue to get right as we build beyond Brexit in 2022.” – Marilise Saghbini, director of the French Chamber of Great Britain, following news of continued trade disruption. Other stories you might like [Maxwell accuser claims socialite inspected her body for 'Mr Epstein and his friends']( ['Inherently loud' physics lecturer was sacked unfairly, tribunal finds]( [Boy, 14, put in isolation after coming to school with plaits]( Articles available exclusively to subscribers William Cook, The Independent: "[The forgotten woman of German expressionism](" If you can spare a minute we’d love your [feedback]( on our newsletters. [The Independent]( Join the conversation or follow us [Facebook]( [Twitter]( Please do not reply directly to this email You are currently registered to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter. Add us to your safe list of senders. If you do not want to receive The Independent's Morning Headlines newsletter, please [unsubscribe](list_name=IND_Headlines_Masterlist_CDP). If you no longer wish to receive any newsletters or promotional emails from The Independent, you can unsubscribe [here](. This e-mail was sent by Independent Digital News and Media Ltd, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Registered in England and Wales with company number 07320345. Read our [privacy notice]( and [cookie policy](.