ITV News presenter Tom Bradby praised for ‘capturing mood of nation’ with ‘angry’ Downing Street Christmas party monologue

Tom Bradby didn’t hold back (Picture: ITV)

ITV News presenter Tom Bradby has been applauded for ‘capturing the mood of the nation’ with his no-holds-barred introduction of the alleged Downing Street Christmas party.

Tom kicked off the network’s 10 o’clock news by referring to leaked footage of Boris Johnson’s senior aides joking about a Number 10 bash, which would have been in breach of last year’s lockdown rules.

In the clip, the Prime Minister’s then press secretary Allegra Stratton and adviser Ed Oldfield, along with other aides, were filmed joking about a ‘fictional’ party in December 2020 in a mock press conference.

‘They literally look as if they are laughing at us, you, me, all of us,’ Bradby said as he began the news.

‘Remember last Christmas? London was in Tier 3, all indoor gatherings banned, lives, we were told, could be at stake, the whole country about to go into lockdown, Christmas all but cancelled.

‘Meanwhile, Downing Street staff were rehearsing their new press secretary for her televised press conferences. One asked a bit of a jokey question about a party allegedly held four nights before.’

Allegra Stratton was seen joking about a party in a mock press conference in leaked footage (Picture: Reuters)

ITV then played the footage, which saw Mr Oldfield asked Ms Stratton: ‘I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognise those reports?’

Ms Stratton replied ‘I went home’ before appearing to consider what the correct answer should be.

‘Would the Prime Minister condone having a Christmas party?’ Mr Oldfield then probed.

Ms Stratton asked ‘what’s the answer’ and staff in the press room appeared to suggest ideas, with one saying ‘it wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine’.

‘Is cheese and wine all right? It was a business meeting,’ Ms Stratton replied, to laughter in the room.

She went on to add: ‘This fictional party was a business meeting … and it was not socially distanced.’

After the video finished playing, Bradby noted: ‘One thing is for sure, not many people are going to be laughing tonight.’

Downing Street insisted there was no Christmas party in 2020 (Picture: Rex)

Viewers praised Bradby for his ‘authentic’ reaction to the alleged scandal, with one writing on Twitter: ‘I love the way @tombradby is portraying this newscast on ITV News. You can see he is angry and he has captured the mood of the nation.’

Echoing a similar sentiment, another added: ‘This is how you report on #ToryCorruption well done Tom Bradby #itvnews.’

A third said: ‘I can feel your anger @tombradby – it is great to see someone on the tv showing the general public as frustration. Your news at 10 opening was spectacular.’

More: Boris Johnson

On Tuesday, Downing Street again insisted there was no Christmas party and coronavirus rules had been followed at all times.

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