THE fomer justice secretary spoke of his shock on learning of the Christmas party allegedly held in Downing Street during lockdown last year.

The government is investigating claims about the festive event which is said to have happened on December 18.

The prime minister apologised after a video showing his then-press secretary Allegra Stratton - who has since resigned - laughing about a government Christmas party and its lack of social distancing during a rehearsal press conference.

South Swindon MP Robert Buckland told the Adver: "Anything that happened in breach of the rules is seriously wrong, bearing in mind all the sacrifices we were making.

"The people concerned should cooperate with the investigation fully so we can get a full account of this alleged behaviour.

 "The first I knew of this was from the media last week. I was shocked, it's very concerning.

 "The PM was told there was no event and it was right for him to condemn the video and the remarks in it.

"Like everyone else last year, Christmas was not the same for me and was very restricted - I could not see my family in Wales or relatives here who were in care.

"It's important that everyone adheres to the rules."