Boris Johnson appears to have been pictured personally breaking coronavirus laws last winter by hosting a Christmas quiz in Downing Street.

Number 10 did not deny that the quiz took place after days of denials about parties in the building.

The Prime Minister, who has faced calls to resign over a string of accusations about festive gatherings last year, is shown flanked by two colleagues – one draped in tinsel – at a time when ‘primarily social activities’ were not allowed.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson has also been accused of flouting three other rules during a late night dinner with his wife Carrie last year.

The image, published by the Sunday Mirror, has led to further accusations that the PM presides over a ‘culture of disregard for the rules’.

The paper quoted a source who claimed up to 24 staff were in one room, with many staff huddled by computers, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place, when social mixing was outlawed.

It reported Mr Johnson surprised staff by turning up on screen as quiz master for one round lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.

Downing Street said the PM had ‘briefly’ taken part ‘virtually’ in the quiz, which the Mirror reported took place after 6.30pm on December 15.

The festive event is said to have taken place only three days before an alleged rule-breaking Christmas party in No 10, which is currently being investigated by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

And that is just one of a string of widely reported festive events that have snowballed into a major political crisis for the PM, whose reputation has been badly damaged by the alleged events last year.

Labour’s deputy party leader Angela Rayner said: ‘While the rules said that people shouldn’t have Christmas parties at work and Britons across the country were doing the right thing, Boris Johnson was instead happy to preside over a culture of disregard for the rules at the heart of Government.

‘Despite repeated denials of parties in Number 10, it now transpires that there were numerous parties, gatherings and the Prime Minister even took part in a festive quiz.

‘Boris Johnson really believes it’s one rule for him, another for everyone else.

‘He is a man unfit to lead this country.’

Official guidance at the time stated: ‘Although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.’

At the time of the quiz, London was in Tier 2 which said there should be no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and maximum of six people outside.

High-profile lawyer Adam Wagner tweeted: ‘From what I have been told – social quiz, alcohol being drunk, lots of people together at the office (teams of 6, up to 24 in one room) – it’s a clear breach of the government’s guidance and a potential breach of the law, including by the PM.

‘If a business had asked me to advise them in Dec 2020 on whether to run a boozy evening quiz with groups of 6+ together in the office with the boss running things on zoom I would have given them some quite robust advice on why that would be a bad idea’.

But a No 10 spokeswoman said: ‘This was a virtual quiz.

‘Downing Street staff were often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response so those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks.

‘The Prime Minister briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year.’

On Sunday, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi claimed Boris Johnson was respecting the lockdown rules when asked about the story on Sky News.

But Tory MP Steve Baker said Boris Johnson needs to ‘grip’ the issues, when asked about the picture.

He told BBC Breakfast: ‘We can’t go on like this and the time to sort this out is not very much longer.

‘I mean, the public should be able to have confidence that there’s one set of rules which apply equally to everybody and they should be clear that we’re all complying and that if there are exceptions they’re for good reason, and that they’re proportionate.’

The quiz reports come as Mr Case investigates three alleged rule-breaking Government gatherings last winter.

A leaked video emerged showing senior Downing Street aides joking about a ‘fictional’ party on December 18, leading to aide Allegra Stratton to resign in tears.

Elsewhere, The PM and his wife reportedly enjoyed a night out on October 21 last year at a fashionable London restaurant until nearly 10.30pm, despite imposing a 10pm curfew.

A source told The Sun that when the paired dined at Darby’s restaurant Mr Johnson mixed with diners at other tables while not wearing a mask – breaching his own curbs.

It is said to have annoyed other customers and staff, who repeatedly reminded the party about the rules.

No 10 told the Sun: ‘It is categorically untrue to suggest the PM did not adhere to curfew rules in place at the time. Any small delay would have been for operational security reasons.’

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