Michael Gove has issued an apology for a "indefensible" video showing Tory activists celebrating Christmas at a party in 2020 during a lockdown.
The Mirror published a video from a December 2015 event in London showing employees drinking and dancing.
The housing secretary told the BBC that the video would make viewers "extremely angry."
But he said that two Tories at the event who received awards from Boris Johnson shouldn't have them taken away.
A voice can be heard saying, "as long as we don't stream that we're, like, bending the rules," suggesting that filming is permitted.
The Conservative Party has not publicly named the four individuals it has alleged were penalized for their roles in Mr. Bailey's campaign over the incident.
The incident was looked into by the police last year, but no citations were issued. There have been earlier publications about the occurrence, but they have all consisted of still images.
No More Parties!
At the time this video was shot, Shaun Bailey was a candidate for mayor of London, and his team had organized a rally at the Tory party headquarters.
When London was under Tier 2 Covid limitations, only members of the same household or a support bubble were allowed to be indoors at the same time.
in that point in the pandemic, Londoners who wanted to get together in small groups of six had to do it in a garden or in a pub with outdoor seating.
Even though Mr. Bailey was given a peerage in Mr. Johnson's resignation honours list just last week, he does not appear in the film.
Ben Mallet, the former prime minister's adviser and new OBE recipient, can be seen in the recent clip.
Mr. Gove said he wanted to "apologise unreservedly" after being asked about the footage on BBC One's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg.
Those who were okay with the "curtailment of liberty" during the Covid lockdowns, he said, would be "extremely angry" after watching the tape.
He said "no I don't think that" when asked if individuals who were honored but couldn't make it to the ceremony should be disqualified.
However, he stressed that the government must adhere to "due process" and that "the decision about who was on that list is Boris Johnson's" as the departing prime minister.
A Special Rule for Them
Scotland Yard announced in November 2022 that they would not be prosecuting Mr. Bailey or anyone else who attended the meeting.
The Mirror website features a 45-second video of individuals drinking and standing in groups, as well as a guy and a woman holding hands and dancing.
An participant "openly mocked" the Covid pandemic guidelines, according to Labour's Angela Rayner.
"The Tories think it's one rule for them and one rule for everyone else," the deputy leader continued.
Daisy Cooper, the Liberal Democrats' number two Conservative lawmakers and cabinet members should feel "sick to their stomachs" after viewing this fresh footage.
Conservative Campaign Headquarters held a party while grieving families and NHS workers toiled on the front lines.
No one from the Metropolitan Police Department has commented on the new footage as of yet.