LIKE the tree famously falling in the forest, if a Christmas party happens in Downing Street but no-one goes on the record to substantiate that it happened, has a Christmas party in Downing Street actually happened?

The Sunday politics shows are not generally the place for such metaphysical inquiries. Too early in the week for that kind of chin-stroker.

Yesterday, however, an exception was made. After a week in which Downing Street has refused to engage with questions about what went on in Number 10 during lockdown last Christmas, it was time for the Sunday show hosts to have a go.

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As luck would have it, Dominic Raab, Justice Secretary, Deputy Prime Minister, and a lawyer by trade, was the Minister on duty. If anyone could speak on matters of the law it would be him.

Were Christmas parties allowed in London last December asked the host of The Andrew Marr Show (two weeks to go in job; more on his replacement later). Generally no, said Mr Raab. Sure enough, the official Government guidance said: “You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party.”

So what of reports in the Mirror, the FT, and by the BBC that Mr Johnson’s staff had a party on December 18 at which 40 people were present? The Prime Minister has not denied that a gathering took place, but he has insisted that no Covid rules were broken.

Marr tried to clarify matters. “Number 10 says no rules were broken. If there was a party then rules were broken. If there wasn’t a party then rules were not broken. Was there a party?”.

Mr Raab said the reports were based on unsubstantiated claims by anonymous sources. “Until there is something substantiated, until it is more than anonymous sources, I think we are chasing shadows,” he said.

Marr tried again. Would the Minister agree that if the party took place it was breaking the rules?

“If there is a breach of the rules, there is a breach of the rules,” said Mr Raab. “But I don’t know the full facts because I wasn’t there.” With the interview now firmly lodged in Yes Minister territory, Marr moved on to criminal justice reforms for England being launched this week.

Earlier, on Sky News’s Trevor Phillips on Sunday, Mr Raab said there would be no Ministry of Justice-wide party this year. Instead there would be “appropriate drinks at a smaller scale”, and he urged other employers to show “common sense”.

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The questions will keep coming about the December 18 event last year because there have been no clear answers. Coincidentally, December 18 is when the Prime Minister is due to say if restrictions will be stepped up because of the Omicron variant. How many people will comply with the Christmas 2021 rules if they believe the 2020 ones were disregarded at the heart of government?

Sophie Raworth will take over from Marr on Sunday mornings from January 9, the BBC has announced. It is a temporary appointment, with the name of the show changing to "Sunday Morning" till a permanent host takes over.

Will that new title be The Nick Robinson Show (a trailer for his podcast, Political Thinking, appeared before the programme started)? Or perhaps The Laura Kuenssberg Show? The Vicki Young/Jon Sopel/Emma Barnett/AN Other Show?

Raworth has filled in for Marr before. The two have some things in common. Both went to private schools, for example. Otherwise, the Glasgow-born Marr and Raworth, from Surrey, vary in their cvs. She joined the BBC via the regional trainee scheme and moved up the ranks; Marr was in newspapers before he became the corporation’s political editor in 2000. He earns between £335,000-£339,999; she takes home £280,000- £284,999.

Marr’s job is one of several waiting to be filled. Before that can happen, a new director of news and current affairs will have to be appointed. Interviews are taking place before Christmas. Then the new political editor and Scotland editor named.

The new appointments are high profile and politically sensitive, even more so now that a new Culture Secretary is in charge. Nadine Dorries has accused the BBC of recruiting from its own middle class ranks, and not giving a fair shake to applicants from less privileged backgrounds.

Will there be any surprises in this new round of appointments, or a case of the same faces in different chairs? Marr, who is moving to radio and back into print as the chief political commentator of the New Statesman, will be one of many watching the space he soon vacates.