New Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said the row at the party gate was “overblown” and the government should not have fined people for “everyday activities” during the lockdown.

Mrs. Badenoch, who won the battle to replace Rishi Sunak on Saturday said the public was “not wrong to be upset about partygate” – when those working in Downing Street threw parties during the COVID lockdowns.

However, she said she believed partygate was “over the top” and that the Conservative government should not have created fixed penalty notices for non-compliance with COVID restrictions.

“The problem was that we shouldn’t have criminalized everyday activities the way we did,” the North West Essex MP told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday programme.

“People out for a walk, all with fixed penalty notices. That ended up creating a trap for Boris Johnson.”

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The scandal saw Mr Johnson fined for attending a party in Downing Street, one of many held during his tenure, in breach of Covid lockdown regulations.

She said Downing Street staff broke the rules and Mr Johnson, who was prime minister at the time, and then Chancellor Sunak ended up being fined.

“People in government didn’t follow the rules, but they weren’t parliamentarians,” she said.

“Often they were hired and I think that’s how we created these regulations, we ended up ensnaring him (Boris Johnson).”

Ms Badenoch resigned from Mr Johnson’s government in 2022 but said she thought he was “a great prime minister”, however there were “some serious issues that were not being resolved” which left the public believing “we are in this for ourselves.”

After Mr Johnson was fined for going to his own birthday party in Downing Street, he said: “In all honesty, it didn’t occur to me at the time that it might have been a breach of the rules.”

Ellie Reeves, the chairwoman of the Labor Party, said Ms Badenoch calling partygate “over the top” would “add insult to injury to families across Britain who followed the rules, missing the deaths of loved ones and family funerals, while her colleagues partied in Downing Street”.

Speaking after winning the leadership campaign, Ms Badenoch said the Conservative party needed to be honest about the mistakes it had made which led it to lose the July election.

“Our party is essential to the success of our country,” Ms Badenoch said.

“But to be heard, we have to be honest, honest about the fact that we’ve made mistakes, honest about the fact that we’ve let standards slip.

“The time has come to tell the truth, stand up for our principles, plan for our future, reset our politics and thinking and give our party and our country the fresh start it deserves.

“It’s time to get down to business. It’s time to renew.”

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Ms Badenoch is in the process of choosing her new shadow cabinet and is understood to want her top team in place by Tuesday.

She previously suggested that everyone who ran to be leader against her be included.

However, James Cleverly said on Friday he would return to the backbenches after coming third in the contest.