The cabinet minister George Eustice conceded that there was a blurring of the boundary in Downing Street between work and socialising, as the government awaits Sue Gray's full report into lockdown parties.
No 10 is expecting the report to be released on Wednesday. It will be made public and Boris Johnson will give a statement to MPs.
Many Conservative MPs have repeatedly said they were waiting for Gray's final report before deciding whether Johnson should face a vote of no confidence.
Eustice, the environment secretary, said that there was a blurring of the boundary between events that were happening at the end of a working day, a blurring into what was clearly in some cases, a hint of how Johnson is likely to explain himself. Eustice told Sky News that Johnson absolutely recognises that there were failings. He apologised for that and apologised for his role in that. Gray's interim report, which was heavily curtailed because of the Metropolitan police investigation, lamented what she called failures of leadership and judgment in Downing Street without pointing the finger at specific individuals.
Johnson has an overhaul of his No 10 team, although the cabinet secretary, Simon Case, remains in his post. The case is regarded as a potential casualty when the report details what took place.
Since the Met declared last week that it had completed its work, Westminster has been keenly awaiting Gray's report, with the prime minister receiving a fine for a birthday party in June 2020.
On eight separate dates, 126 fines were levied for events in Whitehall and Downing Street. On Monday a picture of Johnson raising a glass at a leaving for the former head of communications Lee Cain was taken under scrutiny by the Met s approach. Johnson was not given a fixed-penalty notice, but other individuals were known to have been fined for that event.
Gray was believed to have planned to include a limited number of photos in her report in order to illustrate what happened at some of the events she investigated.
Whitehall insiders told the BBC's Panorama on Tuesday that Johnson appeared to condone the regular drinks events that happened inside No 10, often briefly joining them himself.
He wasn't saying anything: Can everyone break up and go home? Can everyone be socially distant? He wasn't telling anybody that. One anonymous witness said he was grabbing a glass for himself.
Johnson is expected to hold a meeting with Tory backbenchers at the 1922 Committee, as well as addressing MPs in the House of Commons after the report appears.