Prime Minister Boris Johnson received a lot of criticism last week for reports that a number of parties took place at his office at 10 Downing Street before Christmas 2020, when anti-epidemic blockade regulations were still in place.
Controversy continued to flare up strongly on December 7 when a video was posted by ITV News channel, recording footage of officials from the Prime Minister’s Office joking about a party while rehearsing a press conference recording.
`I just saw the news on Twitter that the Downing Street Christmas party is being held on Friday night, have you heard the news?`, Ed Oldfield, adviser to Prime Minister Johnson, said in a video released by ITV.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at a press conference on Covid-19 in London on December 8.
The `Friday night` time that Oldfield mentioned was December 18, 2020, the day many sources said there was a staff party taking place at the British Prime Minister’s Office.
Allegra Stratton, Prime Minister Johnson’s then-press secretary, responded to Oldfield: `How can I answer that?`.
`Are cheese and wine okay?`, Straton continued.
The position of the British Prime Minister’s Office, both before and after the video was leaked, was that `there were no Christmas parties and anti-epidemic rules were always followed`.
However, after interviewing a series of officials, CNN determined that there were two gatherings taking place on November 27 and December 18, 2020.
These accusations are seriously damaging the image of the British government, especially the efforts of officials to tighten restrictions to prevent Covid-19 from breaking out again.
From December 10, people going to most public places, including movie theaters, will have to wear masks.
Prime Minister Johnson said on December 8 that he had ordered an internal investigation into allegations that his office held a Christmas party during the pandemic.
The British Prime Minister’s advisor burst into tears and resigned because of the joke
British Prime Minister Stratton’s advisor burst into tears and announced his resignation to the press on December 8.
During a session in the British House of Commons yesterday morning, Prime Minister Johnson apologized, saying he `very much sympathized with the anger` of people when they witnessed staff at 10 Downing Street `seemingly disregarding the
`I can understand how angry people are when they think that the people who make the rules don’t follow the rules. I myself was very angry when I saw the video,` he said.
However, Johnson emphasized that aides had assured him that no anti-Covid-19 restrictions had been breached.
However, the British Prime Minister’s words could not ease public discontent.
Opposition Labor Party leader Keir Starmer emphasized that Prime Minister Johnson’s apology `raises more questions than answers`.
He accused staff at the Prime Minister’s Office of `knowing it was a party, knowing their actions broke the rules, knowing they couldn’t admit it and they thought it was funny`.
`There are regulations for them and the rest for us,` David Lammy, foreign affairs officer for the British Labor Party, told the BBC.
On December 18, 2020, when many media outlets reported that staff at the British Prime Minister’s Office held a Christmas party, London banned gatherings of more than two people indoors, except in `force majeure` cases due to public work.
A day later, Johnson announced further tightening of the rules, amid concerns about the Delta strain that was spreading at the time.
According to figures from the National Police Chiefs’ Council, thousands of people were fined for violating the ban on gatherings last year.
The Metropolitan Police announced yesterday that they would not be conducting an investigation into possible Downing Street parties because `there is no evidence and in line with our policy of not retrospectively investigating conduct.`
The video released by ITV News is not considered evidence that a Christmas party was held, but it seriously damages the image of the Prime Minister’s Office and Johnson himself, as it appears to show
Allegra Stratton in a leaked video of a press conference recording rehearsal.
The most likely scenario for the British government right now is that the public accepts the explanation that staff at 10 Downing Street were working in a small, crowded space at the time of a fierce outbreak of Covid-19.
Still, the video of Stratton joking about the party still turned even Johnson’s allies against him.
Pictures of the press conference recording rehearsal flooded British newspapers on December 8.
`It’s terrible,` said Rivka Gottlieb, who lost her father during Britain’s first lockdown.
