Staff working at UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office at 10 Downing Street held a party in lockdown and on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral, said Thursday The Telegraph.
As the country mourned, advisers and officials gathered to celebrate the departure of two members of the Head of Government’s team, Communications Director James Slack and one of Boris Johnson’s personal photographers, in two separate evenings.
According to The Telegraph, witnesses saw the diners dancing together and consuming a lot of alcohol, so the gatherings would be prolonged well beyond midnight. At the same time, rules enacted in Downing Street specified that indoor gatherings were prohibited. Only six people were allowed to converge outside.
Boris Johnson apologized
These scenes of jubilation contrast with the funeral ceremony organized the next day. The images of Queen Elizabeth II, sitting alone in the first row in the church, due to restrictions linked to Covid-19, had then symbolized the rigors of confinement in the United Kingdom.
These new revelations are published as the Prime Minister is fighting to remain at the head of government. On Wednesday, the 57-year-old Tory leader apologized to parliament for attending a party on May 20, 2020 in the gardens of his official residence, saying he then thought it was a business meeting.
The event, for which an invitation had been sent by his secretary to around 100 people with the suggestion to bring their bottles, took place during a traumatic time for the British. In the midst of the first wave of Covid-19, only two people were allowed to be outside and many Britons were unable to say goodbye to their dying loved ones.
The opposition calls for his resignation
Immediately, the opposition parties, led by Labor who accused him of lying, demanded his resignation, while members of his government overwhelmingly supported him, on Twitter or in the media.
“The Prime Minister did well to apologize and I support his request to be patient” while awaiting the results of the internal investigation led by senior official Sue Gray, soberly declared his Minister of Finance Rishi Sunak, perceived as a potential candidate for prime minister.
Expected at best next week, the conclusions of this internal investigation are now shaping up to be decisive for the fate of Boris Johnson. The scandal comes on top of other revelations about parties held in power circles during the lockdowns of the past two years, as well as accusations of corruption and favoritism.
Boris Johnson, who came to power triumphantly in July 2019 with the Conservative Party, has since seen his long-standing popularity tumble in the polls. One, made by YouGov for The Times before his apology, gives Labor a large ten-point lead, a first in nearly a decade. On Thursday, the head of government escaped the cameras and questions from the media: Covid contact case, he canceled a planned visit to a vaccination center.