London – AFP
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was criticized, after circulating pictures of him eating a glass during a party in Downing Street in 2020 amid the isolation measures, prompting accusations of lying, before an expected report on the “Party Gate” scandal.
The pictures published by ITV News on Monday were taken during the farewell party for media official Lee Kane on November 13, 2020, days after new isolation measures were imposed in England. Johnson is shown in the pictures raising his glass, and talking to people around a table where bottles of wine and food are placed.
The farewell party was the subject of a police investigation, just as other celebrations were organized in the circles of power during the Corona pandemic in a scandal dubbed “Party Gate.”
When asked in Parliament about the November party, Johnson confirmed that there had been no party on that date and that he was sure the rules had not been broken. He was fined by police for attending his 56th birthday party in June 2020 in Downing Street, but he was not punished for his farewell party, which has brought criticism back to the fore.
Labor deputy leader Angela Rayner said it was “surprising” that the Conservative leader had not been fined for a party “which never looked like a business meeting”.