Boris Johnson had birthday bash during lockdown, ITV News understands

[muriel_volestrangler]

ITV News understands Boris Johnson had a birthday party during the first lockdown in 2020 despite the rules forbidding social gatherings indoors at the time.

It's alleged that the prime minister's wife, Carrie Johnson, helped organise a surprise get-together for him on the afternoon of 19 June just after 2pm.

Up to 30 people are said to have attended the event in the Cabinet Room after Boris Johnson returned from an official visit to a school in Hertfordshire.
...
ITV News also understands that on the evening of 19 June 2020, family friends were hosted upstairs in the prime minister’s residence in an apparent further breach of the rules. Number 10 have denied this, claiming the prime minister only hosted a small number of family members outside.

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-01-24/boris-johnson-had-birthday-bash-during-lockdown-itv-news-understands

Who all trooped in past the police officers on the doors (but, I suspect, not the front door, because there still may have been media cameras there). I'd like a charge of "corrupting the police" or similar, whatever they did to get the police to ignore this.

[applegrove]

1. Is that how he got Covid? REMEMBER he almost died way back in 2020. N/T

[viva la]

2. As many rotten things as he's done...

It would be funny if this partying is what brings him down.

The most intense incident in retrospect was the party last spring-- when the queen was sitting alone at her husband's funeral, saying austerely that others have had to mourn alone, and so would she.

And BoJo was partying that week.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. I don't think this works in American English, but, for the Brits:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[T_i_B]

4. Westminster lockdown partying scandals have spread to my local council

The chief executive of my local city council was one of those who had Whitehall lockdown drinks when she left her previous role in the cabinet office. I don't really think Sheffield Council wants to lose Kate Josephs as chief executives are difficult to come by, especially with her experience.

However, it would appear that Westminster is one of the last bastions of workplace drinking culture, and the failure to adapt to a global pandemic is causing serious knock on effects for the government.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-60117868

A council boss who hosted a lockdown party in her old government job is on paid leave from her current role while an investigation takes place.

Sheffield chief executive Kate Josephs, who led the government's Covid-19 taskforce, had leaving drinks in the Cabinet Office in December 2020.

She went on annual leave last week after admitting and apologising for hosting the gathering.

A council spokesperson said Ms Josephs was now on "paid leave".