First modification:
–
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, apologized to the British people after a video came to light in which officials of his Administration are seen joking about a party that would have been held in Downing Street, the seat of the Government , during the December 2020 lockdown. These revelations come as the prime minister announced new measures against Covid-19, amid the rapid spread of the variant of the coronavirus, Ómicron.
For a week, Johnson and his team have been repeating that no rule was broken in December of last year, after the British newspaper Daily Mirror revealed that several parties had been held in Downing Street, including a meeting between 40 and 50 people.
But on Wednesday, December 8, Johnson admitted to being “furious” over a video released late Tuesday by ITV television showing Allegra Stratton, his then press secretary, laughing and joking with another official. , about a party that would have taken place at the headquarters of the Government.
One Number 10 official who attended the party on December 18 tells the FT: “It was huge, there must have been 40 to 50 people. It was really bad. There was cheese and wine ordered in by Number 10 staff. There was music.”
— Laura Hughes (@Laura_K_Hughes) December 8, 2021
“I apologize for the offense that has been caused to the entire country and I apologize for the impression it gives,” Johnson apologized in Parliament.
The prime minister specified that he will take disciplinary measures if it is found that the rules were indeed violated.
However, he maintains that he did not know anything about it. “I repeat that I have been assured on several occasions, since these accusations arose, that there was no party and that the rules were not broken,” he insisted.
Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labor party, accused Johnson of “taking the public for a fool”, while Ian Blackford of the Scottish National party called for his resignation.
They hosted a party during lockdown.
They knew it was against the rules.
They knew they couldn’t admit it.
They thought it was funny.
Then they covered it up.
The Prime Minister must hand over everything the Government knows about the parties in Downing Street to the police.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) December 8, 2021
But Johnson declared that he was determined to “get on with the job,” criticizing the opposition for trying to make the situation more confusing and complicated than it is, in terms of “facts from a year ago.”
Allegra Stratton resigned Wednesday. Through tears, the 41-year-old official offered her “profound apologies” in a statement to the press, saying that she would “regret those comments (in which she laughs and jokes) for the rest of her days.”
“I understand the outrage and frustration that people feel,” he lamented, although he did not confirm whether the party had taken place.
Revelations that could delegitimize the Johnson government at a time when it imposes new restrictions
The scandal comes when Boris Johnson decided to apply stricter restrictions against Covid-19, ordering people to work from home, wear masks in public places and imposing health passes, to stop the spread of the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus .
We are seeing growth in Omicron cases in the UK that mirrors the rapid increases seen in South Africa.
That is why it is now the proportionate and responsible thing to move to Plan B in England, to slow the spread of the virus.
Find out more: https://t.co/bZZYbzs59L pic.twitter.com/ulvovWoL41
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 8, 2021
A survey by consultancy Savanta ComRes suggests that some people may be less willing to follow the new restrictions following the revelations about the alleged meetings in Downing Street.
And, according to the measures implemented by Johnson himself in December 2020, and which were due to the increase in infections by Covid-19, social gatherings were prohibited and people who did not live under the same roof could not meet.
In the UK, more than 146,000 people have died from the coronavirus.
This is the latest misstep of an administration that has been strongly criticized for its management, with accusations of corruption and political favoritism to its members, for the award of contracts without competition in relation to Covid-19, the remodeling of the apartment Johnson and the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan in August this year.
With Reuters
– .
