Another report has surfaced about a violation by British Prime Minister Johnson of the corona rules. According to the newspapers The Guardian and The Independent, he was at a party in the garden of his official residence in May last year.
About 20 people are said to have gathered in the garden after a government press conference for pizza and drinks. Johnson himself stayed for about fifteen minutes, writes The Guardian. He is said to have told those in attendance that they deserved a drink for their efforts to fight the pandemic. The party lasted until late in the evening, according to the newspapers.
The corona rules at that time prescribed that only two people from different households were allowed to come together. At the press conference prior to the meeting in the garden, then health minister Hancock had called on the population to adhere to the rules. Hancock was also in the garden after the press conference.
‘Short debriefing’
In a response, a spokesman for Prime Minister Johnson says that it was a short debriefing of the press conference. The garden at 10 Downing Street was regularly used for such consultations, according to the spokesman.
Lately there have been more posts about corona rule violations by Johnson and his employees. For example, it would have gone wrong several times last year at Christmas parties.
Lost seat
The growing scandal is now also having political ramifications for the Conservatives: in by-elections last night the party lost a seat in North Shropshire, a district that has been in Tory hands since time immemorial. The Liberal Democrats’ candidate now received 6,000 more votes than the Conservative, while that party had won by 23,000 more votes in 2019.
The winner, Helen Morgan, made a direct connection to Johnson’s problems in her victory speech. “The people of North Shropshire have spoken on behalf of the British people and the message is loud and clear: Boris Johnson, the party is over.”
The district’s by-elections were called for after the Conservative MP stepped down for violating lobbying rules.
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