The Prime Minister was asked about reports that there had been a ‘BYOB’ drinks party in No 10’s garden on May 20, 2020.
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Boris Johnson dodges question on No 10 party
Boris Johnson has been accused by Labour of being a Labour member “laughing at us”As he dodged questions regarding whether he had attended a lockdown drink party in Downing Street,
The Prime Minister was questioned about reports of a “BYOB”Drinks party at the No 10 Garden on May 20, 2020, with a Monday visit to a vaccination clinic.
Multiple reports, including public claims made by Dominic Cummings (ex-aide), suggested that Mr Johnson and Carrie Johnson attended the event personally.
A smiling Mr Johnson answered the question, “If he and Carrie were there?” “All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray.”
When asked if he was being interviewed by Ms Gray, Gray laughed and replied: “All that is a subject for investigation by Sue Gray.”
ITV published hours later a bombshell email sent by Martin Reynolds, the PM’s aide, detailing plans for a garden party with socially distant guests.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s Deputy Leader, stated: “He is literally laughing at us whilst he lies through his teeth.”
Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting also reacted furiously, saying: “He’s laughing at you.”
Ruth Davidson, Tory peer and angered by the latest evidence of rule-breaking, took cover as Conservative MPs went down.
The tweet was sent by the former leader of the Scottish Conservative Party: “Nobody needs an official to tell them if they were at a boozy shindig in their own garden. People are (rightly) furious. They sacrificed so much – visiting sick or grieving relatives, funerals.
“What were these people thinking?”
Former Tory attorney general Dominic Grieve said Tory MPs who are “Very unhappy” with the current Prime Minister’s behaviour should move to replace him.
Mr Grieve, who lost the Tory whip for rebelling over Brexit and later lost his seat, said: “He ought to be in trouble. He has told several untruths about these subjects over time, and the latest evidence strongly suggests that the rules have been broken.
“There may be mitigating circumstances for that, I don’t know. But it’s part of a pattern of behaviour by him which undermines trust. And because trust is undermined, it then becomes very difficult to accept anything he says on any topic whatsoever.”
Grieve stated that he believes the public has all the information they need now. “very little”Trust in Mr Johnson, and add: “The difficulty we have here is that we have a Prime Minister who’s effectively a serial liar.”
BBC: Edward Argar, Health Minister, said that: “I can entirely understand why people who’ve lost loved ones, or people who’ve just had their lives hugely disrupted by these restrictions, are angry and upset by these allegations.”
However, he refused details regarding the May 2020 event. He said that it was an issue for the Sue Gray investigation into Whitehall parties.
Ms Gray is believed to be looking at at least six rule-breaking parties in Westminster. This includes four that Mr Johnson attended.
