There have been further allegations of more parties being arranged at Downing Street during the time when the UK was living under strict restrictions to try and control the number of cases of people infected with Covid 19, The new allegations relate to two leaving parties which were arranged in 10 Downing Street on the eve of the Duke Of Edinborough’s funeral.
It has been reported that around thirty people were drinking alcohol and dancing to music until the early hours of April 17th. The news comes the day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised for a party that was arranged for Downing Street staff in the gardens of 10 Downing Street. There has been a huge public uproar in response to hearing about these parties as they were arranged during the time when the country was living under restrictions and people were not allowed to meet more than one person outside their own homes.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was not at either gathering as he was spending the weekend at his country estate, Chequers.
The Prime Minister’s apology is being seen as insincere by many politicians and members of the public as they feel he is not apologising for the event being arranged, just apologising for getting caught. There has also been a lot of anger aimed at the Prime Minister as he only admitted to being at the party on the day he made the apology. Before this he denied any involvement in the event in question and said he didn’t have any knowledge of any such event even being held.
A spokeswoman has confirmed that Boris Johnson’s former Director Of Communications James Slack gave a farewell speech to thank colleagues ahead of taking up a new role as Deputy Editor of The Sun newspaper.
Mr Slack has apologised for the “anger and hurt” caused by the leaving event and acknowledged it “should not have happened at the time that it did”.
But he said he could not comment further as it had been referred to senior civil servant Sue Gray as part of her investigation into reported parties at Downing Street and Whitehall.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said “the buck stops with the PM” over the “culture and behaviours” inside No 10.
Ms Rayner said: “The Queen sat alone in mourning like so many did at the time with personal trauma and sacrifice to keep to the rules in the national interest.
“I have no words for the culture and behaviours at No 10 and the buck stops with the PM.”
The leader of the Liberal Democrats, Sir Ed Davey, also reiterated calls for the prime minister to resign over the growing list of parties, tweeting: “The Queen sitting alone, mourning the loss of her husband, was the defining image of lock down.
“Not because she is the Queen, but because she was just another person, mourning alone like too many others.
“Whilst she mourned, No 10 partied.”
People around the country are demanding that the Prime Minister resigns as he is not following his own restrictions. They claim that it is one rule for the general public and another for the rich and powerful as they were able to attend parties when the rest of the country was in lock down. A report is being put together by senior civil servant Sue Gray to see if any laws were broken by people attending these parties and if any further action needs to be taken.
According to the Telegraph, Mr Slack’s leaving party coincided with another gathering in the No 10 basement for one of the PM’s personal photographers.
The reported events were held at a time when the UK was in a period of national mourning, which ran from 9 April to 17 April, following Prince Philip’s death.
The Prime Minister’s cabinet has stuck together and rallied round him at a time when he is facing many calls to quit. Other MP’s have started to submit letters of no confidence in the Prime Minister as they say his position is untenable. A minimum of 54 Conservative MPs must send letters to the 1922 committee of backbench MPs in order to trigger a leadership challenge.
Chris Philp, minister for technology and the digital economy, said it was right to wait for the findings of Ms Gray’s investigation.
