The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

A Christmas party at Downing 10 during the closure complicates Johnson - Walla! news

2021-12-08T17:06:43.869Z


Britain's advisers have been documented jokingly about an incident they held at the bureau in December last year, while the kingdom was under heavy blockade. Johnson apologized and announced an investigation, and his associate resigned, but the opposition demanded he resign: "Angry and shameful"


A Christmas party at Downing 10 during the closure complicates Johnson

Britain's advisers have been documented jokingly about an incident they held at the bureau in December last year, while the kingdom was under heavy blockade. Johnson apologized and announced an investigation, and his associate resigned, but the opposition demanded he resign: "Angry and shameful"

News agencies

08/12/2021

Wednesday, 08 December 2021, 18:29 Updated: 18:33

  • Share on Facebook

  • Share on WhatsApp

  • Share on Twitter

  • Share on Email

  • Share on general

  • Comments

    Comments

His party also demands explanations from the government.

Johnson in Parliament, Today (Photo: Reuters)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized today (Wednesday) and announced an internal investigation following the leak of a video documenting his senior advisers joking about a Christmas party in Downing 10 last year, during the closure.

The documentation put an end to more than a week of denials by Johnson and his ministers, who rejected media reports that dozens of staff members attended a lengthy event on December 18 last year.



Johnson promised during a heated debate in parliament to take disciplinary action if the investigation reveals that regulations have been violated.

"I understand and share the outrage across the country after seeing staff members at Downing 10 take the closure measures lightly," the conservative prime minister said.

"I apologize for the insult caused by this and I apologize for the impression created by it."

One of the prime minister's closest advisers, documented in the video, resigned today.



Johnson added that "he has been told over and over again" since allegations were made that there was no party in his office, and that corona restrictions have not been violated.

The opposition, however, took advantage of what appeared to be another hypocritical behavior by the government after several similar affair was exposed throughout the corona plague.

In June, Health Minister Matt Hancock resigned when it was discovered he had violated restrictions during an affair he had with his adviser.



"They knew there was a party, they knew it was against the law, they knew they could not admit it, they thought it was funny," attacked Labor leader Kir Stramer.

"Does the Prime Minister think he has the moral authority to lead the British people and ask them to keep the laws?" He asked, before other legislators attacked the Prime Minister.

The video that caused a stir

twitter

The video recorded the then secretary of Johnson Allegra Stratton - the senior adviser who resigned today - answering questions from staff on December 22, during a return to a press conference held without a media presence. The group laughed and joked about a "fictional party" held four days earlier, in which there was reportedly food, drink, games and a "secret" distribution of gifts in honor of the holiday.



"This fictional party was a work meeting and there was no keeping a distance," she laughed during a joke about "cheese and wine" and whether the prime minister was "applied" to such an event. In those days, London was under severe restrictions that prohibited gatherings of two or more people, including explicit reference to holding parties in offices.



Following the publication of the video last night on the ITV network, Health Minister Sajid Javid was forced to cancel a series of interviews he had planned for this morning. The scandal is at the headlines in the kingdom, and millions have watched the video online.Some politicians have even called on Johnson to resign.



"The prime minister is responsible for the loss of public trust. He is no longer leading the way on the most important issue facing the country," said Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford.



Some conservative lawmakers have joined the voices demanding answers from the prime minister.

"It's not a topic to be laughed at," MP Roger Gale told the BBC after being "shocked" by the video.

He added that Johnson must provide a full explanation to Parliament.

"Of course, deliberately misleading the House of Representatives is a ground for resignation."

"No words"

The current affair is reminiscent of that of Dominic Cummings, Johnson's former senior adviser, at the beginning of the plague.

He was then traveling hundreds of miles from his home in London, during the closure, and the incident caused much anger at the double standard of the government.

It is seen as a source of decline in compliance with the restrictions that followed.



Some members of the ruling Conservative Party have said the latest scandal will make it difficult to re-impose restrictions, given the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

"The events of the last day make this a thing that is virtually impossible now," said senior MP Charles Walker.



At the same time, an organization representing families of plague victims said the affair exemplifies "the behavior of people who think they are above us."

"There are no words to describe how outrageous and embarrassing it is to hear Boris Johnson's staff laugh about breaking the rules," the organization said in a statement.

"Others obeyed them and they could say goodbye to their loved ones only through a screen."

  • news

  • World news

  • Europe

Tags

  • Boris Johnson

  • UK

  • Corona virus

Source: walla

All news articles on 2021-12-08

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-01T05:29:21.230Z

Trends 24h

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.