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Former Secretary of Education Gavin Williamson
Photo: Tayfun Salci / imago images / ZUMA Wire
Even more party trouble for Prime Minister Boris Johnson: A Christmas party apparently also took place in the British Ministry of Education during the Corona lockdown.
About two dozen employees had a chat on December 10, 2020 in the authority's cafeteria over drinks and snacks, reported the Daily Mirror newspaper.
At that time, members of different households were prohibited from meeting.
The Ministry of Education admitted the event.
The then head of department Gavin Williamson wanted to thank his employees for their performance during the pandemic.
It would have been better if the celebration hadn't taken place, they said.
A source told the Mirror that the practice was "inconsiderate."
The same newspaper was the first to report on the heavily criticized Downing Street Christmas party on December 18, 2020.
So far, the government and Johnson, who apparently did not attend the meeting of dozens of employees, have insisted that there was no Christmas party and that no corona rules had been broken.
An internal video that has now been released suggests a different conclusion: The clip shows Johnson's advisor Ed Oldfield and his then spokeswoman Allegra Stratton in a rehearsal for a press conference a few days after the event about the answer to a possible question about one Party joke.
"This fictional party was a business meeting and there were no social distance rules," says Stratton with a laugh.
Another present said there was wine and cheese.
After the "Mirror" revelation, at least two MPs from the opposition Labor party asked the police to investigate the report, which had been confirmed by other media.
as / dpa