British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under fire on Wednesday December 8 after a video appeared where his top advisers joked about hosting a Christmas party in Downing Street in 2020 when rallies were banned due to of Covid-19.
The footage, obtained by ITV News, shows Allegra Stratton, her press secretary at the time, Councilor Ed Oldfied and another collaborator joking about an
"imaginary party"
during preparations for a press conference. December 22.
No journalist was present.
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According to the footage, Allegra Stratton is answering questions about a Christmas party in Downing Street the previous Friday, when an alleged meeting breaking health rules was said to have taken place.
"This imaginary party was a business meeting without social distances"
, she jokes between other mocking exchanges evoking
"cheese and wine"
.
At the time, London was under strict restrictions due to the health crisis and indoor gatherings of two or more people were prohibited.
Downing Street responded by insisting that there had been
"no Christmas party.
The Covid rules have always been respected ”
.
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Leader of the Labor Party (opposition) Keir Starmer condemned the government for its
"shameful"
behavior
.
“People across the country followed the guidelines even when they were separated from their loved ones. They have a right to expect the government to do the same, ”
he tweeted.
“Lying and joking about these lies is shameful. We have a Prime Minister who has taken his social distances from the truth, ”
he insisted.
Scottish National Party leader Ian Blackford felt the Prime Minister was no longer trustworthy and demanded his resignation.
The
"government is breaking its own Covid rules and then jokes in a video about it
," Ian Blackford said on the STV News television show.
"This is really not acceptable and I must say, unfortunately, that on the basis of this behavior (...) he should go, and he should go now"
, he added. .