Friday 17th December 2021
Another party during lockdown?
Garden meeting brings Johnson new trouble
The list of alleged lockdown parties is getting longer and longer. British Prime Minister Johnson reportedly not only attended several Christmas parties in 2020, despite strict contact restrictions, but also a garden party in May. In Downing Street, on the other hand, they speak of “meetings”.
According to media reports, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to have participated in a celebration in the spring of last year despite strict corona contact restrictions. About 20 employees stood together on May 15, 2020 after a press conference with alcoholic beverages and pizza in the garden of Johnson’s official residence on Downing Street, the newspapers “Guardian” and “Independent” report online.
Johnson stayed for about a quarter of an hour. He said the teams deserved a drink because of their work in the pandemic. The then Minister of Health Matt Hancock had previously called on the population to stay at home if possible, to stick to the rules and not to take any risks. The Guardian writes, the rule at the time was that a maximum of two people from different households were allowed to meet outside and that they had to keep a distance of at least two meters from each other.
However, there is no talk of a celebration on Downing Street, but of meetings in the garden during the summer months. Johnson’s spokesman said employees had regularly used the garden for meetings. On that day, after a press conference, the Prime Minister had “a few meetings in the garden, including with the then Minister of Health and his team”. Johnson returned to his residence shortly after 7 p.m. A small number of employees whose work was required stayed for part of the afternoon and evening.
A spokesman for Hancocks also dismissed the allegations as “not true” according to the Guardian. After the press conference, which ended around 5:53 p.m., the Minister of Health spoke to his team and then to the Prime Minister in the garden. At 6:32 p.m. he left Downing Street and returned to his department.
The conservative head of government is already under pressure because of alleged violations of the corona rules that he himself has imposed. In particular, there are reports of several Christmas parties on Downing Street last December. Johnson is said to have participated in one as a quiz master. At that time, the contact restrictions were even stricter than in May.