“Partygate”: new revelations further overwhelm Boris Johnson

The list of charges against Boris Johnson is still growing. Stuck in a “partygate”, the 57-year-old conservative apologized to Parliament on Wednesday for his presence at a rave party in his official residence at 10 Downing Street, in full confinement in May 2020. But other revelations have arisen since including a party in Downing Street on the eve of the funeral of prince Philip in April 2021 which Elizabeth II had as a reminder attended alone due to the rigor of the confinements.

Saturday, the newspaper The Mirror claims that every Friday, Downing Street workers ended their working week by sharing glasses of wine, a “long-standing tradition” which continued despite the introduction of restrictions linked to the Covid and prohibiting this type of meeting.

The newspaper said the appointment was keyed into the electronic calendars of around 50 employees between 4 and 7 p.m. each week, that staff had even invested in a fridge to keep their bottles of alcohol cool and that the Prime Minister was aware of these gatherings.

A spokesperson for Downing Street referred to the conclusions of an investigation led by a senior civil servant who will have to determine whether Boris Johnson and his collaborators broke the rules during the various events.

But anger is brewing, including in the conservative ranks of Boris Johnson who is fighting to stay in power. According to the newspapers, his supporters have been called upon to tout his achievements, including the implementation of Brexit, and some of his aides will be asked to leave.

Opposition Labor leader Keir Starmer calls for his resignation. “We are witnessing the sad spectacle of a prime minister mired in deceit and trickery, unable to lead,” should he declare in a speech on Saturday.

But he himself has been accused of hypocrisy over photos showing him having a beer with a small group of Labor workers in an office last May, at a time when indoor meetings were banned, except in the professional context. When the photo was first published last year, his party argued that Keir Starmer had not broken any rules because he was on a “workplace”.