United Kingdom: more revelations about “Friday aperitifs” in Downing Street in full confinement


The newspaper “The Mirror” affirms this Saturday that the tradition of weekend drinks continued during the confinements at the seat of British government. And that Boris Johnson knew.

It doesn’t stop anymore. The United Kingdom woke up this Saturday morning with new revelations about the parties organized in Downing Street, the seat of the British government, in full confinement. Today’s episode of this soap opera was delivered by the newspaper The Mirror, which claims that aperitifs were organized every Friday in Downing Street during confinement, lengthening the list of accusations against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose position seems increasingly precarious.

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 Covid-19 and prohibiting this type of meeting. The newspaper adds that the staff had 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.

Calls for resignation

Stuck in a “partygate”, Boris Johnson is openly criticized in his majority and faces his worst crisis since coming to power in July 2019. He apologized to Parliament on Wednesday for his presence at one of these parties in May 2020 saying he thought it was a business meeting.

But since then, other revelations have arisen, including a party in Downing Street – without Boris Johnson – on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021. Elizabeth II attended her husband’s funeral alone in the chapel of the castle of Windsor, a symbolic image of the rigor of confinements.

If the leader of the Labor opposition, Keir Starmer calls for the resignation of BoJo, anger is now also brewing in the conservative ranks. According to the papers, Boris Johnson’s backers have been called in to tout his achievements, including delivering Brexit, and some of his aides will be asked to leave.



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