Johnson and his press secretary did not deny the events took place though they insist ed no Covid rules were broken. Without elaboration, they said that they “don’t recognise” some of the reports.
At prime minister’s questions, Keir Starmer accused Johnson of “taking the British public for fools for following the rules”, adding: “The prime minister doesn’t deny there was a Downing Street Christmas party last year. He says no rules were broken. Both of those things can’t be true.”
The allegations centre around two events: a leaving party on 27 November, believed to have been for Cleo Watson – a former aide to Dominic Cummings who himself caused a furore by breaching lockdown rules – and a staff party on 18 December.
A source with knowledge of the gathering told the Guardian Johnson came in and made a speech, mentioning how crowded it was in the room before leaving shortly afterwards to continue working. There were, the source added, “loads of leaving parties” and unplanned social events in Downing Street throughout the second and third lockdowns.
This story is from the December 02, 2021 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the December 02, 2021 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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