Boris Johnson.Photo: PA Images via Getty
U.K. Prime MinisterBoris Johnsondrew a wave of outrage from other lawmakers this week after an email from his staff was leaked showing 100 people were invited to a “bring your own booze” party at his offices in May 2020, during the U.K.’s first COVID-19 lockdown.
Johnson himself had only recently left the hospital after entering intensive care for several days in April 2020 with the virus. Hehas saidhe didn’t do anything wrong.
Carrie Johnson and Boris Johnson.WILL OLIVER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
The revelation of the May 2020 party led to calls for Johnson to be questioned as part of an ongoing inquiry into allegations that at leasteight other partieswere held at Downing Street while the rest of the U.K. population was inlockdownto slow new infections amid the pandemic.
She added that she would “regret the remarks for the rest of my days.”
Boris Johnson and Queen Elizabeth.Victoria Jones - WPA Pool/Getty
“My mum died of COVID in March 2020. She died alone in hospital while I sat in the car outside trying to be as close to her as I could,” Labour lawmaker Afzal Khan said in the House of Commons. “Even burdened with our grief, my family obeyed the rules.”
An emotional Jim Shannon, who represents Strangford in Northern Ireland, added that his mother-in-law also “died alone” because his family so closely followed Johnson’s lockdown guidelines.
Opposition leader Keir Starmer, who is in self-isolation, accused Johnson of “lying to the British public” about the party.
“Not only did you know about the parties in Downing Street, you attended them,” Starmer wrote in a Tuesday tweet. “Stop lying to the British public. It’s time to finally come clean.”
London police have now taken an interest in the alleged rule-breaking.
“The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on 20 May 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office,” a spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement on Tuesday.
source: people.com
