Rebels accused the British government of intimidating and attempting to blackmail those lawmakers they suspect of wanting to force Prime Minister Boris Johnson out of power.

Rebels accuses UK government of blackmailing to keep Boris Johnson in power

<p>UK PM Boris Johnson is facing a lot of heat over the parties that are alleged to have been taken place flouting Covid rules. WION's Jodie Cohen spoke with Jonathan Oates, a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of House of Lords.</p>

<p>He was formerly chief of staff to Nick Clegg former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. He weighed in on the situation Borish Johnson finds himself in.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>WION: Lord Oates, in the latest, former secretary of state and chairman of the Conservative Party David Davis, has called for Prime Minister Johnson to go. How damaging is this, as well as the defection of MP Christian Wakeford to the Labour Party?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Lord Oates:</strong> Clearly is not helpful. Although paradoxically the decision of Christian Wakeford to defect has brought at least temporary coming together of the Tory tribe, making them feel perhaps that Labour is the real threat in the long term. I think David Davis' intervention clearly had a big impact. Cetainly in my household there was a big gasp as he delivered those words.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But he doesn't have a huge following in the Conservative Party to be honest. He is known to be a bit of a narcissist. He has got rather a big ego. I think there was a bit of a feeling that he was grandstanding.</p>

<p>So I think, to some extent, yesterday's events helped in short term Prime Minister Johnson. I am not sure whether in the long-term that would prove to be true.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">As former cabinet minister David Davis joins calls for Boris Johnson's resignation, WION's <a href="https://twitter.com/JodieCohen613?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JodieCohen613</a> speaks with UK lawmaker Lord Oates on the mounting trouble for the British prime minister. Take a listen in<br />
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<p><strong>WION: In Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Johnson said that people must wait for the results of Sue Gray’s probe. What is the scope of the probe, and what do you think the results will show?</strong></p>

<p><strong>Lord Oates:</strong> Scope of the probe has grown day by day as more and more evidence emerges of events in No 10 Downing Street... It's expanded. It's really looking into the breach of Covid rules. Of course, Sue Gray is a civil servant who ultimately reports to the cabinet secretary and ultimately to the prime minister. Both the Cabinet secretary and PM are deeply implicated in these alleged parties. Ultimately, she has a very difficult job. I have worked with her in the past during the coalition govt.</p>

<p>She is somebody of integrity. She is a tough person. I'm sure she will be willing to take tough decisions. If she finds the facts are that the rules were broken, I think the prime minister could be in a lot of trouble. Particularly if she finds evidence that he was told as his former advisor Dominic Cummings says, that it was a party and it should not go ahead.</p>


UK PM Boris Johnson is facing a lot of heat over the parties that are alleged to have been taken place flouting Covid rules. WION's Jodie Cohen spoke with Jonathan Oates, a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of House of Lords.

UK PM Boris Johnson is facing a lot of heat over the parties that are alleged to have been taken place flouting Covid rules. WION's Jodie Cohen spoke with Jonathan Oates, a British Liberal Democrat politician and member of House of Lords. He was formerly chief of staff to Nick Clegg former deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom. He weighed in on the situation Borish Johnson finds himself in. WION: Lord Oates, in the latest, former secretary of state and chairman of the Conservative Party David Davis, has called for Prime Minister Johnson to go. How damaging is this, as well as the defection of MP Christian Wakeford to the Labour Party? Lord Oates: Clearly is not helpful. Although paradoxically the decision of Christian Wakeford to defect has brought at least temporary coming together of the Tory tribe, making them feel perhaps that Labour is the real threat in the long term. I think David Davis' intervention clearly had a big impact. Cetainly in my household there was a big gasp as he delivered those words. But he doesn't have a huge following in the Conservative Party to be honest. He is known to be a bit of a narcissist. He has got rather a big ego. I think there was a bit of a feeling that he was grandstanding. So I think, to some extent, yesterday's events helped in short term Prime Minister Johnson. I am not sure whether in the long-term that would prove to be true. As former cabinet minister David Davis joins calls for Boris Johnson's resignation, WION's @JodieCohen613 speaks with UK lawmaker Lord Oates on the mounting trouble for the British prime minister. Take a listen in For more videos, visit: https://t.co/AXC5qRugeb pic.twitter.com/au5hZklDVj — WION (@WIONews) January 20, 2022 × WION: In Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday, Johnson said that people must wait for the results of Sue Gray’s probe. What is the scope of the probe, and what do you think the results will show? Lord Oates: Scope of the probe has grown day by day as more and more evidence emerges of events in No 10 Downing Street... It's expanded. It's really looking into the breach of Covid rules. Of course, Sue Gray is a civil servant who ultimately reports to the cabinet secretary and ultimately to the prime minister. Both the Cabinet secretary and PM are deeply implicated in these alleged parties. Ultimately, she has a very difficult job. I have worked with her in the past during the coalition govt. She is somebody of integrity. She is a tough person. I'm sure she will be willing to take tough decisions. If she finds the facts are that the rules were broken, I think the prime minister could be in a lot of trouble. Particularly if she finds evidence that he was told as his former advisor Dominic Cummings says, that it was a party and it should not go ahead.

Scope of probe has clearly grown: UK lawmaker on Downing Street parties

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found himself in the eye of a storm a raging storm which threatens to topple the prime minister from his office after new revelations about the 'bring your own booze' party surfaced.

Opposition mocks Downing street parties, calls for PM Boris Johnson's resignation grows louder

As former cabinet minister David Davis joins calls for Boris Johnson's resignation, WION's Jodie Cohen speaks with UK lawmaker Lord Oates on the mounting trouble for the British prime minister.

Scope of probe has clearly grown: UK Lawmaker Lord Oates on No 10 boozy parties

<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have crossed a political Rubicon in recent days over charges that he lied about Downing Street parties during the pandemic. But whether he is forced out of power could depend on whether one of his fellow Conservatives is ready to play the role of Brutus.</p>

<p>As Britain’s political establishment waits for the results of an internal investigation of the parties, a key question is whether it will trigger a plot against Johnson, and if so, who would make the first move against him?</p>

<p>There is no shortage of candidates, from the ambitious chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to the crowd-pleasing foreign secretary, Liz Truss. But the tactics and timing of a leadership challenge are fiendishly tricky, and few forget the old British maxim, “He who wields the knife never wears the crown.”</p>

<p>That may explain the uneasy lull that has settled over Westminster since last week, when Johnson was forced to apologize for social gatherings in Downing Street that breached lockdown restrictions. His allies and rivals alike are waiting to see how damaging the investigation will be, how badly the Conservative Party has slipped in the polls and whether a political king slayer emerges.</p>

<p>“It’s easy to judge these things looking back but very hard looking forward,” said Robert Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester. The dilemma, he said, was particularly acute for Sunak, who leads the polls of Conservative Party members and is Johnson’s most plausible replacement.</p>

<p>“There is a possibility that Sunak is riding the crest of a wave right now” and could miss his chance, Ford said. But perhaps the bigger danger is to strike now, only to open the way for a right-wing rival more favored by the Tory Party rank and file.</p>

<p>“There’s a risk he gets outflanked by Truss or somebody else,” he said, adding that a challenge to Johnson might be more likely after local elections in May that will test his party’s popularity.</p>

<p>The fragility of Johnson’s situation was evident in the cautious response of the senior members of his Cabinet. While Sunak said Tuesday that he believed Johnson, he urged the public to wait for the findings of the investigation. He also said that Britain’s ministerial code was clear about the consequences of lying to Parliament: The prime minister would have to resign.</p>

<p>Truss, whom Johnson elevated to foreign secretary in September, was more forthcoming. She said last week that she “100% supported him continuing to get on with the job.” But she added, “I completely understand people’s anger and dismay about what has happened.”</p>

<p>Johnson’s cause was not helped when his disaffected former adviser, Dominic Cummings, claimed Monday that he and another official warned the prime minister that the party in May 2020 would break lockdown rules and should be canceled. That contradicted Johnson’s claim in Parliament that he was not warned about the gathering and viewed it “implicitly” as a work event.</p>

<p>On a visit to a hospital Tuesday, Johnson again denied misleading Parliament. But in an interview with Sky News, he deflected a question about whether Cummings was lying, and he apologized yet again for “misjudgments” in how social gatherings were handled by Downing Street.</p>

<p>“Boris Johnson is not going to resign voluntarily,” said Jonathan Powell, who served as chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair. “He’s only going to go if he is shown the door by his own party.”</p>

<p>That is not as hard it used to be: Under Conservative Party rules, lawmakers can hold a binding vote of no confidence in Johnson if 54 of them write to formally request one. The request letters are confidential. So far only six Conservatives in Parliament have publicly called on Johnson to quit.</p>

<p>In a no-confidence vote, held by secret ballot, Johnson would keep his job by winning a simple majority of Conservative lawmakers. He would then be safe from another such challenge for a year unless the rules were changed.</p>

<p>But setting this process in motion could still depend on a first mover. Some of the jockeying will have to end when the internal investigation, led by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, is completed, probably within the next week. His potential Cabinet rivals will then have to either endorse him or quit, analysts said.</p>

<p>Sunak and Truss are the two rivals most frequently mentioned. As chancellor, the 41-year-old Sunak won plaudits for assembling gargantuan fiscal rescue packages early in the pandemic. More recently, however, he has become identified with looming tax increases that he says are necessary to fund the health care system and close the yawning public deficit.</p>

<p>Truss’ plain-spoken style and free-market ideology have made her popular with the base of the Conservative Party, no mean feat for a politician who came out against Brexit before the 2016 referendum.</p>

<p>Her profile has risen since Johnson put her in charge of negotiating the trade status of Northern Ireland with the European Union after the resignation of David Frost, a key ally who had hammered out the Brexit trade deal with Brussels.</p>

<p>If Truss can avoid a clash over Northern Ireland, said Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to France, “she could indeed be a force to be reckoned with when the Conservative Party starts looking for a new leader.”</p>

<p>Sunak could also try behind closed doors to put together a kind of unity ticket, in which he would line up the support of Truss and other potential candidates — like Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary — by offering them plum jobs in a new government.</p>

<p>“They don’t have to wait until they have a consensus on a successor to get rid of Johnson,” Powell said.</p>

<p>There is a truism in Tory circles that challengers wreck their prospects through open disloyalty. That is what happened when Margaret Thatcher was toppled in 1990, and her longtime foe, Michael Heseltine, failed to win her job.</p>

<p>Yet that rule was disproved by the demise of Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, when his fingerprints were all over the murder weapon: In 2018, Johnson resigned as foreign secretary claiming that, under May’s Brexit plan, Britain was headed for the status of a colony of the European Union.</p>

<p>There is also the risk of failing to exploit a damaged leader’s moment of weakness. Even Johnson missed out on his first chance to become prime minister when he was ill-prepared for a leadership contest to succeed David Cameron, who resigned as prime minister after losing the Brexit referendum.</p>

<p>During his brief premiership, Gordon Brown’s popularity plummeted, and there were rumors of a plot to challenge him by David Miliband, his popular foreign secretary. Miliband never struck, however. Labour lost the 2010 general election, and he even failed in a contest with his younger brother, Ed Miliband, to lead his party.</p>

<p>“Labour is influenced by the trade union ethic that one should not do someone out of his job,” said Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at Kings College London. “The Tories are more ruthless because they have a governing vocation as the Democrats did in the U.S. under FDR and Truman, and the Republicans under Nixon, Reagan and Bush.”</p>


Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have crossed a political Rubicon in recent days over charges that he lied about Downing Street parties during the pandemic. But whether he is forced out of power could depend on whether one of his fellow Conservatives is ready to play the role of Brutus.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson may have crossed a political Rubicon in recent days over charges that he lied about Downing Street parties during the pandemic. But whether he is forced out of power could depend on whether one of his fellow Conservatives is ready to play the role of Brutus. As Britain’s political establishment waits for the results of an internal investigation of the parties, a key question is whether it will trigger a plot against Johnson, and if so, who would make the first move against him? There is no shortage of candidates, from the ambitious chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, to the crowd-pleasing foreign secretary, Liz Truss. But the tactics and timing of a leadership challenge are fiendishly tricky, and few forget the old British maxim, “He who wields the knife never wears the crown.” That may explain the uneasy lull that has settled over Westminster since last week, when Johnson was forced to apologize for social gatherings in Downing Street that breached lockdown restrictions. His allies and rivals alike are waiting to see how damaging the investigation will be, how badly the Conservative Party has slipped in the polls and whether a political king slayer emerges. “It’s easy to judge these things looking back but very hard looking forward,” said Robert Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester. The dilemma, he said, was particularly acute for Sunak, who leads the polls of Conservative Party members and is Johnson’s most plausible replacement. “There is a possibility that Sunak is riding the crest of a wave right now” and could miss his chance, Ford said. But perhaps the bigger danger is to strike now, only to open the way for a right-wing rival more favored by the Tory Party rank and file. “There’s a risk he gets outflanked by Truss or somebody else,” he said, adding that a challenge to Johnson might be more likely after local elections in May that will test his party’s popularity. The fragility of Johnson’s situation was evident in the cautious response of the senior members of his Cabinet. While Sunak said Tuesday that he believed Johnson, he urged the public to wait for the findings of the investigation. He also said that Britain’s ministerial code was clear about the consequences of lying to Parliament: The prime minister would have to resign. Truss, whom Johnson elevated to foreign secretary in September, was more forthcoming. She said last week that she “100% supported him continuing to get on with the job.” But she added, “I completely understand people’s anger and dismay about what has happened.” Johnson’s cause was not helped when his disaffected former adviser, Dominic Cummings, claimed Monday that he and another official warned the prime minister that the party in May 2020 would break lockdown rules and should be canceled. That contradicted Johnson’s claim in Parliament that he was not warned about the gathering and viewed it “implicitly” as a work event. On a visit to a hospital Tuesday, Johnson again denied misleading Parliament. But in an interview with Sky News, he deflected a question about whether Cummings was lying, and he apologized yet again for “misjudgments” in how social gatherings were handled by Downing Street. “Boris Johnson is not going to resign voluntarily,” said Jonathan Powell, who served as chief of staff to Prime Minister Tony Blair. “He’s only going to go if he is shown the door by his own party.” That is not as hard it used to be: Under Conservative Party rules, lawmakers can hold a binding vote of no confidence in Johnson if 54 of them write to formally request one. The request letters are confidential. So far only six Conservatives in Parliament have publicly called on Johnson to quit. In a no-confidence vote, held by secret ballot, Johnson would keep his job by winning a simple majority of Conservative lawmakers. He would then be safe from another such challenge for a year unless the rules were changed. But setting this process in motion could still depend on a first mover. Some of the jockeying will have to end when the internal investigation, led by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, is completed, probably within the next week. His potential Cabinet rivals will then have to either endorse him or quit, analysts said. Sunak and Truss are the two rivals most frequently mentioned. As chancellor, the 41-year-old Sunak won plaudits for assembling gargantuan fiscal rescue packages early in the pandemic. More recently, however, he has become identified with looming tax increases that he says are necessary to fund the health care system and close the yawning public deficit. Truss’ plain-spoken style and free-market ideology have made her popular with the base of the Conservative Party, no mean feat for a politician who came out against Brexit before the 2016 referendum. Her profile has risen since Johnson put her in charge of negotiating the trade status of Northern Ireland with the European Union after the resignation of David Frost, a key ally who had hammered out the Brexit trade deal with Brussels. If Truss can avoid a clash over Northern Ireland, said Peter Westmacott, a former British ambassador to France, “she could indeed be a force to be reckoned with when the Conservative Party starts looking for a new leader.” Sunak could also try behind closed doors to put together a kind of unity ticket, in which he would line up the support of Truss and other potential candidates — like Jeremy Hunt, a former foreign secretary — by offering them plum jobs in a new government. “They don’t have to wait until they have a consensus on a successor to get rid of Johnson,” Powell said. There is a truism in Tory circles that challengers wreck their prospects through open disloyalty. That is what happened when Margaret Thatcher was toppled in 1990, and her longtime foe, Michael Heseltine, failed to win her job. Yet that rule was disproved by the demise of Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, when his fingerprints were all over the murder weapon: In 2018, Johnson resigned as foreign secretary claiming that, under May’s Brexit plan, Britain was headed for the status of a colony of the European Union. There is also the risk of failing to exploit a damaged leader’s moment of weakness. Even Johnson missed out on his first chance to become prime minister when he was ill-prepared for a leadership contest to succeed David Cameron, who resigned as prime minister after losing the Brexit referendum. During his brief premiership, Gordon Brown’s popularity plummeted, and there were rumors of a plot to challenge him by David Miliband, his popular foreign secretary. Miliband never struck, however. Labour lost the 2010 general election, and he even failed in a contest with his younger brother, Ed Miliband, to lead his party. “Labour is influenced by the trade union ethic that one should not do someone out of his job,” said Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at Kings College London. “The Tories are more ruthless because they have a governing vocation as the Democrats did in the U.S. under FDR and Truman, and the Republicans under Nixon, Reagan and Bush.”

As Johnson reels from scandals, is someone plotting to take his place?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now denied of lying to the parliament after facing a scathing accusation by his former special adviser. Boris Johnson spoke publicly for the very first time in almost about a week claiming that nobody had actually warned him that a drinks party was against his country's covid-19 rules.

BYOB: Boris Johnson denies lying, claims 'Nobody told me' that drinks party was against Covid rules

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces questions in Parliament over multiple scandals involving lockdown parties.

UK PM Boris Johnson faces grilling over lockdown parties in Parliament

A group of new Tories are said to have launched an operation to oust UK PM Boris Johnson after it was reported he is planning to sack officials in order to save himself over the Downing Street parties scandal.

Reports: A group of new Tories plan to oust UK PM Boris Johnson over ‘partygate’

<p>A 5-year-old girl has taken&nbsp;the United Kingdom by storm, after a video of her chiding Prime Minister Boris Johnson for attending a party in Downing Street went viral.</p>

<p>Many were surprised with the girl’s grasp on the country’s state of affairs and her ability to understand why Johnson was wrong to attend the ‘bring your own booze’ party during the pandemic.</p>

<p>Layla Somani, from Leicester, Leicestershire, had been avidly following the news for the past week even as the prime minister was being severely criticised.</p>

<p>While eloquently explaining the pressing political situation to her grandparents Kanti Somani, 76, and Kusun Somani, 73, her mother Devina Somani, 37, filmed her hilariously detailed monologue on camera and shared it online.</p>

<p>The video left the social media users impressed, with many users hailing her as the “future PM”.</p>

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<p>In the funny clip, Layla says, “Boris Johnson told everyone to stay at home, but in lockdown, he just went down to a party, in the lockdown.”</p>

<p>“He’s been naughty, so he had to go to the naughty centre to tell everyone he's sorry for going to a party in lockdown. Now he can't be prime minister anymore and he can't go back to his prime minister home, so he's not prime minister anymore.”&nbsp;</p>

<p>“So, someone else is being prime minister and there will be a good prime minister, but Boris Johnson is not a prime minister anymore, he's a bad prime minister. But, if he's lucky, he can go back to his prime minister home and he can be a prime minister again. We'll see tomorrow if he's lucky.”</p>

<p>The video has had more than 55,000 views and 1,645 reactions.</p>

<p>Speaking to Daily Mail, Devina said, “We couldn't stop laughing. We couldn't believe how much she'd picked up.”</p>

<p>“When she was explaining it we thought 'oh my god'. We couldn't believe she'd learnt all this stuff and that she was absorbing it so well.”</p>

<p>(With inputs from agencies)</p>


A 5-year-old girl has taken the United Kingdom by storm, after a video of her chiding Prime Minister Boris Johnson for attending a party in Downing Street went viral.

A 5-year-old girl has taken the United Kingdom by storm, after a video of her chiding Prime Minister Boris Johnson for attending a party in Downing Street went viral. Many were surprised with the girl’s grasp on the country’s state of affairs and her ability to understand why Johnson was wrong to attend the ‘bring your own booze’ party during the pandemic. Layla Somani, from Leicester, Leicestershire, had been avidly following the news for the past week even as the prime minister was being severely criticised. While eloquently explaining the pressing political situation to her grandparents Kanti Somani, 76, and Kusun Somani, 73, her mother Devina Somani, 37, filmed her hilariously detailed monologue on camera and shared it online. The video left the social media users impressed, with many users hailing her as the “future PM”. × In the funny clip, Layla says, “Boris Johnson told everyone to stay at home, but in lockdown, he just went down to a party, in the lockdown.” “He’s been naughty, so he had to go to the naughty centre to tell everyone he's sorry for going to a party in lockdown. Now he can't be prime minister anymore and he can't go back to his prime minister home, so he's not prime minister anymore.” “So, someone else is being prime minister and there will be a good prime minister, but Boris Johnson is not a prime minister anymore, he's a bad prime minister. But, if he's lucky, he can go back to his prime minister home and he can be a prime minister again. We'll see tomorrow if he's lucky.” The video has had more than 55,000 views and 1,645 reactions. Speaking to Daily Mail, Devina said, “We couldn't stop laughing. We couldn't believe how much she'd picked up.” “When she was explaining it we thought 'oh my god'. We couldn't believe she'd learnt all this stuff and that she was absorbing it so well.” (With inputs from agencies)

5-year-old girl hilariously trolls Johnson over ‘partygate’, netizens hail 'future UK PM’

A 5-year-old girl is taking the United Kingdom by storm. A video of her chiding Prime Minister Boris Johnson for attending a party in Downing Street during Covid lockdown has gone viral. Layla Somani, from Leicester, Leicestershire, had been avidly following the news for the past week. While the girl was eloquently explaining the pressing situation to her grandparents her mother Devina Somani taped her detailed monologue and shared it online.

5-year-old girl hilariously trolls UK PM Boris Johnson over ‘partygate’

UK PM Boris Johnson on brink of facing leadership challenge | Downing street Christmas party

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been accused of lying to Parliament in a scathing new blog post by former aide Dominic Cummings.

UK PM Boris Johnson's former aide accuses him of lying to Parliament

British PM Boris Johnson is preparing for the toughest week of his career. Reports say 10 Downing street's staff partied the night before Prince Philip's funeral. Senior Tory MPs have called for Johnson to resign. Over 30 conservatives have expressed 'no-confidence' in him. Will Boris Johnson step down? Listen in to Palki Sharma.

Gravitas: BYOB Party: Senior Tory MP call for Boris Johnson's resignation

<p>Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide to Boris Johnson has accused the British Prime Minister of lying to parliament. He on Monday said that Johnson knew a party was being held at his residence during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Johnson apologised on Wednesday for attending a "bring your own booze" gathering at his official residence during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown. But added that he had thought it was a work event.</p>

<p>Now, Cummings tweeted that the prime minister had agreed that the drinks party should go ahead. "Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened," he said on his blog.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/after-boris-johnson-his-wife-pictured-breaking-covid-19-rules-hugging-friend-see-pic-445207">After Boris Johnson, his wife pictured breaking COVID-19 rules, hugging friend - see pic</a></strong></p>

<p>Last week ITV News published an email invitation from Johnson's Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds to a May 20, 2020 event, asking attendees to "bring your own booze".&nbsp;</p>

<p>Commenting on that, Cummings said that after Reynolds was told to cancel the invite by at least two people Reynolds checked with Johnson if it should go ahead. "The PM agreed it should," Cummings said in his blog.</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/indian-origin-rishi-sunak-tipped-to-replace-johnson-as-pm-report-445193">Indian-origin Rishi Sunak tipped to replace Johnson as PM: Report</a></strong></p>

<p>In response to the claims, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, on Tuesday said the accusations that Johnson lied to parliament were not true. "The prime minister and Number 10 have been very clear that that account is not true," Raab said during an interview.</p>

<p>As per the reports by British media, at least 11 gatherings took place at Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It was the time when COVID-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially.&nbsp;</p>

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Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide to Boris Johnson has accused the British Prime Minister of lying to parliament. He on Monday said that Johnson knew a party was being held at his residence during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in the country.

Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide to Boris Johnson has accused the British Prime Minister of lying to parliament. He on Monday said that Johnson knew a party was being held at his residence during the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in the country. Johnson apologised on Wednesday for attending a "bring your own booze" gathering at his official residence during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown. But added that he had thought it was a work event. Now, Cummings tweeted that the prime minister had agreed that the drinks party should go ahead. "Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened," he said on his blog. ALSO READ | After Boris Johnson, his wife pictured breaking COVID-19 rules, hugging friend - see pic Last week ITV News published an email invitation from Johnson's Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds to a May 20, 2020 event, asking attendees to "bring your own booze". Commenting on that, Cummings said that after Reynolds was told to cancel the invite by at least two people Reynolds checked with Johnson if it should go ahead. "The PM agreed it should," Cummings said in his blog. ALSO READ | Indian-origin Rishi Sunak tipped to replace Johnson as PM: Report In response to the claims, Britain's Deputy Prime Minister, Dominic Raab, on Tuesday said the accusations that Johnson lied to parliament were not true. "The prime minister and Number 10 have been very clear that that account is not true," Raab said during an interview. As per the reports by British media, at least 11 gatherings took place at Downing Street between May 2020 and April 2021. It was the time when COVID-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially. ×

Dominic Raab reacts after UK PM's former aide says Boris Johnson knew about lockdown party

British PM Boris Johnson has been accused of lying to the parliament. A former senior adviser to Johnson has said that the PM was aware of a party being held at his residence during a covid-19 lockdown. British media have reported that at least 11 gatherings took place at 10 downing street between May 2020 and April 2021.

'UK PM Boris Johnson was aware of booze party,' says PM's former senior adviser

<p>UK government on Monday announced freeze on British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) license fee. The government claimed that freeze on the license fee was aimed at providing relief to families from cost of living pressures. However, the Opposition alleged that the real motive behind the move was part of vendetta of right-wingers against the mediahouse.</p>

<p>Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told parliament the £159 ($217, 190 euros) annual fee, paid by every television set owner in the country, would be fixed for the next two years.</p>

<p>After that it will rise in line with inflation for four years, she said, saying the rising annual cost of the compulsory charge was hurting cash-strapped families.</p>

<p>The long-term future of the corporation should not depend on a system which criminalises non-payers, she added.</p>

<p>But opposition parties linked the move to efforts to keep Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a job, by offering "red meat" to BBC critics, due to anger at lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street.</p>

<p>Labour media spokeswoman Lucy Powell said monthly payments for the license fee were small change compared to proposed Tory annual tax increases and soaring energy bills totalling thousands of pounds.</p>

<p>"Is the license fee really at the heart of the cost of living crisis or is this really about their long-term vendetta against the BBC?" she asked</p>

<p>"It's at the heart of Operation Red Meat to stop the prime minister becoming dead meat," she added, referring to a proposed government fight-back plan of populist measures to boost Johnson's standing.</p>

<p>The BBC has come under increasing criticism from right-wingers since Britain's divisive Brexit referendum in 2016 for alleged political bias, and pushing a "woke", London-centric liberal agenda.</p>

<p>But the public service broadcaster, which this year marks its 100th anniversary and has editorial independence from government, has faced similar accusations from the political left.</p>

<p>Critics accused Johnson loyalist Dorries, who leaked details of the plan on Twitter on Sunday night after a torrid week for the prime minister, of "cultural vandalism", wrecking a world-renowned British institution.</p>

<p>The licence fee funds television, radio and online services, including its popular iPlayer on-demand platform, as well as programming, many of which are exported commercially worldwide.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


UK government on Monday announced freeze on British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) license fee. The government claimed that freeze on the license fee was aimed at providing relief to families from cost of living pressures.

UK government on Monday announced freeze on British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) license fee. The government claimed that freeze on the license fee was aimed at providing relief to families from cost of living pressures. However, the Opposition alleged that the real motive behind the move was part of vendetta of right-wingers against the mediahouse. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries told parliament the £159 ($217, 190 euros) annual fee, paid by every television set owner in the country, would be fixed for the next two years. After that it will rise in line with inflation for four years, she said, saying the rising annual cost of the compulsory charge was hurting cash-strapped families. The long-term future of the corporation should not depend on a system which criminalises non-payers, she added. But opposition parties linked the move to efforts to keep Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a job, by offering "red meat" to BBC critics, due to anger at lockdown-breaking parties at Downing Street. Labour media spokeswoman Lucy Powell said monthly payments for the license fee were small change compared to proposed Tory annual tax increases and soaring energy bills totalling thousands of pounds. "Is the license fee really at the heart of the cost of living crisis or is this really about their long-term vendetta against the BBC?" she asked "It's at the heart of Operation Red Meat to stop the prime minister becoming dead meat," she added, referring to a proposed government fight-back plan of populist measures to boost Johnson's standing. The BBC has come under increasing criticism from right-wingers since Britain's divisive Brexit referendum in 2016 for alleged political bias, and pushing a "woke", London-centric liberal agenda. But the public service broadcaster, which this year marks its 100th anniversary and has editorial independence from government, has faced similar accusations from the political left. Critics accused Johnson loyalist Dorries, who leaked details of the plan on Twitter on Sunday night after a torrid week for the prime minister, of "cultural vandalism", wrecking a world-renowned British institution. The licence fee funds television, radio and online services, including its popular iPlayer on-demand platform, as well as programming, many of which are exported commercially worldwide. (With inputs from agencies)

UK government announces freeze on BBC's license fee

<p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a massive backlash for breaking coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for Downing Street parties. Now, another photo has emerged showing Johnson's wife Carrie flouting social distancing rules during the country-wide lockdown in 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The photo is claimed to be of the time when the authorities in the United Kingdom warned the public that they should keep their distance from anyone they do not live with.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/indian-origin-rishi-sunak-tipped-to-replace-johnson-as-pm-report-445193">Indian-origin Rishi Sunak tipped to replace Johnson as PM: Report</a></strong></p>

<p>The image, which was&nbsp;first published by The Telegraph, shows Carrie Johnson with an old school friend Anna Pinder at a private members' club.</p>

<p>As per the media reports, both were celebrating Pinder's engagement&nbsp;on September 17 in&nbsp;2020 at The Conduit, which is a private members' club in Covent Garden,&nbsp;London.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The picture shows Carrie hugging her friend and they also can be seen sitting side-by-side on a sofa.&nbsp;Image grabs of the same media report were circulated on social media forums. <strong>Check it out here:</strong></p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Carrie Johnson pictured breaking covid rules<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GTTO?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#GTTO</a> <a href="https://t.co/a3AkDCGfIE">pic.twitter.com/a3AkDCGfIE</a></p>
— UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) <a href="https://twitter.com/ukiswitheu/status/1482496386033754113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 15, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p>Earlier, Johnson apologised on Wednesday for attending a "bring your own booze" gathering at his official residence during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown, as a senior figure in his party and opponents said he should resign.</p>

<p>Not just this, reports have emerged of several other parties, including weekly gatherings, termed as 'wine-time Fridays', which were even put into the electronic calendars of 50 Downing Street staff every week.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In his apology, Johnson admitted for the first time that he had attended the party at 10 Downing Street in May 2020 when COVID-19 rules limited social gatherings to a bare minimum, saying he understood public anger.</p>

<p>"I know the rage they feel with me over the government I lead when they think that in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules," an ashen-faced Johnson told parliament.</p>

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a massive backlash for breaking coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for Downing Street parties. Now, another photo has emerged showing Johnson's wife Carrie flouting social distancing rules during the country-wide lockdown in 2020.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing a massive backlash for breaking coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown for Downing Street parties. Now, another photo has emerged showing Johnson's wife Carrie flouting social distancing rules during the country-wide lockdown in 2020. The photo is claimed to be of the time when the authorities in the United Kingdom warned the public that they should keep their distance from anyone they do not live with. ALSO READ | Indian-origin Rishi Sunak tipped to replace Johnson as PM: Report The image, which was first published by The Telegraph, shows Carrie Johnson with an old school friend Anna Pinder at a private members' club. As per the media reports, both were celebrating Pinder's engagement on September 17 in 2020 at The Conduit, which is a private members' club in Covent Garden, London. The picture shows Carrie hugging her friend and they also can be seen sitting side-by-side on a sofa. Image grabs of the same media report were circulated on social media forums. Check it out here: Carrie Johnson pictured breaking covid rules#GTTO pic.twitter.com/a3AkDCGfIE — UK is with EU (@ukiswitheu) January 15, 2022 × Earlier, Johnson apologised on Wednesday for attending a "bring your own booze" gathering at his official residence during Britain's first coronavirus lockdown, as a senior figure in his party and opponents said he should resign. Not just this, reports have emerged of several other parties, including weekly gatherings, termed as 'wine-time Fridays', which were even put into the electronic calendars of 50 Downing Street staff every week. In his apology, Johnson admitted for the first time that he had attended the party at 10 Downing Street in May 2020 when COVID-19 rules limited social gatherings to a bare minimum, saying he understood public anger. "I know the rage they feel with me over the government I lead when they think that in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules," an ashen-faced Johnson told parliament. ×

After Boris Johnson, his wife pictured breaking COVID-19 rules, hugging friend - see pic

After a series of allegations of multiple lockdown breaching parties and weeks of denials of rule-breaking, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has now apologized for attending one gathering. An online survey conducted by the Conservative Home website asked a question to a panel of Tory members, activists and supporters. It showed that over 53% believed that Johnson should resign immediately.

UK: Online survey cites support for British PM Boris Johnson as dwindling

<p>As pressure mounts against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson not only from the opposition, but also from own Conservative Party members over the ‘partygate’ saga, several local media reports have claimed that his Indian-origin Chancellor Rishi Sunak may likely replace him.</p>

<p>The 57-year-old embattled PM has been facing the wrath of the public ever since he acknowledged hosting and attending a ‘bring your booze’ party at 10 Downing Street when a lockdown was imposed across the UK in view of the Covid virus in 2020.</p>

<p>There have been growing calls for Johnson to resign immediately. Several Tory MPs have publicly expressed the inability of Johnson to handle the crisis and called for his resignation.</p>

<p>The MPs are currently waiting for the senior civil servant Sue Gray to finish the probe report before deciding on Johnson’s fate.</p>

<p>The Tory MP&nbsp;Tobias Ellwood, a former foreign office minister, said that Johnson had to demonstrate within days that he could end the chaos for good and demonstrate a new kind of leadership.</p>

<p><strong>Also read |</strong>&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/more-trouble-for-boris-johnson-as-downing-street-staff-held-wine-time-fridays-during-covid-lockdown-444911">More trouble for Boris Johnson as Downing Street staff held 'wine-time Fridays' during Covid lockdown</a></p>

<p>“But if he tries to spin his way out of a critical report, he will lose my support,” he told the Guardian.</p>

<p>Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, wrote on Twitter, “I have regretfully come to the conclusion that Boris Johnson’s position is now untenable, that his resignation is the only way to bring this whole unfortunate episode to an end, and I am working with colleagues to impress that view on No 10.”</p>

<p>The name of Rishi Sunak has been doing the rounds ever since the ‘partygate’ saga came to the fore.</p>

<p>A major bookmaker in the UK — Betfair — has slashed its odds against Johnson, in favour of finance minister Sunak to step in at 10 Downing Street.</p>

<p>Also read |&nbsp;<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bring-your-own-booze-party-row-johnson-says-sorry-as-oppn-tears-into-his-worthless-apology-444158">‘Bring your own booze party’ row: Johnson says sorry as oppn tears into his ‘worthless’ apology</a></strong></p>

<p>“In terms of a replacement, long term favourite Rishi Sunak still heads the betting at 15/8, with (Foreign Secretary) Liz Truss at 11/4 and (Cabinet Minister) Michael Gove at 6/1 the next two most likely alternatives should the PM vacate Number 10,” Betfair’s Sam Rosbottom told ‘Wales Online’.</p>

<p>Moreover, his conspicuous absence from the House of Commons chamber on Wednesday when Johnson issued his apology, was perceived by many as reflective of his own leadership ambitions.</p>

<p>Sunak, who was away on a business visit, tweeted much later in the evening to say that “the PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry”.</p>

<p><strong>Watch |&nbsp;Gravitas: Tories want Rishi Sunak to be UK'S next Prime Minister</strong></p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/gravitas-tories-want-rishi-sunak-to-be-uks-next-prime-minister-443735/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Some British newspapers have interpreted the timing and content of Sunak’s message of support as lukewarm backing for his boss and neighbour in Downing Street, the BBC reported.</p>

<p><strong>Who is Rishi Sunak?</strong></p>

<p>UK-born Sunak is the son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS)&nbsp;general practitioner (GP) father. He is an Oxford University and Stanford graduate.</p>

<p>He is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, and the couple has two young daughters Krishna and Anoushka.</p>

<p>The MP for Richmond in Yorkshire first entered the UK Parliament in 2015 and has quickly risen up the Tory party ranks as a staunch Brexiteer, who had backed Johnson’s strategy to leave the European Union (EU).</p>

<p>(With inputs from agencies)</p>


As pressure mounts against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson not only from the opposition, but also from own Conservative Party members over the ‘partygate’ saga, several local media reports have claimed that his Indian-origin Chancellor Rishi Sunak may likely replace him.

As pressure mounts against UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson not only from the opposition, but also from own Conservative Party members over the ‘partygate’ saga, several local media reports have claimed that his Indian-origin Chancellor Rishi Sunak may likely replace him. The 57-year-old embattled PM has been facing the wrath of the public ever since he acknowledged hosting and attending a ‘bring your booze’ party at 10 Downing Street when a lockdown was imposed across the UK in view of the Covid virus in 2020. There have been growing calls for Johnson to resign immediately. Several Tory MPs have publicly expressed the inability of Johnson to handle the crisis and called for his resignation. The MPs are currently waiting for the senior civil servant Sue Gray to finish the probe report before deciding on Johnson’s fate. The Tory MP Tobias Ellwood, a former foreign office minister, said that Johnson had to demonstrate within days that he could end the chaos for good and demonstrate a new kind of leadership. Also read | More trouble for Boris Johnson as Downing Street staff held 'wine-time Fridays' during Covid lockdown “But if he tries to spin his way out of a critical report, he will lose my support,” he told the Guardian. Tim Loughton, Conservative MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, wrote on Twitter, “I have regretfully come to the conclusion that Boris Johnson’s position is now untenable, that his resignation is the only way to bring this whole unfortunate episode to an end, and I am working with colleagues to impress that view on No 10.” The name of Rishi Sunak has been doing the rounds ever since the ‘partygate’ saga came to the fore. A major bookmaker in the UK — Betfair — has slashed its odds against Johnson, in favour of finance minister Sunak to step in at 10 Downing Street. Also read | ‘Bring your own booze party’ row: Johnson says sorry as oppn tears into his ‘worthless’ apology “In terms of a replacement, long term favourite Rishi Sunak still heads the betting at 15/8, with (Foreign Secretary) Liz Truss at 11/4 and (Cabinet Minister) Michael Gove at 6/1 the next two most likely alternatives should the PM vacate Number 10,” Betfair’s Sam Rosbottom told ‘Wales Online’. Moreover, his conspicuous absence from the House of Commons chamber on Wednesday when Johnson issued his apology, was perceived by many as reflective of his own leadership ambitions. Sunak, who was away on a business visit, tweeted much later in the evening to say that “the PM was right to apologise and I support his request for patience while Sue Gray carries out her enquiry”. Watch | Gravitas: Tories want Rishi Sunak to be UK'S next Prime Minister Some British newspapers have interpreted the timing and content of Sunak’s message of support as lukewarm backing for his boss and neighbour in Downing Street, the BBC reported. Who is Rishi Sunak? UK-born Sunak is the son of a pharmacist mother and a National Health Service (NHS) general practitioner (GP) father. He is an Oxford University and Stanford graduate. He is married to Akshata Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, and the couple has two young daughters Krishna and Anoushka. The MP for Richmond in Yorkshire first entered the UK Parliament in 2015 and has quickly risen up the Tory party ranks as a staunch Brexiteer, who had backed Johnson’s strategy to leave the European Union (EU). (With inputs from agencies)

Indian-origin Rishi Sunak tipped to replace Johnson as PM: Report

<p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going through fire and water right now after multiple reports of Downing Street parties emerged. Johnson faced public outrage over gatherings in No 10 when such festivities were banned and Britons were not allowed to socialise indoors during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>On Wednesday (January 12) Johnson apologised for a party that was brought to notice by Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide of PM Johnson. Cummings said the probe should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>But the apology will mean little to the public if reports of such parties, gatherings, festivities will keep emerging of the time when the country was reeling with a deadly Covid wave.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-was-a-forced-apology-netizens-slam-boris-johnson-for-bring-your-own-booze-party-at-downing-street-444329">'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street</a></strong></p>

<p>The latest media reports have claimed that Downing Street held gatherings every week throughout the pandemic. The staff even invested in a £142 refrigerator to keep their beer and wine cold.&nbsp;</p>

<p>UK-based tabloid The Mirror reported citing sources that Boris Johnson attended those weekly gatherings and he encouraged the government aides to "let off steam".&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports mentioned that the staff used wheely suitcases and took turns to stock up on drinks at the local Tesco Metro.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The weekly gatherings, termed as 'wine-time Fridays', were even put into the electronic calendars of 50 No 10 staff every week between 4pm and 7pm (local time).</p>

<p>The Times reported citing Downing Street insider that it was a "culture of 3am sessions", adding, "People used to sleep off their hangovers in the buildings overnight on sofas and in the mornings there were empty drinks on the desks that the cleaners had to pick up. There was a culture of boozing."</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Is this the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tippingpoint?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#tippingpoint</a> ?<br />
<br />
13 parties we know about<br />
<br />
Wine time once a week by order of the PM<br />
<br />
Downing Street staff even purchased a wine fridge &amp; snuck it in through the back door &amp; trips to tesco for refills 😡<br />
<br />
While Rishi Sunak left 3 million <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ExcludedUK?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ExcludedUK</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ToriesOutNow?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ToriesOutNow</a> <a href="https://t.co/Gwd22512wI">pic.twitter.com/Gwd22512wI</a></p>
— kerry ✊💙 (@hewitson10) <a href="https://twitter.com/hewitson10/status/1482093759156400129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 14, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p><strong>Party on the eve of&nbsp;Prince Philip's funeral</strong></p>

<p>On Thursday, The Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As per the report, the parties were held between April 9 and April 17, a time when the country was in a period of national mourning after Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip's death.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports of lockdown-breaching parties came as a massive blow as Boris has been criticised over a range of issues, from COVID-19 handling to expensive refurbishment of his apartment.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in Downing Street the night before Prince Philip's funeral.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/covid-19-which-face-mask-is-better-experts-weigh-in-on-how-long-should-you-wear-n95-masks-444754">COVID-19: Which face mask is better? Experts weigh in on how long should you wear N95 masks</a></strong></p>

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going through fire and water right now after multiple reports of Downing Street parties emerged. Johnson faced public outrage over gatherings in No 10 when such festivities were banned and Britons were not allowed to socialise indoors during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is going through fire and water right now after multiple reports of Downing Street parties emerged. Johnson faced public outrage over gatherings in No 10 when such festivities were banned and Britons were not allowed to socialise indoors during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020. On Wednesday (January 12) Johnson apologised for a party that was brought to notice by Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide of PM Johnson. Cummings said the probe should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020. But the apology will mean little to the public if reports of such parties, gatherings, festivities will keep emerging of the time when the country was reeling with a deadly Covid wave. ALSO READ | 'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street The latest media reports have claimed that Downing Street held gatherings every week throughout the pandemic. The staff even invested in a £142 refrigerator to keep their beer and wine cold. UK-based tabloid The Mirror reported citing sources that Boris Johnson attended those weekly gatherings and he encouraged the government aides to "let off steam". Reports mentioned that the staff used wheely suitcases and took turns to stock up on drinks at the local Tesco Metro. The weekly gatherings, termed as 'wine-time Fridays', were even put into the electronic calendars of 50 No 10 staff every week between 4pm and 7pm (local time). The Times reported citing Downing Street insider that it was a "culture of 3am sessions", adding, "People used to sleep off their hangovers in the buildings overnight on sofas and in the mornings there were empty drinks on the desks that the cleaners had to pick up. There was a culture of boozing." Is this the #tippingpoint ? 13 parties we know about Wine time once a week by order of the PM Downing Street staff even purchased a wine fridge & snuck it in through the back door & trips to tesco for refills 😡 While Rishi Sunak left 3 million #ExcludedUK #ToriesOutNow pic.twitter.com/Gwd22512wI — kerry ✊💙 (@hewitson10) January 14, 2022 × Party on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral On Thursday, The Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. As per the report, the parties were held between April 9 and April 17, a time when the country was in a period of national mourning after Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip's death. Reports of lockdown-breaching parties came as a massive blow as Boris has been criticised over a range of issues, from COVID-19 handling to expensive refurbishment of his apartment. Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in Downing Street the night before Prince Philip's funeral. ALSO READ | COVID-19: Which face mask is better? Experts weigh in on how long should you wear N95 masks ×

More trouble for Boris Johnson as Downing Street staff held 'wine-time Fridays' during Covid lockdown

<p>British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised after reports of Downing Street parties and after-parties emerged. He faced a massive backlash from the opposition party and common people when reports suggested that the parties were held when such gatherings and festivities were banned in the country owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As reports of more parties keep coming, the question here is: what will happen next? Will there be an official investigation? Will Boris resign? Read here what are the possibilities.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Boris Johnson to resign?</strong></p>

<p>In a recent interview with Sky News, former Prime Minister David Cameron said, "He's [Boris] always been able to get away with things that mere mortals can't."&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports have stated that Johnson might treat the apology that he issued on Wednesday (January 12) as enough to get him off the hook.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/boris-johnson-kim-kardashian-novak-djokovic-heres-a-list-of-most-famous-covid-19-rulebreakers-444829">Boris Johnson, Kim Kardashian, Novak Djokovic: Here's a list of most famous COVID-19 rulebreakers</a></strong></p>

<p><strong>A possible police action?</strong></p>

<p>Boris could also be largely exonerated from responsibility by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, who is conducting a fact-finding investigation into the claims.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Times on Friday said Gray's report was likely to conclude there was no criminal breach of coronavirus rules.&nbsp;</p>

<p>London police have said they have been in touch with the Cabinet Office about the garden party claims but said Thursday their next step depends on what Gray says.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It has been criticised for declaring it would not retrospectively investigate potential breaches of coronavirus restrictions. Should it launch a criminal probe, the pressure on Johnson would mount.</p>

<p><strong>The story so far...</strong></p>

<p>Johnson has faced heavy criticism over multiple incidents related to the handling of coronavirus (COVID-19). Firstly, reports emerged of Downing Street garden party, which apparently took place last year, on May 15. The photo of the same went viral. In the photo, Johnson's staff can be seen laughing and joking about in the gathering when such festivities were banned in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Secondly, Boris apologised for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during the lockdown after Dominic Cummings said that the investigation should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral. Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in Downing Street the night before Prince Philip's funeral.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The latest media reports have claimed that Downing Street held gatherings every week throughout the pandemic. The staff even invested in a £142 refrigerator to keep their beer and wine cold.&nbsp;</p>

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<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised after reports of Downing Street parties and after-parties emerged. He faced a massive backlash from the opposition party and common people when reports suggested that the parties were held when such gatherings and festivities were banned in the country owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised after reports of Downing Street parties and after-parties emerged. He faced a massive backlash from the opposition party and common people when reports suggested that the parties were held when such gatherings and festivities were banned in the country owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in 2020. As reports of more parties keep coming, the question here is: what will happen next? Will there be an official investigation? Will Boris resign? Read here what are the possibilities. Boris Johnson to resign? In a recent interview with Sky News, former Prime Minister David Cameron said, "He's [Boris] always been able to get away with things that mere mortals can't." Reports have stated that Johnson might treat the apology that he issued on Wednesday (January 12) as enough to get him off the hook. ALSO READ | Boris Johnson, Kim Kardashian, Novak Djokovic: Here's a list of most famous COVID-19 rulebreakers A possible police action? Boris could also be largely exonerated from responsibility by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray, who is conducting a fact-finding investigation into the claims. The Times on Friday said Gray's report was likely to conclude there was no criminal breach of coronavirus rules. London police have said they have been in touch with the Cabinet Office about the garden party claims but said Thursday their next step depends on what Gray says. It has been criticised for declaring it would not retrospectively investigate potential breaches of coronavirus restrictions. Should it launch a criminal probe, the pressure on Johnson would mount. The story so far... Johnson has faced heavy criticism over multiple incidents related to the handling of coronavirus (COVID-19). Firstly, reports emerged of Downing Street garden party, which apparently took place last year, on May 15. The photo of the same went viral. In the photo, Johnson's staff can be seen laughing and joking about in the gathering when such festivities were banned in the country. Secondly, Boris apologised for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during the lockdown after Dominic Cummings said that the investigation should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020. Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral. Downing Street apologises to the Queen for two parties held in Downing Street the night before Prince Philip's funeral. The latest media reports have claimed that Downing Street held gatherings every week throughout the pandemic. The staff even invested in a £142 refrigerator to keep their beer and wine cold. × (With inputs from agencies)

Boris Johnson 'partygate': Resignation or police action? What could happen next?

Boris Johnson, Kim Kardashian, Novak Djokovic: Here's a list of most famous COVID-19 rulebreakers

British lawmakers are asking Boris Johnson to resign after he admitted to attending a Downing Street party during lockdown. With party & public against him, is this the end of the road for Boris? Palki Sharma tells you.

Gravitas: End of the road for Boris Johnson?

<p>Amid growing criticism and public outrage, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had apologised for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Now, recent reports suggest that more parties were organised. Accusing the Downing Street staff, Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As per the report, the gatherings were up of around 30 people during the time when restrictions were imposed and indoor mixing was banned in different households in the UK.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Meanwhile, the media reports have confirmed that&nbsp;Johnson was not at either gathering.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-was-a-forced-apology-netizens-slam-boris-johnson-for-bring-your-own-booze-party-at-downing-street-444329">'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street</a></strong></p>

<p>The staff members are accused of bringing a suitcase "filled with bottles of wine" from a nearby shop.&nbsp;</p>

<p>As per the report, the parties were held between April 9 and April 17, a time when the country was in a period of national mourning after Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip's death.&nbsp;</p>

<p>BBC reported citing a spokesperson&nbsp;that Boris Johnson's former director of communications, James Slack, "gave a farewell speech" to thank colleagues.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Reports mentioned that James Slack farewell party coincided with another gathering, which was happing in the No 10 basement. It was for PM Johnson's personal photographers.</p>

<p>Both the parties were merged later and continued past midnight in the No 10 garden.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rishi-sunak-would-be-a-better-prime-minister-for-uk-than-boris-johnson-poll-443631">Rishi Sunak would be a better prime minister for UK than Boris Johnson: Poll</a></strong></p>

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<p>Boris has been facing criticism from not only the opposition leaders but also within his party as well. Conservative MP Roger Gale said it was now clear that Johnson had misled parliament. "Unfortunately what the prime minister has said today leaves people like me in an impossible situation," he told the BBC.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Leader of the main opposition Labour party Keir Starmer&nbsp;said that the public believed Johnson was "lying through his teeth". "The only question is will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out, or will he do the decent thing and resign? The prime minister's a man without shame," Starmer added.&nbsp;</p>


Amid growing criticism and public outrage, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had apologised for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020.

Amid growing criticism and public outrage, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had apologised for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020. Now, recent reports suggest that more parties were organised. Accusing the Downing Street staff, Telegraph reported two leaving parties or farewell parties were held in No 10 on the eve of the Duke of Edinburgh's funeral. As per the report, the gatherings were up of around 30 people during the time when restrictions were imposed and indoor mixing was banned in different households in the UK. Meanwhile, the media reports have confirmed that Johnson was not at either gathering. ALSO READ | 'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street The staff members are accused of bringing a suitcase "filled with bottles of wine" from a nearby shop. As per the report, the parties were held between April 9 and April 17, a time when the country was in a period of national mourning after Queen Elizabeth's husband Prince Philip's death. BBC reported citing a spokesperson that Boris Johnson's former director of communications, James Slack, "gave a farewell speech" to thank colleagues. Reports mentioned that James Slack farewell party coincided with another gathering, which was happing in the No 10 basement. It was for PM Johnson's personal photographers. Both the parties were merged later and continued past midnight in the No 10 garden. ALSO READ | Rishi Sunak would be a better prime minister for UK than Boris Johnson: Poll × Boris has been facing criticism from not only the opposition leaders but also within his party as well. Conservative MP Roger Gale said it was now clear that Johnson had misled parliament. "Unfortunately what the prime minister has said today leaves people like me in an impossible situation," he told the BBC. Leader of the main opposition Labour party Keir Starmer said that the public believed Johnson was "lying through his teeth". "The only question is will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out, or will he do the decent thing and resign? The prime minister's a man without shame," Starmer added.

Boris Johnson's staff accused of hosting Covid rule-breaking parties on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral

<p>When Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was hospitalized with COVID in April 2020, the alarming news bulletin came soon after a televised address by Queen Elizabeth II in which she reassured the British public that after the pandemic ebbed, “We will meet again.”</p>

<p>Stoic, dignified and comforting, the queen’s words helped anchor the country during the fretful days that followed — not the first time the monarchy has acted as a stabilizing force for the government during tumultuous events.</p>

<p>This week, however, both of these grand British institutions pitched simultaneously into crisis. On Wednesday, Johnson admitted attending a garden party not long after he had recovered from the virus, which violated lockdown rules and set off a chorus of calls for him to resign. Hours later, a federal judge in Manhattan rejected a bid by the queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, to throw out a sex abuse lawsuit against him.</p>

<p>On Thursday, Buckingham Palace announced that it would force Andrew to relinquish all his military titles and the honorific, “His Royal Highness.” He “is defending this case as a private citizen,” the palace said in a terse statement that underscored the finality of the prince’s exile from royal life.</p>

<p>While these cases are about starkly different issues, they both feature privileged middle-aged men under fire for their behavior, raising age-old questions of class, entitlement and double standards.</p>

<p>“Boris Johnson and Prince Andrew,” Alastair Campbell, a former communications director for Prime Minister Tony Blair, said in a Twitter post. “What an image the world is getting of Global Britain.”</p>

<p>Campbell was involved in a now-celebrated episode in which a more stable government helped a monarchy in crisis: In 1997, he and Blair, a popular Labour leader coming off a landslide election victory, persuaded the queen to strike a more empathetic tone in reacting to the death of Princess Diana in a car crash. That defused a growing tide of resentment against the monarch.</p>

<p>“Normally,” Campbell said, “they avoid crises at the same time.”</p>

<p>Commentators said, half in jest, that the legal ruling against Andrew, 61, helped Johnson, 57, because it deflected attention from his grilling in the House of Commons, where opposition lawmakers accused him of lying and demanded that he resign. But both men are at the mercy of forces largely out of their control.</p>

<p>Johnson has asked lawmakers to defer judgment on him, pending the results of an internal investigation into Downing Street’s parties by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray. If she determines that Johnson misled Parliament in his previous statements, it will almost certainly cost him his job.</p>

<p>Andrew, by failing to win the dismissal of a suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, faces the prospect of damning disclosures in depositions of him and Giuffre, who claimed he raped her when she was a teenager. She says she was trafficked to Andrew by his friend, convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew flatly denies the charge and has said he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre.</p>

<p>What the two cases have in common, critics said, is a lack of accountability on the part of the main actors.</p>

<p>Johnson, in apologizing for the party, acknowledged the anger that the public would feel “when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules.” But he insisted that he viewed the gathering as a “work event” — one that he attended for only 25 minutes — an alibi that placed the blame on his subordinates who organized the gathering.</p>

<p>Andrew has not commented on his legal setback. But he and his lawyers have maneuvered to avoid confronting Giuffre’s accusations at a trial. He scrambled to avoid being served with legal papers in Britain. His lawyers tried to get the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds and, most recently, on the basis of a settlement agreement between Giuffre and Epstein.</p>

<p>With so much at stake, especially in a year in which the queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne, royal watchers speculate that Andrew will seek his own settlement with Giuffre. Who would pay that settlement and with what money are already questions being asked by British newspapers.</p>

<p>Buckingham Palace’s announcement that it would remove Andrew’s military titles and deny him “His Royal Highness” suggests he has no path to rehabilitate himself. It is the kind of ruthless action that Conservative Party lawmakers have yet to take against Johnson, despite their frustration with him.</p>

<p>As a constitutional monarch, the queen will steer clear of any questions about Johnson’s political future — or of politics in general. But that does not mean she is without influence. Legal experts say the monarchy, because of its longevity and constancy, can have a moderating effect on the most extreme forces in politics.</p>

<p>“The monarchy acts as a ‘balance wheel,’ in the sense of being an institution that, when political actors have tipped the ship of state too far in one direction, can tip it back in the other,” said Harold Hongju Koh, an American legal scholar who is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford this year.</p>

<p>It is a delicate balance. In late 2019, Johnson came under criticism for asking the queen to approve his government’s suspension of Parliament, a move that Britain’s Supreme Court later ruled unlawful because it was designed to squelch debate over his plans to pull the country out of the European Union.</p>

<p>Unlike in April 2020, when the queen sent an ailing Johnson her best wishes, she is almost certain to remain silent about his current plight. If anything, her disciplined adherence to social distancing rules — captured most poignantly when she grieved alone in a choir stall at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, last year — is a vivid contrast to the prime minister’s after-work socializing.</p>

<p>For Johnson, the illicit parties are so damaging because they register with the public in a way that other scandals, like the costly redecoration of his apartment on Downing Street or his defense of an ethically challenged lawmaker, do not. The sense of a double standard, once implanted, is hard to shake.</p>

<p>“Most people are not interested in politics, and so many issues which excite the political commentators have no resonance with them. But this is different,” said Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at King’s College London. “There are so many people who could not see elderly, ailing or dying relatives during this period,” he said. “They will tell their family and friends.”</p>


When Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was hospitalized with COVID in April 2020, the alarming news bulletin came soon after a televised address by Queen Elizabeth II in which she reassured the British public that after the pandemic ebbed, “We will meet again.

When Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain was hospitalized with COVID in April 2020, the alarming news bulletin came soon after a televised address by Queen Elizabeth II in which she reassured the British public that after the pandemic ebbed, “We will meet again.” Stoic, dignified and comforting, the queen’s words helped anchor the country during the fretful days that followed — not the first time the monarchy has acted as a stabilizing force for the government during tumultuous events. This week, however, both of these grand British institutions pitched simultaneously into crisis. On Wednesday, Johnson admitted attending a garden party not long after he had recovered from the virus, which violated lockdown rules and set off a chorus of calls for him to resign. Hours later, a federal judge in Manhattan rejected a bid by the queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, to throw out a sex abuse lawsuit against him. On Thursday, Buckingham Palace announced that it would force Andrew to relinquish all his military titles and the honorific, “His Royal Highness.” He “is defending this case as a private citizen,” the palace said in a terse statement that underscored the finality of the prince’s exile from royal life. While these cases are about starkly different issues, they both feature privileged middle-aged men under fire for their behavior, raising age-old questions of class, entitlement and double standards. “Boris Johnson and Prince Andrew,” Alastair Campbell, a former communications director for Prime Minister Tony Blair, said in a Twitter post. “What an image the world is getting of Global Britain.” Campbell was involved in a now-celebrated episode in which a more stable government helped a monarchy in crisis: In 1997, he and Blair, a popular Labour leader coming off a landslide election victory, persuaded the queen to strike a more empathetic tone in reacting to the death of Princess Diana in a car crash. That defused a growing tide of resentment against the monarch. “Normally,” Campbell said, “they avoid crises at the same time.” Commentators said, half in jest, that the legal ruling against Andrew, 61, helped Johnson, 57, because it deflected attention from his grilling in the House of Commons, where opposition lawmakers accused him of lying and demanded that he resign. But both men are at the mercy of forces largely out of their control. Johnson has asked lawmakers to defer judgment on him, pending the results of an internal investigation into Downing Street’s parties by a senior civil servant, Sue Gray. If she determines that Johnson misled Parliament in his previous statements, it will almost certainly cost him his job. Andrew, by failing to win the dismissal of a suit brought by Virginia Giuffre, faces the prospect of damning disclosures in depositions of him and Giuffre, who claimed he raped her when she was a teenager. She says she was trafficked to Andrew by his friend, convicted sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew flatly denies the charge and has said he has no recollection of meeting Giuffre. What the two cases have in common, critics said, is a lack of accountability on the part of the main actors. Johnson, in apologizing for the party, acknowledged the anger that the public would feel “when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules.” But he insisted that he viewed the gathering as a “work event” — one that he attended for only 25 minutes — an alibi that placed the blame on his subordinates who organized the gathering. Andrew has not commented on his legal setback. But he and his lawyers have maneuvered to avoid confronting Giuffre’s accusations at a trial. He scrambled to avoid being served with legal papers in Britain. His lawyers tried to get the case dismissed on jurisdictional grounds and, most recently, on the basis of a settlement agreement between Giuffre and Epstein. With so much at stake, especially in a year in which the queen is celebrating 70 years on the throne, royal watchers speculate that Andrew will seek his own settlement with Giuffre. Who would pay that settlement and with what money are already questions being asked by British newspapers. Buckingham Palace’s announcement that it would remove Andrew’s military titles and deny him “His Royal Highness” suggests he has no path to rehabilitate himself. It is the kind of ruthless action that Conservative Party lawmakers have yet to take against Johnson, despite their frustration with him. As a constitutional monarch, the queen will steer clear of any questions about Johnson’s political future — or of politics in general. But that does not mean she is without influence. Legal experts say the monarchy, because of its longevity and constancy, can have a moderating effect on the most extreme forces in politics. “The monarchy acts as a ‘balance wheel,’ in the sense of being an institution that, when political actors have tipped the ship of state too far in one direction, can tip it back in the other,” said Harold Hongju Koh, an American legal scholar who is a visiting professor at the University of Oxford this year. It is a delicate balance. In late 2019, Johnson came under criticism for asking the queen to approve his government’s suspension of Parliament, a move that Britain’s Supreme Court later ruled unlawful because it was designed to squelch debate over his plans to pull the country out of the European Union. Unlike in April 2020, when the queen sent an ailing Johnson her best wishes, she is almost certain to remain silent about his current plight. If anything, her disciplined adherence to social distancing rules — captured most poignantly when she grieved alone in a choir stall at the funeral of her husband, Prince Philip, last year — is a vivid contrast to the prime minister’s after-work socializing. For Johnson, the illicit parties are so damaging because they register with the public in a way that other scandals, like the costly redecoration of his apartment on Downing Street or his defense of an ethically challenged lawmaker, do not. The sense of a double standard, once implanted, is hard to shake. “Most people are not interested in politics, and so many issues which excite the political commentators have no resonance with them. But this is different,” said Vernon Bogdanor, a professor of government at King’s College London. “There are so many people who could not see elderly, ailing or dying relatives during this period,” he said. “They will tell their family and friends.”

Twin crises for monarchy and government

<p>Amid growing calls of resignation, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday (January 12) for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>From COVID-19 handling to expensive refurbishment of his apartment, Boris has been facing criticism over a range of issues and the reports of lockdown-breaching parties came as a massive blow.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Important to note that the latest update about the gathering at Downing Street is different from the wine and cheese garden party, which apparently took place last year, on May 15 and a photo of the same went viral.</p>

<p>Boris has been facing criticism from not only the opposition leaders, as some senior Tories have also called for him to resign and the latest piece of news has angered common people over the gathering when such festivities were banned in the country.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/rishi-sunak-would-be-a-better-prime-minister-for-uk-than-boris-johnson-poll-443631">Rishi Sunak would be a better prime minister for UK than Boris Johnson: Poll</a></strong></p>

<p>The news was brought to notice by Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide of PM Johnson. In his blog post, he wrote that the investigation should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour party, said the public believed Johnson was "lying through his teeth". "The only question is will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out, or will he do the decent thing and resign? The prime minister's a man without shame," Starmer added.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Senior Conservative MP Roger Gale said it was now clear that Johnson had misled parliament and was, politically, a "dead man walking". "Unfortunately what the prime minister has said today leaves people like me in an impossible situation," he told the BBC, warning that Tory backbenchers could now hold a no-confidence vote.</p>

<p>Nigel Mills, another Conservative lawmaker, said: "If the prime minister knowingly attended a party I don't see how he can survive, having accepted resignations for far less."</p>

<p><strong>ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/bring-your-own-booze-party-row-johnson-says-sorry-as-oppn-tears-into-his-worthless-apology-444158">‘Bring your own booze party’ row: Johnson says sorry as oppn tears into his ‘worthless’ apology</a></strong></p>

<p>In his apology, Boris said that he did not appreciate how the event would look to millions of Britons who were respecting Covid rules, even missing out on farewells to dying relatives.</p>

<p>"And to them and to this House I offer my heartfelt apologies," Johnson said in the UK's House of Commons. "With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them (his staff)," he added, admitting he had been present for about 25 minutes.</p>

<p>After the apology, netizens have flooded the social media platforms with memes&nbsp;to criticise Boris Johnson. Take a look at some of the reactions starting with Irish airline Ryanair's post in which UK PM's face has been used in an edited party-related meme with the caption: "Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020".&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020 <a href="https://t.co/pFqIz6dIqr">pic.twitter.com/pFqIz6dIqr</a></p>
— Ryanair (@Ryanair) <a href="https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/1481238702013796352?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I'm 86, I've seen 17 Prime Ministers, some good, some bad - but Boris Johnson is the first who through a mixture of arrogance incompetence and dishonesty has actually managed to make the people less healthy and less wealthy, whilst simultaneously undermining democracy.<br />
Go. Now. <a href="https://t.co/kaRVoUz7z7">pic.twitter.com/kaRVoUz7z7</a></p>
— Roger Roberts (@LordRRoberts) <a href="https://twitter.com/LordRRoberts/status/1480888761730969604?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Very striking that <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> speaks again and again of “mistakes made” &amp; “mistakes we made” but he can’t bring himself to add the word “I”. Begs the question - is he apologising for his behaviour, that of his staff or just how things look?</p>
— Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) <a href="https://twitter.com/bbcnickrobinson/status/1481240279550251010?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">It’s not the crime that gets you, it’s the cover-up!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PrinceAndrew?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PrinceAndrew</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BorisJohnson?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BorisJohnson</a> <a href="https://t.co/5tiZrbL9I3">pic.twitter.com/5tiZrbL9I3</a></p>
— Andy (@andy64410137) <a href="https://twitter.com/andy64410137/status/1481286509496094724?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">No lockdown rules were broken in this meme. 🤣<a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> - What I would have given for a party with my mates (or even work colleagues) in May 2020! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/uk?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#uk</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/covid?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#covid</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/government?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#government</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/shambles?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#shambles</a> <a href="https://t.co/2ZIVQtxHaY">pic.twitter.com/2ZIVQtxHaY</a></p>
— Kevin McKay (@kevinmckay) <a href="https://twitter.com/kevinmckay/status/1481307146084040707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Excuse me whilst I just post <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/borisjohnson?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#borisjohnson</a> memes all night <a href="https://t.co/7kNEVjalog">pic.twitter.com/7kNEVjalog</a></p>
— LunaStar #F4VL (@LunaStarx1) <a href="https://twitter.com/LunaStarx1/status/1481316728059617285?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">go on then <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> <a href="https://t.co/49FTFuGMMO">pic.twitter.com/49FTFuGMMO</a></p>
— janine (@janinemas0nn) <a href="https://twitter.com/janinemas0nn/status/1481360807015419904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I saw this posted on LinkedIn. Sadly I don't know who created it, but I thought <a href="https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BorisJohnson</a> might find it useful. <a href="https://t.co/Iftbs45npa">pic.twitter.com/Iftbs45npa</a></p>
— Martin Bunny-hugging Wokeateer (@StarlingMoss) <a href="https://twitter.com/StarlingMoss/status/1481398879748829192?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">no one:<br />
<br />
boris johnson on 20th of may 2020: <a href="https://t.co/tXXn6QlFmz">pic.twitter.com/tXXn6QlFmz</a></p>
— Dobby Club (@DobbyClub06) <a href="https://twitter.com/DobbyClub06/status/1481304818207580165?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 12, 2022</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">“Unlike Boris Johnson I can tell you that I wasn’t at the Downing Street drinks party during lockdown because, unlike Boris Johnson, I don’t think the rules are just for other people.” <a href="https://t.co/SQtJx4e25b">pic.twitter.com/SQtJx4e25b</a></p>
— Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) <a href="https://twitter.com/Number10cat/status/1480903951079849989?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 11, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Amid growing calls of resignation, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday (January 12) for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020.

Amid growing calls of resignation, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday (January 12) for attending a party held in the Downing Street office during coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown in May 2020. From COVID-19 handling to expensive refurbishment of his apartment, Boris has been facing criticism over a range of issues and the reports of lockdown-breaching parties came as a massive blow. Important to note that the latest update about the gathering at Downing Street is different from the wine and cheese garden party, which apparently took place last year, on May 15 and a photo of the same went viral. Boris has been facing criticism from not only the opposition leaders, as some senior Tories have also called for him to resign and the latest piece of news has angered common people over the gathering when such festivities were banned in the country. ALSO READ | Rishi Sunak would be a better prime minister for UK than Boris Johnson: Poll The news was brought to notice by Dominic Cummings, who is a former aide of PM Johnson. In his blog post, he wrote that the investigation should be done on the "Socially Distanced Drinks" email sent on May 20, 2020. Keir Starmer, leader of the main opposition Labour party, said the public believed Johnson was "lying through his teeth". "The only question is will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out, or will he do the decent thing and resign? The prime minister's a man without shame," Starmer added. Senior Conservative MP Roger Gale said it was now clear that Johnson had misled parliament and was, politically, a "dead man walking". "Unfortunately what the prime minister has said today leaves people like me in an impossible situation," he told the BBC, warning that Tory backbenchers could now hold a no-confidence vote. Nigel Mills, another Conservative lawmaker, said: "If the prime minister knowingly attended a party I don't see how he can survive, having accepted resignations for far less." ALSO READ | ‘Bring your own booze party’ row: Johnson says sorry as oppn tears into his ‘worthless’ apology In his apology, Boris said that he did not appreciate how the event would look to millions of Britons who were respecting Covid rules, even missing out on farewells to dying relatives. "And to them and to this House I offer my heartfelt apologies," Johnson said in the UK's House of Commons. "With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them (his staff)," he added, admitting he had been present for about 25 minutes. After the apology, netizens have flooded the social media platforms with memes to criticise Boris Johnson. Take a look at some of the reactions starting with Irish airline Ryanair's post in which UK PM's face has been used in an edited party-related meme with the caption: "Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020". Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020 pic.twitter.com/pFqIz6dIqr — Ryanair (@Ryanair) January 12, 2022 × I'm 86, I've seen 17 Prime Ministers, some good, some bad - but Boris Johnson is the first who through a mixture of arrogance incompetence and dishonesty has actually managed to make the people less healthy and less wealthy, whilst simultaneously undermining democracy. Go. Now. pic.twitter.com/kaRVoUz7z7 — Roger Roberts (@LordRRoberts) January 11, 2022 × Very striking that @BorisJohnson speaks again and again of “mistakes made” & “mistakes we made” but he can’t bring himself to add the word “I”. Begs the question - is he apologising for his behaviour, that of his staff or just how things look? — Nick Robinson (@bbcnickrobinson) January 12, 2022 × It’s not the crime that gets you, it’s the cover-up!#PrinceAndrew #BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/5tiZrbL9I3 — Andy (@andy64410137) January 12, 2022 × No lockdown rules were broken in this meme. 🤣@BorisJohnson - What I would have given for a party with my mates (or even work colleagues) in May 2020! #uk #covid #government #shambles pic.twitter.com/2ZIVQtxHaY — Kevin McKay (@kevinmckay) January 12, 2022 × Excuse me whilst I just post #borisjohnson memes all night pic.twitter.com/7kNEVjalog — LunaStar #F4VL (@LunaStarx1) January 12, 2022 × go on then @BorisJohnson pic.twitter.com/49FTFuGMMO — janine (@janinemas0nn) January 12, 2022 × I saw this posted on LinkedIn. Sadly I don't know who created it, but I thought @BorisJohnson might find it useful. pic.twitter.com/Iftbs45npa — Martin Bunny-hugging Wokeateer (@StarlingMoss) January 12, 2022 × no one: boris johnson on 20th of may 2020: pic.twitter.com/tXXn6QlFmz — Dobby Club (@DobbyClub06) January 12, 2022 × “Unlike Boris Johnson I can tell you that I wasn’t at the Downing Street drinks party during lockdown because, unlike Boris Johnson, I don’t think the rules are just for other people.” pic.twitter.com/SQtJx4e25b — Larry the Cat (@Number10cat) January 11, 2022 × ×

'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's 'bring your own booze' party from May 2020 has triggered unprecedented backlash. He partied when UK was under lockdown. Furious Brits now want him to resign. Palki Sharma gets you a report.

Gravitas: 'Shame on You', Furious Brits want Boris Johnson to resign

After a series of allegations of multiple lockdown breaching parties and weeks of denials of rule-breaking, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has now apologized for attending one gathering and has been plunged into a major crisis around his leadership.

UK PM Boris Johnson apologizes over lockdown parties, what next?

<p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday cancelled a trip to northern England after a relative was found positive with Covid. The cancellation has come a day after Johnson apologised over a party he had when lockdown was in effect.</p>

<p>"The prime minister will no longer be visiting Lancashire today due to a family member testing positive for coronavirus," a Downing Street spokesperson said.</p>

<p>"He will follow the guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others."</p>

<p>In Britain, self-isolation is no longer required for fully vaccinated people after they come into contact with infected person. However, they are advised to "limit close contact with other people outside your household".</p>

<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/it-was-a-forced-apology-netizens-slam-boris-johnson-for-bring-your-own-booze-party-at-downing-street-444329lso">'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street</a></strong></p>

<p>Johnson lives in a Downing Street flat with his wife Carrie and their two small children.&nbsp;</p>

<p>For his critics, Johnson's scrupulous adherence to the rules now will contrast with his attendance at a party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, when Britain was under a strict lockdown.</p>

<p>After days of stonewalling the scandal, on Wednesday he issued "heartfelt apologies", conceding that millions had observed the lockdown even at the cost of missing final farewells to dying relatives.</p>

<p>But opposition parties and even some Conservatives are demanding Johnson resign.</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday cancelled a trip to northern England after a relative was found positive with Covid. The cancellation has come a day after Johnson apologised over a party he had when lockdown was in effect.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday cancelled a trip to northern England after a relative was found positive with Covid. The cancellation has come a day after Johnson apologised over a party he had when lockdown was in effect. "The prime minister will no longer be visiting Lancashire today due to a family member testing positive for coronavirus," a Downing Street spokesperson said. "He will follow the guidance for vaccinated close contacts, including daily testing and limiting contact with others." In Britain, self-isolation is no longer required for fully vaccinated people after they come into contact with infected person. However, they are advised to "limit close contact with other people outside your household". Also Read | 'It was a forced apology': Netizens slam Boris Johnson for 'bring your own booze' party at Downing Street Johnson lives in a Downing Street flat with his wife Carrie and their two small children. For his critics, Johnson's scrupulous adherence to the rules now will contrast with his attendance at a party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020, when Britain was under a strict lockdown. After days of stonewalling the scandal, on Wednesday he issued "heartfelt apologies", conceding that millions had observed the lockdown even at the cost of missing final farewells to dying relatives. But opposition parties and even some Conservatives are demanding Johnson resign. (With inputs from agencies)

A day after lockdown party apology, UK PM cancels trip as family member tests positive for Covid

Boris Johnson continues to remain in all kinds of problems. This time around it's a leaked email that has again brought back negative press for the British prime minister.

United Kingdom: Leaked email exposes UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson's party

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted and apologized for attending a 'bring your own booze party' at the downing street. This is the first time that UK PM acknowledged attending the Garden party though he added that it was a 'work event'.

Downing street: Boris Johnson apologizes for lockdown party, calls it a 'work event'

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