There was only one place to be in Britain if you wanted to have a boozy garden party at the height of the first coronavirus lockdown—10 Downing Street.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is once again facing calls to resign after ITV News published a party invite sent out to 100 people in May 2020, when people in England were still prohibited from meeting more than one other person outside. Reports say that Johnson and his wife Carrie were among around 40 people who attended the bash.
The damning invite, unearthed Monday, was sent by the head of Johnson’s private office. The email read: “After what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”
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The revelation has reinvigorated the anger felt by the British public after a string of lockdown-busting parties were revealed late last year. But this event appears to be the worst of the lot due the number of people involved, the fact that it reportedly included the prime minister himself, and that it was clearly a booze-up rather than a thinly disguised work meeting.
BBC News reported that several Downing Street workers knew the gathering was rule-breaking at the time. One unnamed staffer told the network: “I remember people saying ‘What the hell?’” A message sent by one Downing Street worker to another on the day questioned why a “mass gathering” was being hosted. Another asked: “Is this for real?”
The reports have been followed by replays of footage of what government ministers were telling the public on the day of the party. Less than an hour before the drinks started to flow, then-Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said at a briefing in the same building: “You can meet one person outside of your household in an outdoor, public place provided that you stay two meters apart.”
Public fury has also not been soothed by Johnson’s smirking response to questions about the event. The giggling prime minister said he wasn’t able to confirm whether he attended the party because there’s already an investigation underway into the government’s other lockdown gatherings.
Sharing that video, the COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice campaign group wrote in a statement on Twitter: “When those of us who have lost loved ones heard of yet another party, this time evidenced with an email, many of us cried tears of anger, pain and frustration. When the Prime Minister was questioned on it he laughed, smiled and smirked.”
The opposition Labour Party asked about the event in parliament on Tuesday, but Johnson sent a low-ranking representative to field the questions rather than turning up himself. Michael Ellis, one of Johnson’s ministers, said he “apologizes again unreservedly” for the upset the allegations have caused, but refused to confirm the details.
Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer wrote to the prime minister on Tuesday: “Boris Johnson, your deflections and distractions are absurd. Not only did you know about the parties in Downing Street, you attended them. Stop lying to the British public. It’s time to finally come clean.”
London’s Metropolitan Police said it could investigate the PM’s drinks party, saying in a statement it was “aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office.”
