London Thanasis Gavos
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Simonds were among about 40 people present at a gathering with drinks in the garden of Downing Street during the first lockdown, according to several reports.
ITV was the first to reveal an email from Johnson’s personal secretary, Martin Reynolds, to staff in the prime minister’s office inviting them to “make the most of the good weather” and meet “for socially aloof drinks” in the Garden of Numbers 10 Downing Street on May 20, 2020. He invited them each to bring their own drink.
The e-invitation was sent to more than 100 recipients, including Boris Johnson’s advisers, speechwriters and Downing Street janitors.
It is believed that about 40 people eventually went to the garden, where they enjoyed drinks and a picnic.
On May 20, the people of England had just been allowed to meet with a single person with whom they did not live together in the open and at a distance of two meters between them. Gatherings of more people or entire households were not allowed, not even outdoors.
Previous allegations of at least six more illegal parties or social gatherings on Downing Street and in ministries that followed the initial complaint about a Christmas party at No. 10 last year are already being investigated.
The investigation has been undertaken by Sue Gray, one of the senior officials of the public administration.
The presence of Boris Johnson at the May 20 party was confirmed via Twitter by his controversial former chief adviser and now fierce critic Dominique Cummings, who was the first to report on the rally.
BBC political editor Laura Kunsberg also cited two eyewitnesses who confirmed the Johnson couple’s presence, and that a long table for food and drink had been set up in the garden.
She also cites messages from Downing Street workers since May 2020 expressing distrust of the Prime Minister’s secretary’s invitation to a rally that was prohibited by law.
Opposition Labor Party Deputy Leader Angela Reiner slammed Boris Johnson, saying he “constantly shows that he does not count on the rules he sets for the rest of us.”
Asked in the morning, before the revelation of the email, about his presence at a party that violated the rules of lockdown, the British Prime Minister only said that the matter is now handled by Mrs. Gray.
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