British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
Highlight
- UK PM Boris Johnson is facing allegations that he and his staff flouted coronavirus lockdown rules.
- The event was scheduled for May 20, 2020 – the same day the government asked people to follow the distance.
- The police force on Tuesday said it was “in touch” with the government over the party’s claims.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson faced a wave of public and political outrage on Tuesday over allegations that he and his staff flouted coronavirus lockdown rules by holding a garden party in 2020, while Britons were legally barred from outside the home. was given.
Opposition politicians called for a police investigation in May 2020 after broadcaster ITV published a leaked email invitation to “socially distance drinks” in the garden of the Prime Minister’s Downing Street office and residence. The email from Martin Reynolds, the prime minister’s personal secretary, was sent to dozens of people and urged attendees to “bring their own wine.”
The event was scheduled for May 20, 2020 – the same day the government reminded people in a televised news conference that they could only meet one person outside their home. The Metropolitan Police Force of London also published reminders about the rules that day.
The police force said on Tuesday it was “in touch” with the government over the party’s claims, which follow allegations of several other rule-breaking gatherings in Downing Street during the pandemic.
The opposition Labor Party demanded that Johnson answer questions about the allegations in parliament – but the government instead sent a junior minister, Michael Ellis, to confront lawmakers. Ellis apologized “for the outrage caused by these allegations” but said he could not comment further as an investigation was underway.
Labor deputy leader Angela Renner said Johnson’s “absence speaks volumes.” “He can run but he can’t hide,” she said. During Britain’s first lockdown, which began in March 2020 and lasted more than two months, gatherings were banned with some exceptions, including work and funerals. Millions were cut off from friends and family and even barred from visiting relatives who died in hospitals.
On the day of the Garden Party, 268 people died of coronavirus in Britain, bringing the total death toll to more than 36,000, according to official figures. The total now exceeds 150,000, the highest toll in Europe after Russia.
Lindsey Jackson, whose mother died of COVID-19 in May 2020, said the government showed “contempt for the common people and the hardships we were all facing.”
“When she died I couldn’t be with her, I couldn’t hold her hand. … I couldn’t even hug my brother after the funeral,” said Jackson, a member of the group COVID- 19 Bereaved family for justice. She told Sky News that Johnson was “under contempt”.
Johnson’s Conservative government has been repeatedly accused of flouting rules imposed on others during the pandemic, which imposed the most severe restrictions on Britain’s personal freedoms since World War II.
The latest claims will be investigated by senior civil servant Sue Grey, who was appointed by the government to look into earlier allegations that staff in Johnson’s office violated coronavirus rules in 2020 with lockdown-violating Christmas parties.
Johnson insisted he had not personally broken any rules, but British media reported on Tuesday that the prime minister and his wife, Carrie Johnson, attended a May 2020 garden meeting.
Health Minister Edward Arger said he understood why people would be “upset and angry”, but said he would not “pre-judge” the outcome of Grey’s investigation.
But Labor lawmaker Ed Miliband said the allegations were “incredibly damaging” and added that Johnson should state whether he had joined the party. “How can he lead the country through these difficult times, getting people to follow public health advice, if he has violated the rules?” Miliband said on BBC radio.
What was not worrying for Johnson was that only opposition leaders were expressing anger. The latest claims fueled growing concern within the governing Conservatives about the prime minister’s leadership.
The right-of-center party chose Johnson as a leader in 2019 for his spirited manner and popular touch, a choice that proved right when he led the Tories to a major election victory in December 2019.
But the pandemic has shaken his authority. Support for Johnson is stemming from discontent over social restrictions – which some conservatives see as harsh – and concerns about his decision following allegations of financial and moral misconduct. Ruth Davidson, the former leader of the Conservatives in Scotland, said many people would “never forgive” the Garden Party as “totally unforgivable”. “It just mocks the idea that we were making a national effort to keep each other safe,” she said.
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