Under fire, UK PM apologises for staff joking about Christmas lockdown party

LONDON, Dec 8 (Reuters) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking about a party in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID-19 lockdown last year when such festivities were banned.

Hours later the main aide featured in the video, Johnson’s press secretary at the time, Allegra Stratton, resigned as an adviser to the prime minister. In a tearful statement, she said she would regret the remarks she made in the video for the rest of her days. read more

For more than a week, Johnson and his team have repeated that no rules were broken in late 2020 after the Mirror newspaper reported there had been several parties including a wine-fuelled gathering of 40 to 50 people to mark Christmas.

On Wednesday, Johnson told parliament that he was furious about the video, which was first shown by ITV late on Tuesday, but said he had been repeatedly assured that no party took placeat Downing Street, his office and official residence.

Opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of “taking the public for fools”, while Ian Blackford of the Scottish National Party told Johnson to resign. read more

It is the latest misstep by an administration which has been criticised over its handling of a sleaze scandal, the awarding of COVID contracts, the refurbishment of Johnson’s Downing Street apartment and the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan.

Amid reports that the government could implement tougher COVID-19 measures as early as Thursday to slow the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, news of the scandal could also discourage people from following any new rules. read more

“I apologise unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country, and I apologise for the impression that it gives,” Johnson told parliament.

Disciplinary action would be taken if it was found that rules had been broken, he said.

“But I repeat … that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged, that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken.” read more

He also pledged to “get on with the job”, accusing the opposition for trying to “muddy the waters about events or non-events of a year ago”. read more

After days of denials, the video aired by ITV showed Stratton at a 2020 Downing Street rehearsal for a daily briefing, during which she laughed and joked about a reported Christmas gathering.

‘TAKEN FOR FOOLS’

In the video, another Johnson adviser asks Stratton: “I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night.Do you recognise those reports?”

Stratton, standing before British flags at an official Downing Street lectern, says: “I went home.” She then laughs and smiles. “Hold on. Hold on. Um. Er. Ah.” She appears lost for words and looks up.

On Wednesday, Stratton made a tearful statement to media outside her house, saying she was resigning from her current role as Johnson’s spokeswoman for…