Boris Johnson news: PM ‘threw No 10 birthday party’ during lockdown
Nadhim Zahawi says Islamaphobia claims are ‘very serious’.mp4
A birthday event was thrown for Boris Johnson in No 10 during the first coronavirus lockdown, Downing Street has admitted, further straining the prime minister’s bid to cling to power ahead of the publication of an inquiry into claims of rule-breaking parties.
Up to 30 people attended the gathering in the Cabinet Room just after 2pm on 19 June 2020, where the prime minister’s wife Carrie Johnson presented him with a cake, ITV News reported, also alleging that a small party was held later that evening in the PM’s official residence.
No 10 conceded that staff had “gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the prime minister a happy birthday”, with Mr Johnson in attendance “for less than ten minutes”. But it said claims of a party later that evening were “totally untrue”, insisting the PM had “hosted a small number of family members outside”.
The fresh allegations come as Mr Johnson’s party faces a new Islamophobia row, after Tory MP Nusrat Ghani accused an unnamed government figure of telling her in 2020 that she was losing her ministerial position due to her “Muslimness”.
How could new claims impact Sue Gray inquiry?
ITV’s Robert Peston quotes a source as suggesting that the disputed claim of a gathering within the PM’s official residence at Downing Street should be easy for Sue Gray as part of her inquiry into allegations of lockdown-defying parties.
Additionally, Beth Rigby of Sky News reports that Ms Gray’s probe was already aware of a birthday event for Boris Johnson. It is unclear which alleged event this refers to, however.
The results of Ms Gray’s inquiry are expected this week, although speculation remains over how much of the detail will be made public.
Andy Gregory24 January 2022 19:26
Culture secretary seeks to dismiss ‘party’ claims
One of the Boris Johnson’s staunchest defenders in recent days, Nadine Dorries, has sought to play down the claims against the PM.
The culture secretary tweeted: “So, when people in an office buy a cake in the middle of the afternoon for someone else they are working in the office with and stop for ten minutes to sing happy birthday and then go back to their desks, this is now called a party?”
Columnist Iain Martin had this response:
As highlighted in the report by ITV News, all social gatherings indoors were forbidden and there was also significant concern at the time about the potential for singing to spread the virus – with choirs told they could not meet to rehearse.
Andy Gregory24 January 2022 19:17
‘He’s got to go’: Starmer brands PM ‘a national distraction’
Sir Keir Starmer responded to the latest allegations against No 10 by saying Boris Johnson had become a “national distraction”, adding: “He’s got to go”.
“We’ve got a prime minister and a government that spends their whole time mopping up sleaze and deceit, meanwhile while millions of people are struggling to pay their bills,” the Labour leader said.
‘He’s got to go’: Starmer brands PM a ‘national distraction’ amid allegations of…
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