UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie were among 100 people who attended a “bring your own booze” party at his Downing Street residence during the first nationwide Covid lockdown in 2020, according to a leaked email seen by broadcaster ITV News.
It is being said that around 40 staff gathered in Johnson’s residence in Downing Street for the drinks party, even though there was a restriction on social mixing.
An email was sent by the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds to over 100 employees in Downing Street on May 20, 2020, ITV said.
The leaked email asked them to bring alcohol to the party and to “make the most of the lovely weather”.
Following the revelation, the Liberal Democrats called for a police investigation, following which the Scotland Yard announced that the Metropolitan Police is considering probing the event.
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Johnson, who won a landslide victory in a 2019 election, has been facing criticism over allegations that there were parties in breach of COVID-19 rules in government offices, including his own.
London’s police, which previously declined to investigate claims of government officials gathering during the national lockdowns, on Monday said it was in contact with the Cabinet Office after “widespread reporting” of breaches of health protection laws in Downing Street.
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A senior government official, Sue Gray, is investigating allegations that at least five parties were held in government departments last year during COVID-19 lockdowns, reports Reuters.
It was Johnson’s former chief adviser Dominic Cummings who was the first to claim in a blog that a drinks party had been held in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 despite warnings by him that it was against the rules.
(With inputs from agencies)
