British PM under fire over video of staff joking about lockdown party
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Tuesday
August 09, 2022

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Features
  • Epaper
  • More
    • Subscribe
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Splash
    • Videos
    • Games
    • Long Read
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
TUESDAY, AUGUST 09, 2022
British PM under fire over video of staff joking about lockdown party

World+Biz

BSS/AFP
08 December, 2021, 11:45 am
Last modified: 08 December, 2021, 12:08 pm

Related News

  • 1 Covid death, 239 cases reported in 24hrs
  • US lauds Bangladesh’s success in Covid vaccination, food security
  • China's Sanya holiday hotspot shuts duty-free malls, venues to curb Covid
  • Bangladesh logs 2 Covid deaths, 278 cases in a day
  • 3 deaths, 375 Covid cases reported in 24 hours

British PM under fire over video of staff joking about lockdown party

BSS/AFP
08 December, 2021, 11:45 am
Last modified: 08 December, 2021, 12:08 pm
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pictured after delivering a statement at Downing Street after winning the general election, in London, Britain, December 13, 2019/ Reuters
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pictured after delivering a statement at Downing Street after winning the general election, in London, Britain, December 13, 2019/ Reuters

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was under fire Wednesday after a video emerged of his senior aides joking about holding a Christmas party at Downing Street last year when social gatherings were banned under Covid rules.

The government has been accused repeatedly of hypocrisy over breaches of lockdown rules and in a major scandal health secretary Matt Hancock resigned in June after revelations that he broke coronavirus restrictions during an affair with an aide.

The video, obtained by broadcaster ITV News, shows Johnson's then press secretary Allegra Stratton, advisor Ed Oldfied and other staff joking about "a fictional party" during a rehearsal press conference on December 22, with no media present.

In the leaked footage, Stratton is seen answering questions about a Downing Street Christmas party the previous Friday -- when the alleged rule-breaking gathering took place.

"This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced," she laughs over joking exchanges about "cheese and wine".

At that time, London was under strict Covid restrictions and indoor social gatherings of two or more people were banned.

In response to the video, Downing Street insisted: "There was no Christmas party. Covid rules have been followed at all times."

Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, blasted the government for its "shameful" actions at a time when Britain was under lockdown.

"People across the country followed the rules, even when that meant being separated from loved ones. They had a right to expect the government was doing the same," Starmer tweeted, with a link to the video.

"To lie and to laugh about those lies is shameful. We have a Prime Minister who's socially distanced from the truth."

'Upsetting and shameful'

The leader of the Scottish National Party, Ian Blackford, said the prime minister could not be trusted and called for him to resign.

"Here we have Number 10, a government in London, breaching its own Covid rules and then joking about it on a video," Blackford told STV News.

"It really isn't acceptable and I have to say, unfortunately, that on the basis of this behaviour ... he should go, and he should go now."

Some lawmakers from Johnson's Conservative Party also wanted answers.

"The No.10 party has all the hallmarks of another 'Barnard Castle' moment," North Thanet MP Roger Gale tweeted, referring to an incident last year when Johnson's then chief aide Dominic Cummings drove hundreds of kilometres during a lockdown, triggering outrage over perceived hypocrisy by the government.

"No.10 clearly has some serious questions to answer. Fast."

During the mock press conference, Oldfield mentions reports about a Downing Street party and asks: "Would the prime minister condone having a Christmas party?" to which Stratton says "What's the answer?"

Oldfield says he doesn't know as a Downing Street staffer says to laughter that "It wasn't a party... it was cheese and wine."

Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice said it was "the behaviour of people who think they're above us."

"There are simply no words to describe how upsetting and shameful it is to then hear Boris Johnson's team laughing about breaking the rules they had made, whilst others followed them and could only say goodbye to their loved ones through a screen," it said in a statement.

Boris Jhonson / British Prime Minister Boris Johnson / party / coronavirus in UK / Covid -19

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Brioche rolls exit an oven at the Brioche Pasquier factory in Milton Keynes, UK.Photographer: Ryan Peters/Brioche Pasquier
    The great European energy crisis is now coming for your food
  • Photo: Bloomberg
    Bangladesh-Iraq trade grows four-fold
  • Amila Uduwerell, an IT officer who is home-based uses a car battery to charge his laptops as he works during the seven hours power outage, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, March 2, 2022. REUTERS
    Sri Lanka power regulator approves 75% tariff hike

MOST VIEWED

  • A sign is pictured at the entrance of Klarna's headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden on May 25, 2022. REUTERS/Supantha Mukherjee
    Dreaded 'down rounds' shave billions off startup valuations
  • US President Joe Biden signs the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi. on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, US, August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
    Biden signs bill to boost US chips, compete with China
  • Smoke rises after explosions were heard from the direction of a Russian military airbase near Novofedorivka, Crimea August 9, 2022. REUTERS/Stringer
    Five injured as blasts rock Russian air base in annexed Crimea
  • A view of dried out ground in Verulamium Park, following a long period of little rainfall and hot weather, in St Albans, Britain, August 8, 2022. REUTERS/Matthew Childs
    UK issues new 'extreme heat' warning for England and Wales
  • Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin interacts at the ASEAN Plus Three Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Phnom Penh, Cambodia August 4, 2022. REUTERS/Soe Zeya Tun
    S Korea, China foreign ministers discuss N Korea, K-pop ban
  • Sticker reads crude oil on the side of a storage tank in the Permian Basin in Mentone, Loving County, Texas, US November 22, 2019. REUTERS/Angus Mordant
    Oil rises as Russian pipeline halt revives supply fears

Related News

  • 1 Covid death, 239 cases reported in 24hrs
  • US lauds Bangladesh’s success in Covid vaccination, food security
  • China's Sanya holiday hotspot shuts duty-free malls, venues to curb Covid
  • Bangladesh logs 2 Covid deaths, 278 cases in a day
  • 3 deaths, 375 Covid cases reported in 24 hours

Features

The elevated ground is made out of soil on which grass and trees have grown. This grass-covered elevated ground extends to the perimeter of the establishment. Photo: Maruf Raihan

Aman Mosque: Where form and function complement each other

10h | Habitat
Photo: BSS

Begum Fazilatunnessa Mujib . . . woman of moral power

1d | Thoughts
Will Glass Cosmetics be your next skincare holy grail?

Will Glass Cosmetics be your next skincare holy grail?

1d | Brands
Akij Tableware: More than just dishes on a table

Akij Tableware: More than just dishes on a table

1d | Brands

More Videos from TBS

Why Donald Trump buried ex-wife Ivana at a golf course

Why Donald Trump buried ex-wife Ivana at a golf course

5m | Videos
In absence of groom, his brother stands by the bride

In absence of groom, his brother stands by the bride

3h | Videos
Tajia procession of Muharram

Tajia procession of Muharram

3h | Videos
Importance of Ashura in Islam

Importance of Ashura in Islam

5h | Videos

Most Read

1
Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46
Energy

Diesel price hiked by Tk34 per litre, Octane by Tk46

2
Housing projects sprouting up by Dhaka-Mawa expressway
Real Estate

Housing projects sprouting up by Dhaka-Mawa expressway

3
Infographic: TBS
Banking

Dollar rate will be left to market after two months: Governor

4
Bangladesh to resume talks for Ukrainian wheat import
Economy

Bangladesh to resume talks for Ukrainian wheat import

5
A liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker is tugged towards a thermal power station in Futtsu, east of Tokyo, Japan November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Energy

Summit proposes long-term LNG supply to Petrobangla

6
Dollar for LC settlement reaches new high at Tk110
Banking

Dollar for LC settlement reaches new high at Tk110

EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2022
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net