It’s the second apology in a short period of time. First, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson felt compelled to make a gesture of humility in Parliament, and now his spokesman has apologized to the Queen, the formal head of state. More and more facts are becoming known about the lax official position of Johnson and his employees. Now this: Contrary to the current Corona regulations and during a period of official national mourning, on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in April, around 30 employees of the government headquarters celebrated at two parties until the morning. The episode made it clear again that Johnson had “seriously damaged the office of prime minister,” criticized Labor opposition leader Keir Starmer.
Is there actually government behind the black door with the golden “10”, the official residence in Downing Street? The question arose on Friday after the London media once again reveled in details of lockdown parties. On that April evening, a longtime spokesman and a photographer said goodbye to their respective teams. At that time, no celebrations were allowed outside of one’s own family, even outside, the British were only allowed to meet people from two other households.
According to the conservative Telegraph, a close associate of Johnson worked as a DJ. A young employee was sent to the local Superparkt branch with a suitcase to replenish the wine stocks. When the carpets in the party cellar began to suffer due to increasing alcohol consumption, the events shifted to the extensive garden, a place well known to the public from previous party scenarios. Johnson himself was staying at his country estate, Checkers, with his wife and one-year-old son.
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At least this time the government didn’t linger on procrastinating. First, the ex-press secretary and now deputy editor of the tabloid “Sun”, James Slack, apologized to the British for the “pain caused: the party should not have taken place”. Johnson’s current spokesman later added: It was “deeply regrettable that this happened during a period of national mourning”.
local elections in May
The head of government had already apologized in the House of Commons on Wednesday because he had attended a party in the garden of Downing Street in May 2020, also against all corona rules. Five Tory MPs, including the chairs of two committees, have now backed Starmer’s and other opposition parties’ calls for his resignation. The head of the Scottish party organization, Douglas Ross, and his influential predecessor, Ruth Davidson, have also called for Johnson’s resignation. Many English party members are afraid of the local elections in May, in the polls Labor is currently up to ten percent ahead of the Tories.
On the other hand, Johnson and his cabinet members refer to the investigation of the 14 known lockdown parties. The report will bring “no criminal activity” to light, claimed the “Times” on Friday – a clear attempt by the government spindoctors to take the allegations to an early stage. Lockdown violations have generally not been treated as crimes, but in thousands of cases they have resulted in hefty fines.
In the latest revelations, the behavior of staff at government headquarters contrasts embarrassingly with what is happening at Windsor Castle. Only 30 people were admitted to the funeral service for the late Prince Philip in St. George’s Church, Elizabeth II had to sit alone in the pew.
For Johnson, what will be decisive is the reception that voters give his Tory party friends in their respective constituencies. The BBC gave the floor to two local chapter chairmen on Friday. While Andrea Thorpe (Maidstone near London) considers a new party and government leader necessary, her colleague Tom Ashton spoke of “piercings intended to damage the government”. In fact, the revelations of the past seven weeks seem carefully staged. At least some are likely to be attributed to Johnson’s former chief adviser, Dominic Cummings, who now deems the Prime Minister “utterly incompetent”.
As long as the lower house deputies do not share this assessment, the 57-year-old will remain in office, albeit weakened.
