Since the end of November 2021, not a week has gone by without a revelation about the celebrations which would have taken place in 2020 at 10 Downing Street, the residence and headquarters of the British Prime Minister’s services, in violation of the health constraints in force at the time. . But the latest scoop, a perfectly explicit email published by the ITV channel on Monday evening, January 10, is the most damaging for Boris Johnson, whose future as head of government now seems compromised.
The “BYOB party” in question (for “Bring your own bottle”, ‘Bring your own bottle’) took place on May 20, 2020 in Downing Street Gardens. The invitation email was sent to over 100 people by Martin Reynolds, Mr Johnson’s private secretary. “Hello everyone, after such an incredibly intense time, we thought it would be nice to take advantage of the good weather and share a drink in a socially distanced way in Downing Street Gardens tonight. Meet at 6 pm, and bring your own bottle ”, writes this ex-diplomat. According to numerous – anonymous – sources quoted by the British media, as many as 40 people attended the party, including Mr Johnson and his future wife Carrie (to whom he was engaged at the time).
“This time it’s really very serious. This is the first time that proof of a real celebration has been provided, in which the Prime Minister seems to have participated ”, worries a source in the Conservative Party. An hour before the “BYOB party” of May 20, 2020, the Minister of Culture, Oliver Dowden, explained at a press conference from Downing Street that the British should continue to stay at home as much as possible, and that if they outside, they were not allowed to be more than two people outside. In London’s parks, police dispersed those who attempted picnics, threatening them with fines of several hundred pounds if they did not comply.
An internal investigation in progress
As early as Monday evening, dozens of Britons took to the pen or spoke on television and radio sets to express their anger and recount their dark memories of 2020: the missed family appointments, the funeral ceremonies by Zoom or the last farewell to a dying relative behind the window of a retirement home. “It makes me sick to think that Boris Johnson was partying on the day my father’s death certificate was signed”, regretted Hannah Brady, an active member of the association of families of victims of the Covid-19 pandemic Bereaved Families for Justice. “My father was 55 years old, he was in good health and I miss him every day”, added the young woman on television sets.
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