A minister has said he “can understand why people are angry” about allegations that Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie were among around 40 people to attend a drinks event in the Downing Street garden during the UK’s first national COVID lockdown.
Health minister Ed Argar said it is “absolutely right” that Sue Gray – the senior civil servant leading an inquiry into multiple allegations of COVID rule-breaking in Downing Street and other government buildings – looks into the matter, but told Kay Burley “I don’t know what did or didn’t happen”.
In what has been revealed to have been a “bring your own booze” event on 20 May 2020, a Downing Street figure told Sky News that both Mr Johnson and his then fiancée were present.
Downing Street garden party allegations
Asked multiple times whether if 40 people – including the PM and his wife – had gathered in the Downing Street garden it would have been against the government’s own coronavirus rules, Mr Argar did not explicitly answer the question.
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In spring 2020, when the event allegedly took place, outdoor group gatherings were banned in England.
Mr Argar said it is “not appropriate” to comment on what Sue Gray “may or may not conclude” in her investigation of the Downing Street party allegations, but that if wrongdoing is found, “appropriate disciplinary action” should follow.
Hannah Brady, a spokeswoman for COVID-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, said it made her “sick” to think No 10 staff “partied” in the days after her father’s death.
Put to him that the families of those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic are…
Source : skynews
