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Boris Johnson apologises after admitting to attending Downing Street garden party in lockdown
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Boris Johnson has apologised after admitting to attending the boozy Downing Street garden party during the first national lockdown.
Addressing the commons at today’s PMQs, the Prime Minister offered his ‘heartfelt’ apologies before saying he had ‘learned enough to know there were things we simply did not get right’.
Johnson admitted he ‘went into that garden just after 6pm on May 20th 2020 to thank staff but ‘believed implicitly that this was a work event’.
Much to the outrage of MPs, he added: “With hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some other way to thank them.
“I should have realised that even if it technically fell within the guidance, there would be millions who did not see it that way. I offer my heartfelt apologies.
“I know people up and down the country have made huge sacrifices and I understand the anger and rage they feel that people in Downing Street were not following those rules.
“I regret the way the event was handled and I wish we could have done things differently.”
Johnson also pointed out that the Downing Street gardens acted as ‘an extension of the office’ throughout the lockdown ‘due to the role of fresh air in stopping the spread of the virus’.
The opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer slammed the Prime Minister’s apology as ‘pretty worthless’, questioning: “Why does the PM still think the rules don’t apply to him?”
ITV News
This comes after an email shared with ITV News showed that over 100 members of staff had been invited to a garden party at Downing Street ‘to make the most of the nice weather’ during the height of the pandemic in May 2020.
The email, which was sent by the Prime Minister’s Principal Private Secretary Martin Reynolds, read: “Hi all… After what has been an incredibly busy period we thought it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening.
“Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!”