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'I'm sorry': UK PM Boris Johnson admits attending lock-down party
Boris Jhonson is known for using unusual tactics to avoid the press, like hiding in a fridge.
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has admitted to attending a garden party at his Downing Street residence during a COVID-19 lockdown in May 2020, busting his own government’s pandemic rules.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson was reportedly lying down in the back of a Range Rover leaving Downing Street to avoid photographers getting pictures of him this morning.
Less than an hour before the drinks, the Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden reminded the rest of England they must only meet in pairs outdoors in the daily press conference.
Addressing Parliament on Wednesday, Johnson apologised to the public for his actions but deflected opposition demands for his resignation.
“I know the rage they feel with me over the government I lead when they think that in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules,” he told the House of Commons during his weekly Prime Minister’s Questions session.
Johnson said he was regretful but had thought at the time that the May 20 gathering was a work event, an excuse that was roundly derided by critics on social media.
The prime minister said he had entered the Downing Street garden to thank his staff members before returning to his office 25 minutes later.
At that time, schools were shut, pubs and restaurants were closed, and there were strict implementation of COVID-19 related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
Moreover, Boris Jhonson is known for using unusual tactics to avoid the press, like hiding in a fridge just before the 2019 General Election to avoid a grilling by GMB presenters Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid.