The scandal of the parties in Downing Street units during the worst moments of the COVID-19 pandemic has added a new chapter this Monday with the dissemination of several images in which the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, appears with a glass in the hand, toasting even with his companions.
The four images, released by the ITV News network, would correspond to a party held on November 13, 2020 and, in them, a table with bottles and food also appears, reflecting an apparent festive atmosphere.
The event in question corresponds to a meeting in tribute to the then Director of Communications of Downing Street, Lee Cain, and would have gathered more people than allowed.
At that time, parties were prohibited and in closed spaces only two people from different houses could be seen, but eight appear in the photographs – according to ITV, there were even more.
The Prime Minister, however, was not fined by the Police for attending this particular party, despite the fact that other people did appear for events corresponding to that same day on the blacklist that Scotland Yard closed last week. Johnson has only been fined, for another party in June 2020.
In addition, the scenes captured by the camera mark a new contradiction in relation to Johnson’s public messages, which in December 2021 assured before the House of Commons that he had no evidence that Downing Street had broken the rules.
The controversy also shakes the board just a few days after the official Sue Gray publishes the internal report on the parties in government facilities, which in its preliminary conclusions already criticized the authorities.
