British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s employees celebrated two farewell parties last spring at the official residence at 10 Downing Street. This happened on the eve of the funeral of Prince Philip. At both parties there were about thirty people present. Johnson himself was not there.
At the time of the parties, the United Kingdom was in lockdown due to the corona crisis. There was also an official period of mourning in connection with the death of the prince, the husband of Queen Elizabeth.
Spin doctor James Slack says in a statement Friday that he expresses regret for the “anger and pain” caused by the april 16 meeting, Sky News reports.
One of the parties, on April 16, was for James Slack, who served as head of communications under Johnson. The other party was for a prime minister’s photographer. The parties lasted well into the night and there was a lot of drinking and dancing according to witnesses.
The parties started in two different places in the building, but joined in the garden over the course of the evening. According to the corona rules in force at the time, adults were not allowed to gather indoors for social activities and outside with more than six people.
The British Prime Minister is under fire from both his own Conservative Party and the opposition for allegations that he and his associates regularly violated Corona rules in 2020 and held parties in the official residence. On Wednesday, Johnson had to answer for this in Parliament.