Boris Johnson’s office held lockdown parties on eve of Prince Philip’s funeral
- Staff at the office of under-fire British Prime Minister Boris Johnson drank alcohol at two leaving parties
- Events came the day before socially-distanced funeral of queen’s late husband, Prince Philip
Fresh claims have emerged that two parties were held in Downing Street the night before Britain’s Queen Elizabeth sat alone at her husband Prince Philip’s funeral.
The events are said to have taken place on the evening of April 16 2021 while the UK was in a period of public mourning and coronavirus restrictions were in force.
At the time, England was in step two of the UK government’s road map out of lockdown, which limited socialising to groups of six people or two households outdoors.
The Telegraph reported that advisers and civil servants gathered after work for two separate events on the Friday night.
They were to mark the departure of James Slack, Boris Johnson’s former director of communications, and one of the prime minister’s personal photographers, the newspaper said.
03:44
Boris Johnson apologises for attending ‘work’ party during Covid-19 lockdown
The Telegraph cited a Number 10 spokesperson as saying Johnson was not in Downing Street that day. He is said to have been at Chequers, the prime minister’s official country house.