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Boris Johnson birthday party took place during lockdown
Updated 21:18, 25-Jan-2022
Andrew Wilson in London
Europe;UK
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog. /Reuters/Hannah McKay

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog. /Reuters/Hannah McKay

 

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson celebrated his birthday at a Downing Street party while the country was in lockdown and indoor social gatherings were prohibited. 

His office confirmed the event had taken place following a report by ITV News but said that the prime minister was present for less than ten minutes. 

The revelation is the latest in a series of controversies in which the prime minister and his staff are accused of breaking the rules they had imposed on the country to curb the spread of coronavirus. A senior civil servant is investigating the circumstances and some members of Johnson's political party have already called for him to resign.

 

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He has said he believed a previous gathering he attended, where staff enjoyed drinks in the Downing Street garden, was a work event and that no rules were broken.

The most recent incident to emerge took place on June 19, organized, according to ITV, by Johnson's wife, Carrie. A government spokesman said a group of staff had gathered in a room to wish Johnson a happy birthday on his return to an official trip to a school in Hertfordshire.

Social gatherings were only permitted under the rules at the time outdoors and in groups of six or fewer. A later event involving friends and family that evening took place outside and within the permitted numbers, the spokesman said, denying reports they celebrated inside the official residence.

 

Nusrat Ghani speaks during a session in Parliament. /UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters

Nusrat Ghani speaks during a session in Parliament. /UK Parliament/Jessica Taylor/Handout via Reuters

 

Sue Gray report

Later this week civil servant Sue Gray will publish the findings of her investigation into 16 different social events that took place, many in Downing Street, that may have been unlawful. While she is not expected to apportion blame, MPs from Johnson's Conservative Party have indicated the report may decide his future as leader. The BBC reports that Grey was already aware of the latest revelation.

 

Discrimination claim

The news comes on the same day Johnson ordered an inquiry into allegations by a Conservative MP who said she was fired from a ministerial job in the government partly because her Muslim faith was making colleagues uncomfortable.

Nusrat Ghani was a minister in the department of transport but lost her post in 2020 after a cabinet reshuffle. She says a party whip, the name given to officials responsible for party discipline, told her that her "Muslim woman minister status was making colleagues feel uncomfortable."

 

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