‘No work was discussed, it wasn’t a business event,’ a source said on the Christmas Quiz
Boris Johnson has been slammed after pictures surfaced of what appears to be the PM hosting a Christmas Quiz last year- you know, while we were all following restrictions.
https://twitter.com/PoliticsForAlI/status/1469794078468591618
Amid reports of numerous Christmas parties, leaked images depict the Prime Minister sitting underneath a portrait of former PM Margaret Thatcher as he reads out questions.
Sources say that staff huddled around computers, discussed questions, and necked back a few festive glasses of bubbly from the local Tesco Metro, reports the Mirror.
The Prime Minister is a liar and he is unfit for office. https://t.co/TXHyB59w5o
— Luke Pollard MP (@LukePollard) December 11, 2021
The insider says that there were four teams in one office, each made up of six people.
The image was allegedly taken on December 15, the PM flanked by two senior officials dressed in Santa hats and draped in tinsel.
For context, on December 25 last year, 459 people died from Covid, while a further 33,828 people were infected.
At the time, London was under Tier 2 regulations, and therefore social mixing between households was banned.
Hello @metpoliceuk – I wonder if this might qualify as ‘evidence’? https://t.co/TNtptCDrWa
— ALASTAIR CAMPBELL (@campbellclaret) December 12, 2021
Similarly, official guidance also stated: “You must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.”
Tonight another source in No 10 has shown me separate proof of the quiz. It would appear that Downing Street staff were gathered around the TV screen, watching the PM ask the quiz questions with very little social distancing.
This adds to the 7 other alleged parties last year.
— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) December 11, 2021
It is understood that while a virtual quiz was set up for charity, a number of government officials, including members of the press team and the PM’s private office, decided to host the quiz at number 10.
Boris Johnson is going to be sickened and furious when he sees what Boris Johnson has been up to. https://t.co/hARrME8jSX
— Anneliese Dodds (@AnnelieseDodds) December 12, 2021
“No work was discussed, it wasn’t a business event. Nobody was working that evening, it was purely a social event,” the source said.
Johnson, who also gave a bronze pin of the number 10 door as a gift, allegedly quizzed: “At her press conference, how many Covid tests did Priti Patel say had been conducted?”
We are seeing growth in Omicron cases in the UK that mirrors the rapid increases seen in South Africa.
That is why it is now the proportionate and responsible thing to move to Plan B in England, to slow the spread of the virus.
Find out more: https://t.co/bZZYbzs59L pic.twitter.com/ulvovWoL41
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 8, 2021
The source continued: “Nobody ever questioned whether this was against the rules or if we shouldn’t be doing this.
“We all just went ahead and did it. At the time we didn’t even click that what we were doing was so severely wrong. I’ve realised now that it was actually pretty outrageous.
“We felt like we were working extremely hard and working a lot of hours. Looking back, I accept we shouldn’t have done that.”
Related links:
- Everything you can and can’t do from today under new Plan B rules
- Man turns up for rave outside Downing Street two weeks early
- Up to 60 people ‘infected with Omicron’ after work Christmas party
- Premier League clubs instructed to return to’ emergency’ Covid-19 measures
- Man burned down nightclub to stop them asking for Covid passports
