Boris Johnson raises a can of beer at his illegal June 2020 birthday party. Police fined him for attending the event.
Parties that went on until the early hours of the morning. Drunken staff vomiting and fighting with each other. Downing Street walls stained with red wine. And an illegal birthday party for Britain’s Prime Minister, complete with six-packs of beer and dozens of sandwiches.
That was the scene at the heart of Boris Johnson’s government while the rest of the United Kingdom was banned from seeing friends or relatives, according to a long-awaited probe into lockdown-breaking parties in Whitehall and Downing Street.
Johnson is facing a battle to save his premiership after the report published on Wednesday by senior civil servant Sue Gray criticized a culture of rule-breaking events, and revealed new photographs of him at two separate gatherings.
Gray wrote that “the senior leadership at the centre” of Johnson’s administration “must bear responsibility” for a culture that allowed the parties to take place.
She added there is “no excuse for some of the behaviour” she investigated, which included “excessive alcohol consumption.” Logs of email exchanges were also featured, including some where staff openly discussed hiding their partying from the media.
The report probed 16 events that took place while the UK was living under strict Covid-19 restrictions.
A picture of Johnson raising a can of beer at a birthday party thrown in his honor was included in the dossier, alongside more images of the Prime Minister at another event.
Speaking in Parliament moments after the report was published, Johnson said he was “humbled” and has “learned my lesson,” adding: “I take full responsibility for everything that took place on my watch.”
But he also repeated previous claims that parties only escalated after he left, and insisted he was “surprised and disappointed” that several drink-fueled events took place.
And he suggested that the cramped quarters of the government buildings and the “extremely long hours” of his staff responding to the Covid-19 crisis could explain why several parties and social events took place.
“I briefly attended such gatherings to thank them for their service, which I believe is one of the essential duties of leadership,” Johnson said.
He fielded several interventions by lawmakers who demanded his resignation, but repeatedly rejected those calls.
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