Leaked party photos embarrass Johnson

According to ITV News, the photos were taken during a farewell party for Lee Chen, Johnson’s former head of communications. This came at the official residence of the Prime Minister, according to the channel. At that time, in November 2020, gatherings with people outside their homes were not allowed.

Reuters points out that the photos are difficult to reconcile with previous statements by Johnson. When asked in Parliament in December 2020 about the meeting the previous month, he confirmed that all procedures had been complied with.

Angela Rayner, deputy chair of the opposition Labor Party, has already concluded that Johnson lied. Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that he knows nothing about rule violations. Now there is no doubt: he lied. Johnson made the rules and then broke them.”

And the police had previously conducted an investigation into violations of Corona rules during the meeting. In response, Johnson’s government only said that the police had access to all data available during this investigation, including the photo. Johnson himself was not fined for being there. He was fined for attending his own birthday party in June 2020. A total of 126 fines were issued for the various closing parties. Johnson later spoke of “ErrorBut he refused to resign.

The police investigation was completed last week, but that doesn’t mean it looks like the “party gate” has been buried yet. The full publication of the much discussed senior British official Sue Gray’s report is expected to be released later this week. Outside Short version previously released It turns out that she speaks of “difficult behaviour” and a failure of “leadership and judgment”. The full report may also reveal details that have not been investigated by the police. It is unclear if the now leaked image is one of those details.