UK: PM & staff's image of partying in Downing Street garden during lockdown causes uproar

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has found himself in a pool of controversy yet again after a picture of him partying alongside his then-fiancee Carrie, and up to 17 staff in the Downing Street garden with wine and cheesecake leaked on Sunday, 19 December. The image was shot in May 2020 when the UK reeled under strict lockdown rules with social distancing rules that permitted mixing only one person outside the household at a distance of two metres outdoors. 

The photograph, first published by The Guardian, shows the UK Prime Minister in breach of his own COVID-19 rules. It was shot just hours before his ex-Health Secretary Matt Hancock urged the Britons to “please stick with the rules, keep an eye on your family and don’t take risks” as the first wave of the coronavirus hit Britain. Around 20 staff members can be seen drinking wine and having pizza after the press conference on the Downing Street lawn on 15 May 2020 during the first national lockdown in the UK, according to The Guardian. 

The UK PM's alleged invited gathering happened when he urged the citizens to "stay at home as much as is possible” and two metres apart, even outdoors. All pubs, bars and restaurants were ordered to remain close to deter people from gathering, drinking and having a party until early July.

“I'm pretty sure this is the view from the 11 Downing Street first floor balcony,” a former UK cabinet minister Ed balls wrote on Twitter, sharing the image. “Another Downing Street garden party, wine, cheese & snacks,” wrote another, “doesn’t look like a work meeting, no papers, no laptops!” A Brit condemned the Prime Minister’s conduct stressing that he had more people in the Downing Street lawn that were allowed to attend his mother’s funeral last year. “Did you enjoy your garden party while people were dying alone without their loved ones, Boris Johnson?’ Meanwhile one other asked. 

Downing Street's statement

Meanwhile defending the photograph, Downing Street said in its response that there was no social event held by the Prime Minister on 15 May and that the Tory leader was said to have spent about 15 minutes with staff holding "a series of meetings" in his garden. “The prime minister went to his residence shortly after 7 pm. A small number of staff required to be in work remained in the Downing Street garden for part of the afternoon and evening,” the statement from Downing Street read. Although many of the cabinet ministers including the deputy leader of the Labour party, Angela Rayner, rejected the response saying that the picture "is a slap in the face of the British public". UK’s senior civil servant Sue Gray has been tasked with investigating Boris Johnson’s party scandals.