UK PM Boris Johnson, staff used £2.6m news briefing room to watch 'No Time To Die': Report

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson used £2.6 million newly refurbished press briefing room to watch the new James Bond film with Downing Street staff, The Times reported. Johnson reportedly attended the screening of the film, ‘No Time To Die’ on Thursday with his staff in the studio that was built for televised news conferences. It is pertinent to mention here that the movie, which is actor Daniel Craig’s last outing in the Bond role, was released last month and is still screening in cinemas across the nation, however, the UK PM used the White House-style briefing room for a private screening of the film.

According to the media outlet, a Downing Street spokesperson said that the UK PM met with Pinewood Studios, Universal Pictures, Eon Productions and the BFI to congratulate them on the success of the latest James Bond movie. They added that later in the day, an evening film screening took place for staff, who made “voluntary donations”, with all proceeds going to a cancer charity in Sarcoma, UK. All installations costs, on the other hand, was met by the companies involved, the spokesperson said.

Boris Johnson’s ‘vanity project’ 

The new briefing room has been unavailable for the last two days for “unspecified events”. On Thursday, Daily off-camera briefings for Westminster journalists were reportedly moved from their usual location, in the studio in 9 Downing Street, to 10 Downing Street. It is worth noting that the studio in 9 Downing Street, which has been branded as a “vanity project” by political opponents, was constructed under UK PM’s plans to hold daily televised press briefings.

During that time, UK’s cultural secretary, Oliver Dowden, had said that the venue was “not a waste of money” because the room previously used for press conferences was too small and “not fit for purpose”. Dowden had reportedly said that the “modern press facility” was similar to those used by leaders across the globe and would be available for future government and not just the current one.

However, the plan was later scrapped after the Johnson administration got cold feet over the prospect of the PM’s spokesperson facing an intensive grilling from journalists. According to the Independent, the cost of the No 9 Downing Street was later revealed in response to a Freedom of Informations (FoI) request. The Cabinet Office issued a breakdown of the cost totalling around £2,607,767.6, largely excluding VAT.

(Image: AP)