‘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.
https://twitter.com/LukePollard/status/1469818590346063874
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.
https://twitter.com/campbellclaret/status/1469934949411262465
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.”
https://twitter.com/PaulBrandITV/status/1469806055987290115?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1469806055987290115%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.itv.com%2Fnews%2F2021-12-11%2Fboris-johnson-pictured-hosting-christmas-quiz-during-covid-restrictions
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.
https://twitter.com/AnnelieseDodds/status/1469939958056165377
“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?”
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1468668762454994945
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:
