One of the parties on April 16 was for James Slack, Johnson’s head of communications, the other for a photographer for the Prime Minister. The parties, which lasted into the night and where, according to the newspaper, there was heavy drinking and dancing, started in two different places in the building, but during the evening merged in the garden. Under the corona rules in force at the time, adults were not allowed to gather indoors for social activities and outside with no more than six people.
A spokesman for the prime minister’s office declined to comment on the parties to The Telegraph, but emphasized that Johnson had been staying at his residence outside London since the previous day. The British Prime Minister has come under fire from both his own Conservative party and the opposition over allegations that he and his staff in 2020 regularly broke corona rules and held parties at the official residence. On Wednesday, Johnson had to answer to parliament for this. A top official is investigating those allegations. According to The Telegraph, this is the first time the prime minister and his staff have been accused of breaking the rules in 2021.