• Home
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Releases
Thursday, May 26, 2022
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
Mainland Times — Breaking Continental European News
  • Climate
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Europe
  • Health
  • Education
  • Society
  • Sport
  • World
  • Submit a News Releases
  • Climate
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Europe
  • Health
  • Education
  • Society
  • Sport
  • World
  • Submit a News Releases
No Result
View All Result
Mainland Times — Breaking Continental European News
No Result
View All Result
Home Europe

Any evidence of lockdown-breaching government parties will be passed to police, says UK minister

Michael Sanders by Michael Sanders
01/12/2022
in Europe
Any evidence of lockdown-breaching government parties will be passed to police, says UK minister
0
VIEWS

LONDON — Any evidence that parties were held in Whitehall in breach of COVID-19 restrictions will be referred to the police, a U.K. minister said Tuesday, as Boris Johnson’s government faced a storm of criticism over a Downing Street gathering.

A leaked email from civil servant Martin Reynolds, who runs the prime minister’s office, shows government staff were invited to a “socially-distanced” May 2020 drinks party in the garden of No. 10 Downing Street — at a time when people across the U.K. were banned from meeting more than one person aside from those they live with.

Defending the government in the House of Commons Tuesday, Paymaster General Michael Ellis told MPs he apologized again “unreservedly for the upset that these allegations have caused.”

He said an ongoing inquiry by government official Sue Gray into other alleged rule-breaking parties would “establish the facts” about the latest allegations and, “if wrongdoing is established, there will be the requisite disciplinary action taken.”

“As with all internal investigations, if evidence emerges of what was potentially a criminal offense, the matter would be referred to the Metropolitan Police and the Cabinet Office’s work may be paused,” he said. The Met Police have confirmed they are in contact with the Cabinet Office regarding the May 20 gathering.

In a heated, often emotional, Commons session, Democratic Unionist Party MP Jim Shannon broke down in tears as he told MPs his mother-in-law had died alone due to COVID — and asked for full and complete disclosure to the police.

Labour MP Afzal Khan told MPs his mother had died alone in hospital of COVID-19 while he sat in the car outside trying to be as close to her as he could. He questioned why Johnson himself was not in the Commons to face questions.

Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner meanwhile accused ministers of hiding behind the Gray investigation, and said it “won’t wash” to “blame this on a few junior civil servants.”

“The prime minister sets the tone. If the prime minister was there, surely he knew,” she said.

Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, broke ranks among senior Tories to declare Johnson should resign if he is found to have broken the restrictions his government had put in place.

“If the prime minister and others within No. 10 had breached that guidance, while earlier in that afternoon a cabinet minister had told people what they were expected to do, yet out the back of No. 10 people were enjoying the sunshine in the garden — I think that is utterly despicable,” a visibly furious Ross told Sky News, adding Johnson must “settle this right now” by revealing if he attended the party on May 20.

The prime minister’s spokesman told journalists Tuesday Johnson had confidence in Reynolds, who sent the email inviting staff to drinks, and that the senior official would continue in his role. 

But the spokesman repeatedly refused to comment on the substance of allegations, saying it was “right for the facts to be established independently” through Gray’s inquiry and that No. 10 did not want to “prejudge” that work.

Andrew McDonald contributed reporting.

Recommended

Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric urges citizens to back constitution rewrite

Chilean president-elect Gabriel Boric urges citizens to back constitution rewrite

5 months ago
Restrictive abortion laws force Poles to head for Ukraine

Restrictive abortion laws force Poles to head for Ukraine

6 months ago

Popular News

  • Alvaris Pearce, a Russian photo model with political ambitions

    Alvaris Pearce, a Russian photo model with political ambitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Ukrainian Startup Promin Aerospace Secures a Launch Partner in Atlantis Spaceport Consortium 

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • California’s 2022-2023 budget includes US$380m to support long-duration energy storage projects

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Why Conservative Parts of the U.S. Are So Angry

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The US must get tough with NATO members brazenly backsliding on core values

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Subscribe and receive the latest news to your email.

SUBSCRIBE

Category

  • Business
  • Climate
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Europe
  • Health
  • Society
  • Sport
  • World
  • Без рубрики

Site Links

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

About Us

Mainland Times is an independent online outlet that publishes socially relevant news taking place on the European continent. Mainland Times aggregates news from several sources, and also provides coverage through a network of local correspondents.

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Submit a News Releases

© 2021 All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Europe
  • Economy
  • Health
  • Climate
  • Climate
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Education
  • Society
  • World
  • Submit a News Releases

© 2021 All rights reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In