To ask if your essential meetings involve sitting around in the garden with wine and cheese, with your spouse in attendance?

[AlexaShutUp]

So the justification for the pictures of Boris in lockdown is that they were essential work meetings and therefore allowed. The wine and cheese was apparently because people were working long hours. I have seen no explanation of why Carrie was present.

Do you have essential work meetings of this nature? I don't.

AIBU to think that, in the midst of a pandemic, I'd rather that our decision makers stayed off the booze while carrying out their essential functions? And that unelected individuals who are not employed by the government in an official capacity have no business sitting in on such meetings?

Family business so yes. It's often the only way to get us all talking

@ethelredonagoodday

This is what was put out on the day of the ummm social gathering otherwise known as a 'business meeting'

But Tory defenders keep bleating saying it was work and that's different. It's not. Work socials were banned too. Ahhh but it was a 'business meeting'. In that case why was the spouse of the PM allowed there, security wise?

From HIGNFY 😂🤣🤣🤣

@haveigotnews
BREAKING: Cabinet reportedly meeting this afternoon after Grant Shapps is spotted wheeling a karaoke machine into No 10.

@Cbtb

Hospital staff here. We sit 2m away from each other at lunch and are allowed to remove our masks for 15min to eat and no more. Even outside we have to be 2m apart. No work socials allowed and not allowed to bring a coffee to a team meeting as it would mean removing mask.

This, except all of our team meetings are over Teams now. The only time my mask comes off is if I’m by myself in a room (ie clinic room before or after clinic, with no patients), in my office (when my other colleagues are out), and outside.

The ward nurses were told they had to schedule their breaks so they could go and eat by themselves in the seminar room.

They are beyond contempt - work meeting or not they should not have been socialising like that.
They may for the most part be highly educated people, but if ever proof was needed that they lack basic common sense and decency then this is it.
Even this morning the Minister that was sent out to face the media described it as a group of people socialising after working hard. The implication being that this was just reward for all their effort and therefore acceptable . Had he had any common sense he would have refreshed his memory about the rules on socialising at the time before he spoke and had the decency to say that with hindsight this was a gathering that should not have taken place.
It matters not that these photos and various leaks are all part of a plot to remove Mr Johnson as PM as it seems to me that most of his colleagues are either tarred with the same brush of entitlement or not the brightest sparks in the pack.
When the photo was taken there were plenty of people ( not just in the NHS) slogging their guts out to keep the country going. The vast majority of them managed to do so without the need for socialising with cheese and wine, albeit outside.This is just another example of them thinking that the rules don’t apply to them
Without labouring the point about those who lost close family members at that time and would have liked to celebrate the life lost with a similar sized gathering of those closest to them, but couldn’t, It’s understandable that people are angry. A gathering of people be it work colleagues or close family is still a gathering and if it was considered acceptable for a work group to socialise like this, then the same privilege should have been extended to other groups.
The duplicity of this government is astounding.

This is actually a breach of security.

They must know who was in the building at the time, which window the photo was taken from and and who had access to that floor.

I would suspect they know exactly who took the photo and whoever it is has been quietly removed from whatever position they had.

What, someone has been removed today? I doubt it.
I read it was taken from a balcony on No.11, (or was it 10?) it could be any number of people who took it who work there.

Some people might've been there actually working instead of swilling down wine and nattering in the garden.

The lies just keep coming

@Florianus

You weren't allowed people in your garden though were you?

Yes you were. By May 15th gatherings of more than two people were banned in outdoor public places in England. However, the photo shows a private garden (the public can't just wander into No.10 uninvited), so that restriction would not apply. Later in the pandemic, gatherings were banned in private gardens too, but not on May 15th.

No you weren't. The only way you could be outside your home was for a "reasonable excuse" - none of which included social gatherings in private gardens.

The change you outline as some kind of tightening of rules was actually a loosening of restrictions to allow people to visit others and socialise outside in private gardens. This had previously been prohibited under the general lockdown rules.

'But Tory defenders keep bleating saying it was work and that's different. It's not. Work socials were banned too. Ahhh but it was a 'business meeting'. In that case why was the spouse of the PM allowed there, security wise?'

Security wise? Well I presume as the pm's wife she still least has a dbs . It was outside! it obviously wasn't a highly secure meeting. Someone took snaps that's how 'secure' it was.

They were at work, outside. Unclench.

No I will not unclench.
They are supposed to be leaders.
You have really low standards.

@JaniieJones

'But Tory defenders keep bleating saying it was work and that's different. It's not. Work socials were banned too. Ahhh but it was a 'business meeting'. In that case why was the spouse of the PM allowed there, security wise?'

Security wise? Well I presume as the pm's wife she still least has a dbs . It was outside! it obviously wasn't a highly secure meeting. Someone took snaps that's how 'secure' it was.

They were at work, outside. Unclench.

How do you know what was being discussed?

I just see people lolling about on garden furniture drinking wine and eating cheese. Not working.

@JaniieJones

'But Tory defenders keep bleating saying it was work and that's different. It's not. Work socials were banned too. Ahhh but it was a 'business meeting'. In that case why was the spouse of the PM allowed there, security wise?'

Security wise? Well I presume as the pm's wife she still least has a dbs . It was outside! it obviously wasn't a highly secure meeting. Someone took snaps that's how 'secure' it was.

They were at work, outside. Unclench.

They clearly weren't at work, were they.

It's actually a little bit sick inducing how fan girly you are over them (not envy)

@OldaRailer

No I will not unclench. They are supposed to be leaders. You have really low standards.

Oh nooo, I have very high standards! As I said earlier I was very intolerant of flaky flouters on mn last year but for the trillionth time this is outside and at work. People do drink at work related discussions.

If it was 12pm in a club and they were on the dance floor you'd have a point but they weren't, so you don't.

"They were at work" is what Boris has just said - it's the party line.

He refused to address the perfectly valid question about whether he could see why people could be annoyed to see that picture. He also had no answer to why there are no notepads/laptops etc.

Business as usual "nothing to see here, plebs" - except the contempt he has for ordinary people.

Dominic Raab said this morning that the drinks took place after, not during, work - and hence it was not permitted under the regulations then in force, according to Adam Wagner twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1472904675947167747

Not now I have dc but in bygone years yes. Deals often have the finer details ironed out with the lubricating help of wine and food.

[quote Player067]Dominic Raab said this morning that the drinks took place after, not during, work - and hence it was not permitted under the regulations then in force, according to Adam Wagner twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1472904675947167747[/quote]
And Boris has effectively just called Raab a liar, claiming all the wine and cheese was people "at work".

They can't even get their story straight - which is no surprise when they are all such liars.

So Borris has said now that ‘they were people at work, talking about work’

So why cheese and wine? Why was Carrie there? Why no laptops or pens? FOI request needed for the notes of the meetings. This is time paid for by tax payers. I work for the NHS and am therefore paid for by tax payers. If I spent my working day chilling with colleagues and drinking wine I would be sacked. I have a professional code of conduct I have to follow. If I don’t I can be de-registered. We need the same for politicians.

@Woeismethischristmas

Not now I have dc but in bygone years yes. Deals often have the finer details ironed out with the lubricating help of wine and food.

What sort of "deals" would government, their civil service workers and Boris' wife and child be cooking up exactly? Where were the notebooks or laptops?

Woeismethischristmas

Is your job paid for by the tax payer? Was the wine paid for by the tax payer? Did the decisions made effect the entire country?

If the answer to any of those is yes the what you are describing was unethical and unprofessional. Alcohol had a significant impact on the brain and how it functions- essentially takes the breaks off our frontal cortex.

'It's actually a little bit sick inducing how fan girly you are over them '

Fan girly. Hmm that sounds a bit misogynistic to me.

'Why no laptops or pens? '

Haven’t you ever seen people discuss business in restaurants. They don't always have their bics, notepads and tablets out do they?

Anyway, let's hope the trashy media focus on the current situation with the virus rather than their constant smear campaign. Pippa Crerar needs to get out more if she thinks any of these photos constitute 'parties'.

And Boris has effectively just called Raab a liar, claiming all the wine and cheese was people "at work"

I wonder if the phrase "at work" has been carefully chosen...ie, the people pictured are "at work" in the sense of being "at their place of work", but not actually working (as Raab said this morning).

Nah, they are pretty low rent leaders.

@JaniieJones

'It's actually a little bit sick inducing how fan girly you are over them '

Fan girly. Hmm that sounds a bit misogynistic to me.

'Why no laptops or pens? '

Haven’t you ever seen people discuss business in restaurants. They don't always have their bics, notepads and tablets out do they?

Anyway, let's hope the trashy media focus on the current situation with the virus rather than their constant smear campaign. Pippa Crerar needs to get out more if she thinks any of these photos constitute 'parties'.

It's gross.

If they were discussing business why was his wife there?

A casual chat about work over drinks isn't a meeting, moreso if someone's wife is there.