"Number 10 held two boozy parties the night before the Queen mourned Prince Philip alone".... Is this finally going to be the end for B.J. /Tories?

[HeadPain]

This thread!

mobile.twitter.com/Tony_Diver/status/1481741337951195136

EXCLUSIVE

"Number 10 held two boozy parties the night before the Queen mourned Prince Philip alone.

Staff drank and at points danced until the early hours of the night of April 16.

Hours later, the Queen went to a socially-distanced funeral for Philip.

We have spoken to eyewitnesses. At a leaving do for a No10 photographer it’s alleged:

🥂Staff partied in the basement of No10, to music DJd by a special adviser.

🥂One broke Wilf Johnson’s swing in the No10 garden.

🥂Another was sent to the Co-op with a suitcase to buy booze.

Another event held to mark the departure of James Slack, Mr Johnson’s chief spinner, saw:

🍻 Staff gathered for a speech from Slack, with others dialling in via Zoom.

🍻Booze drunk and attendees spilling into the garden.

🍻Chatting and drinking into the early hours.

At the time Britain was in Step 2 of lockdown easing - which banned indoor gatherings and imposed the rule of six outside.

But the celebrations in No10 meant around 30 people were gathered for what a source declares were definitely parties.

Can No10 claim they were work events?

This was the scene in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle the next day.

Prince Philip’s funeral was restricted to 30 people, and the PM declined to attend, to make more space for family.

The Queen did not participate in the service. "

Ordinary people who did as they saw fit, including rulebreaking, are just as entitled to be angry with the government (and the bullying, meddling, frequently bigoted police officers who were creaming their uniforms at the prospect of being allowed to do what they like to any member of the public they fancy harassing) as those poor sods who suffered horribly for their obedience.
The point is equally that the rules were frequently unnecessary and cruel - and the government imposed them on the peasants with no intention of obeying any of the guidance themselves.

why not wait to y'know, see the facts not just the media's version of it

Ahhh... the Sue Grey report, that nonsense that is being trotted out by every MP who has the balls to show their face.
Given that Sue Grey's ultimate boss is Johnson we know what to expect don't we?

I do laugh at the Keir one botte of beer argument. He is not the PM. We know full well that he has not rubber stamped 13 parties during lockdown. It's desperation to talk of one time one beer socially distanced.

Everyone saying what does it matter... what does anything matter then. Do you want to accept that Johnson and his crew can do exactly what they want, break ministerial code, run roughshod over the electorate but it doesn't matter because it doesn't affect me. Apathy and thinking Johnson is a bit of a laugh has got us into the mess we're in.

It's about having someone with a shred of decency who knows they are in a privileged position to set an example and lead the country. Not a half arsed lazy over inflated clown who does not care a fig for rules, protocol and ministerial code.

It wasn't right what went on but there are much bigger things Westminster should be concentrating on. Some party in No.10 last year doesn't really affect my life. Nor does it affect the day-to-day lives of a struggling single parent, an impoverished pensioner, a teacher, a nurse, or a waiter. Rocketing energy prices on the other hand are affecting us all.

Yes, sorting out the Pandemic, the potential energy Crisis and the possibility of conflict in the Ukraine are much more important than parties….

Problem though is we currently have a PM who struggles to differentiate between work events and social gatherings,, runs (through the chain of command) a workplace which seems to be rather lax when it comes to setting an example with regard to regulations and as an individual has an alarming tendency to run for the fridge, fly Afghanistan or dive into isolation if the going starts to get tough.

Right now we need a PM who at least tries to give some impression of treating events with a degree of gravitas, leads by example, has some degree of integrity, and is on top of his/her multiple briefs…as it is we appear to have a Champagne Charley in charge.

Boris may be forced to step down but the Tories will remain in power. They have to, the other parties are spouting insane nonsense and aren’t a viable option.

Oh I know , but governments are good at covering things up and hoping it blows over :(
It's not right , but I've seen it too many times in the past.

What 'insane nonsense'?

To pick up on some previous posts, the queen is very, very relevant here.

Firstly, from a symbolic point of view. As a previous poster said, there aren't photos of all the funerals we've been hearing about, where the bereaved sat alone and uncomforted - but there are photos of the queen at her husband's funeral. She's always been a symbolic figure, and in this, her image stands for all of those others who were in the same position.

Secondly, in an emotive, call-to-action way. Yes, it's clickbait. That's the point. The juxtaposition of the queen's sad but dutiful law-abidance and Boris's staff partying into the night is meant to cause outrage. I'm willing to bet that there's a big overlap between Boris-voters and staunch royalists. A lot of them will now have to decide between their outrage at the emotive image of the queen sitting alone and their desire to keep their image of lovable, harmless buffoon Boris intact.

Thirdly, it's about giving a clear, easy to digest example of how Boris and co considered themselves entirely above the rules that applied to everyone else - even the queen. She was no doubt advised - even if she had already reached this conclusion herself, which I'm sure she had - that she would have to be seen to be sticking to the letter of the rules. I'm sure Boris and co would have had similar advice at various times and stuck two fingers up to it. They didn't even bother to put on a show of compliance the night before the highest profile funeral in decades. There would have been funeral preparations going on very close by at the exact time they were living it up in the number 10 garden. Whoever went out for booze might even have passed people working through the night to set things up. No-one seems to have thought that it might be a good idea to not get pissed up in defiance of the rules on that particular night, even from a self-preservation view. That's the level of contempt they displayed for all of us - including the country's bereaved head of state.

I hope the 'lonely, grieving queen' angle is hammered for all its worth by the press. I hope every Boris-voting royalist is currently tying themselves up in mental knots, trying to work out how to square this one. I hope this is the thing that sinks him, whether or not it's rational or more important in the scheme of things than any of the other breaches. I'm not a royalist by any means, but I'm quite happy to wave an outraged flag on the queen's behalf, if her stoic rule-keeping is the thing that takes down that massive, massive twat.

@Roussette

What 'insane nonsense'?

Equality. Empathy. Humanity. That sort of guff.

I hope the 'lonely, grieving queen' angle is hammered for all its worth by the press. I hope every Boris-voting royalist is currently tying themselves up in mental knots, trying to work out how to square this one.

One presumes they'd be very small knots ...

Kungfupannda Prince Philip's funeral was at Windsor so there wouldn't have been preparation and setting up nearby. Not that it makes any difference, the party was still a disgrace.

We will talk about it a few more days and then forget about it until another scandal comes up and the same thing happens, talk about it, moan and move on. Bj knows how the public won't do anything and would just moan and carry on especially when he has weaker opponents. I wouldn't expect any integrity from them such as resigning maybe if he is forced within his own party but still the torries will be in power regardless. It will be the same shit with a different leader for all I know. The problem here is why we don't have stronger opposition parties?

I'm not a royalist by any means, but I'm quite happy to wave an outraged flag on the queen's behalf, if her stoic rule-keeping is the thing that takes down that massive, massive twat.

I was with you until you came out with corker - how unpleasant, cocky and crass. Yes thanks for telling us you're not a royalist but thanks also for clarifying you've had an empathy bypass (the Queen is a human being in case you missed it in your rush to sound so clever).

@Hortensia16

Kungfupannda Prince Philip's funeral was at Windsor so there wouldn't have been preparation and setting up nearby. Not that it makes any difference, the party was still a disgrace.

Windsor! Thank you! I paused before typing that bit to try and visualise which way the funeral went. I had a niggling feeling it hadn't been Westminster. Then I thought 'St Pauls? Nah. Got to be Westminster.' I seem to have managed to erase the very existence of Windsor from my head.

kungfupanda Great post. I so agree.
The picture of the Queen (and I really could not be further from being a Royalist).. well... the picture, it's what it symbolises. It's what the people who lost loved ones went through at this time.
The Queen as the Head of State went through it too, and I hope also they hammer that picture home again and again.

The Government have already had to apologise to the Queen today. Is that enough though?

The thought of some lackey wheeling a suitcase full of booze through the streets, back to No.10, whilst someone set up the music on a laptop so they could dance.... well, it's abhorrent, given it was a Royal funeral the next day... and that's coming from a non Royalist, me.

@Rinoachicken

BBC reporting that Downing St have apologised to the Queen. Liz Truss saying everyone should now just ‘move on’

Well she's right there. Anyone want to have a whip-round for a removal van to help the occupants of No. 10 (including the staff who were implicated in this) "move on"?

'There are photos of Sir Keir Starmer at a party last year too during lockdown.'

'Are there really?'

'No.'

Oh but drinking alcohol whilst with colleagues is a party! Mumsnetters and the media have decreed it to be so . It's either allowed or it isn't, make your minds up,

'hope the 'lonely, grieving queen' angle is hammered for all its worth by the press'

Oh it will be! Nevermind the fact they've hysterically gone on about Andrew hiding behind her skirts for ages. Now she's a tragic hero because she sat alone until the rest of them sat down 2 places down.

@daisychain01

I'm not a royalist by any means, but I'm quite happy to wave an outraged flag on the queen's behalf, if her stoic rule-keeping is the thing that takes down that massive, massive twat.

I was with you until you came out with corker - how unpleasant, cocky and crass. Yes thanks for telling us you're not a royalist but thanks also for clarifying you've had an empathy bypass (the Queen is a human being in case you missed it in your rush to sound so clever).

Oh FFS. I haven't had an empathy bypass of any sort. I felt heart-sorry for the queen when I saw those pictures. We were talking about it in this house just this morning in the context of how long she was married when she had to sit there alone. But I'm not a royalist in the sense that I don't believe strongly in the monarchy as an institution, so my instinct is not to treat this as some sort of treason. As has been said several times on this thread, the queen being alone at the funeral was no different from a human point of view than any other widow or widower in the same position - with the caveat that she had to do it in the full glare of public view. My point is that I am quite happy to get behind the particularly royalist outrage the press are quite deliberately stoking if there is any prospect of it being enough to finish Johnson.

There's a difference between empathy for the queen as the bereaved widow and loyalist fury at the very idea of the monarchy being disrespected.

@Wreath21

Ordinary people who did as they saw fit, including rulebreaking, are just as entitled to be angry with the government (and the bullying, meddling, frequently bigoted police officers who were creaming their uniforms at the prospect of being allowed to do what they like to any member of the public they fancy harassing) as those poor sods who suffered horribly for their obedience. The point is equally that the rules were frequently unnecessary and cruel - and the government imposed them on the peasants with no intention of obeying any of the guidance themselves.

Exactly, the issue is the hypocrisy. And misuse of power. Ordinary people who behaved as they saw fit and didn't interfere with anyone else are as entitled as anyone to be angry about this Marie Antoinette shit.

@notimagain

It wasn't right what went on but there are much bigger things Westminster should be concentrating on. Some party in No.10 last year doesn't really affect my life. Nor does it affect the day-to-day lives of a struggling single parent, an impoverished pensioner, a teacher, a nurse, or a waiter. Rocketing energy prices on the other hand are affecting us all.

Yes, sorting out the Pandemic, the potential energy Crisis and the possibility of conflict in the Ukraine are much more important than parties….

Problem though is we currently have a PM who struggles to differentiate between work events and social gatherings,, runs (through the chain of command) a workplace which seems to be rather lax when it comes to setting an example with regard to regulations and as an individual has an alarming tendency to run for the fridge, fly Afghanistan or dive into isolation if the going starts to get tough.

Right now we need a PM who at least tries to give some impression of treating events with a degree of gravitas, leads by example, has some degree of integrity, and is on top of his/her multiple briefs…as it is we appear to have a Champagne Charley in charge.

I agree that a government in which confidence has been lost can't deal with the big issues. But that means that we need a new leader - quickly - and then to get straight on with sorting out the issues that really matter.

I certainly do not want to spend the next six months discussing this while the country falls apart.

For some reason I couldn't shake this comparison.

A state funeral and an office are two very different things. In normal times, the PM would have been there, looking serious and following protocol.

Have to laugh at the people outraged on behalf of the Queen, who otherwise loathe all expressions of British establishment.

Likewise with the 'they made us follow these silly rules' from people who were begging for harder, faster lockdowns and suggesting that anyone breaching Covid restrictions was selfish and killing granny.

BJ is a massive bellend and a total liability. But the faux outrage about this particular issue is getting wearing now.

@bakingbernie

Don't you think there are other things to worry about. I would rather our government focused 1) On getting the country back economically after the Pandemic. 2) Sorting out the looming energy crisis. 3) Try to do something about the very real threat of being involved in a war in Ukraine.

Are a few bottles of wine that important?

If you had half a brain you would realise its not about a few bottles of wine!

"Rocketing energy prices on the other hand are affecting us all."

Wasn't there a motion this week to cut VAT on energy bills?

The only Conservative MP to vote in favour had the whip removed.

But once again - as a bare minimum the Government can not introduce legislation and then not abide by it themselves.

@Notonthestairs

"Rocketing energy prices on the other hand are affecting us all."

Wasn't there a motion this week to cut VAT on energy bills?

The only Conservative MP to vote in favour had the whip removed.

But once again - as a bare minimum the Government can not introduce legislation and then not abide by it themselves.

VAT is a drop in the ocean where energy bills are concerned.