The Prime Minister has defended the No 10 garden party during lockdown last May as “people at work, talking about work”.
Asked if he normally has meetings with cheese and wine, Boris Johnson said: “Those were people at work … This is where I live and where I work. Those were people at work, talking about work.”
Earlier today, in Dominic Raab’s latest gaffe, Mr Raab said Boris Johnson’s wine-and-cheese gathering with staff in the No 10 garden during lockdown was “after” work had finished, leaving No 10 struggling to explain the controversy.
The deputy PM undermined Downing Street’s defence of it as a work event by telling interviewers it was staff relaxing after “a gruelling day”.
Mr Johnson’s official spokesman later attempted to explain the situation, by arguing that the PM and his staff were “discussing work”, which happened to be “in the No 10 garden”. He also said drinking alcohol was fine because it was “post-normal work hours” – and yet, because it was still a “work meeting” it also complied with the Covid rules.
It comes as adults in Britain think it likely that the PM will not still be in office by the end of 2022, according to an opinion poll published by Ipsos Mori. Six out of ten people (62 per cent) believe Mr Johnson will be out of No 10 by this time next year, the data shows.
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