A distraught dad has told how his son spent his final birthday alone while Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a party.
Kip Freshwater lost his fight with leukaemia after spending his fourth landmark celebration isolating from friends and family.
But while the terminally ill youngster was without company or family to help him blow out his candles Tory leader Boris Johnson allegedly celebrated his birthday in June 2020 together with 30 others.
The alleged gatherings are said to have happened whilst indoor social gatherings were banned.
Ed Freshwater, Kip's dad was “outraged” to hear the PM had allegedly broken the rules because of what his courageous son had sacrificed.
He told BirminghamLive: “We stayed at home on Kip’s last birthday. He had one of his closest friends stand outside the house - they brought him a card and a present and left it by the door.
“Kip wanted his friend and his friend wanted him, but it was against the rules. How do you tell that to a five-year-old on his birthday?”
Ed said he was heartbroken to have to “restrict” his son’s happiness in his final few months of life.
“I had to hold him back from one of his closest friends - Kip was really upset," he said.
“Kip deserved as much enjoyment out of life as he could get in his five short years.
“If anybody had a reason to break the rules we did - but we chose not to because it was the right thing to do.
“And sadly he’s not going to have other parties where we can make it up to him.”
Kip was undergoing chemotherapy around the time of his fifth birthday which meant he was only able to see his immediate family.
On his fourth birthday - just weeks before Boris Johnson’s alleged birthday bash - Kip and his family went for a short walk around Handsworth Park.
“He wanted to see his friends and to be part of his social group,” said Ed, "but we didn’t get to do any of that."
He added: “Kip wasn’t with us for very long, but we wanted to give him the best life he could have possibly had.
"We wanted to take him to go see family or have fun days out. He loved going to places like the Sea Life Centre and the Thinktank.
“Even when it came to planning his funeral, there were limits to who we could have there - there were so many people who he was so close to who couldn’t say goodbye to him.”
Ed said he was “disgusted but not surprised” to hear claims that Boris Johnson had attended various parties during lockdown.
“He’s always been entitled and out of touch,” he said.
“There has never been a thought as to what other families like ours were going through.
“It’s not a shock that they did this but it’s still completely unacceptable.”
Sue Gray's report on the alleged Downing Street parties was due to be published this week.
But on Friday the Mirror told the report may not be published as planned after the Met asked for "minimal reference" to events it was investigating.
Kip died peacefully surrounded by his family on July 2 in 2021.
Ed said the death had left a “Kip-shaped hole” in the family’s heart.
Towards the end of his short life, he inspired people around the world with his unwavering positivity - positivity which saw him being featured on Radio Five Live Kermode and Mayo's Film Review show.
His catchphrase “smelly pants wee" - which he would shout while he and his dad made their way to hospital for chemotherapy - was played on the show, a phrase which epitomised the youngster's attitude to life.
“He was a real character, and he got his character out there,” said Ed.
“It’s been really difficult since he died but the messages of support we’ve had over the past six months from people around the world have been incredible.”
A fundraising page has been set up by his family with the aim of raising £2,000 to help others fighting cancer.
It has already collected more than £45,000 in donations, with sales of the 'Smelly Pants Wee' merchandise still going strong.
