An NHS consultant has expressed his anger at the alleged Christmas party held at Downing Street last year in a powerful interview.
Dr Richard Warburton, who is a consultant that worked with patients with Covid, told BBC 5Live Breakfast that his Mum had to spend Christmas alone, after a tough year where his Father's battle with cancer worsened. Listen to his interview above.
"We had a situation where my mum, for the first time in the best part of 50 years without my Dad, was unable to see us", Dr Warburton explained, saying his mum had to see her grandchildren over Zoom, having not seen them for nearly a year due to Coronavirus restrictions.
Listen to Dr Warburton's full statement on BBC Radio 5Live at the top of the page
Dr Warburton said he used to "have sympathy" with the government due to the pandemic. However, he says it feels like a "kick in the gut" that government officials appeared to break the rules and "laugh about it".
At the time, the consultant was looking after Covid patients on the wards, and explained it was "the most difficult thing I've ever had to do" to call patients' relatives and loved ones and tell them they could not come to see them in hospital.
"It just seems callous" Dr Warburton explained, saying "the NHS has sacrificed a lot, and our elected leaders seem to think this is a bit of a laugh".
Dr Warburton referenced a video released by ITV News on December 7, which showed a practice press briefing where Downing Street aides jokes about an alleged Christmas Party, saying it "was not socially distanced."
As a result of the leaked video, former press secretary to Boris Johnson and then Cop26 spokesperson Allegra Stratton, resigned with a tearful statement outside her home.
Dr Warburton told 5Live how he was "so angry about the whole thing".
"It feels like we've let down these patients", he said.
When asked how he feels about the public's potential reaction to the alleged party through rejecting the rules, he admitted he is doing his job "with a bitter taste in my mouth" due to the government's actions.
"There's a chance the government might not be doing the same", he concluded.
