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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Alice Peacock

Pub 'to be renamed The Lying B******' in response to Boris Johnson parties scandal

A pub landlord with a history of changing the name of his boozer to poke fun at various political scandals is now to rebrand his venue as “The Lying B******" in a dig at Boris Johnson.

Daniel Davies owns what was once the James Atherton pub in New Brighton, near Liverpool.

He suggested a new name for the venue as Johnson is facing furious calls to resign, following reports of at least 15 parties across Downing Street, Whitehall and Tory HQ while millions suffered under lockdown rules.

Johnson is accused of attending at least four of the events.

Covid-bereaved families have blasted the bashes, and No10’s repeated attempts to obscure the truth before the PM finally apologised.

Daniel’s pub was previously named "The Three B***ends" and featured a collage of Boris Johnson, Matt Hancock and Dominic Cummings with bells on their heads in October 2020, Metro reports.

The Two Helmets sign going up at The James Atherton in November 2020 (Liverpool Echo)

It was said to be a tongue-in-cheek protest at the Government’s handling of the situation when the Liverpool City Region was placed into Tier Three lockdown, forcing pubs to close.

The pub was once again renamed in November 2020, called “The Two Helmets” following Mr Cummings’ departure from Downing St.

The image outside of the pub showed the PM and his former health secretary wearing hardhats, as the landlord protested about continuing restrictions on the pub-trade.

Daniel pointed out that both Mr Cummings, the PM’s former chief advisor, and Mr Hancock, quit their positions within weeks of the signs going up.

“Next name change for the pub?” his tweet asked.

Daniel Davies, owner of 'The James Atherton' pub, in front of the boozer after he changed its name to 'The Three Bel*****' (Getty Images)

“The first was The Three B***ends (Cummings went a few weeks later) Next was The Two Helmets (Hancock went a few weeks later) So. Two down one to go!”

Daniel said the first rebrand was prompted by the government blaming the leisure sector for the spread of Covid-10.

He previously said his business had been “decimated” and their lack of action had compounded the problem.

He said: “Westminster’s further decision to pick and choose which types of venue may open, based on those serving meals for example, is mind-boggling.

‘Whilst the renaming of the pub is clearly tongue in cheek, as far as I’m concerned the gloves are off and ministers need to understand the gravity of the perilous situation they have placed us in.

The James Atherton pub is on Victoria Road, New Brighton, Wirral (Liverpool Echo)

"This is a town that finally feels like it’s on the up and we need funding immediately to protect our businesses and support our staff."

Top civil servant Sue Gray is probing a range of the Downing Street parties, spanning May 2020 to April 2021, and is expected to publish a report within days.

At the time of all these gatherings, indoor socialising was banned to control the spread of the virus.

But ultimately the Prime Minister will get to decide himself if he has breached the Ministerial Code.

Johnson is reportedly planning to force out a string of top staff to save himself in what has been dubbed "Operation Big Dog".

Speaking to the media today, Conservative party chairman Oliver Dowden said the Prime Minister is remorseful about allegations of Covid rule-breaking and would seek to “address the underlying culture in Downing Street”.

There had been "failings" in No 10, he admitted, though he denied it was a resigning matter for Boris Johnson.

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