Activists in North Staffordshire have given their
backing to calls by the Green Party for ‘full, fair, and independent’
investigation into a garden party held at Downing Street on 20th May
2020 while the county was in lockdown.
A spokesperson said “ There is a serious breach of
trust involved in the prime minister telling people to stay at home to save
lives and protect the NHS and then breaking the rules by attending a garden
party at Downing Street, claims that he believed this to be a ‘work event’ and
risible and insulting to those who lost loved ones during the pandemic”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson attended the party and when
challenged about it claimed he believed it to have been a ‘work event’ and
therefore not against the rules then in place.
This claim was reiterated in an apology he gave to the
House of Commons last week. It has since been claimed by former adviser Dominic
Cummings that the prime minister was warned that the party was in breach of
lockdown rules.
Principal private secretary to Boris Johnson Martin
Reynolds sent an email to one hundred staff members to ‘socially distanced
drinks’ in the garden at Downing street to which they should ‘bring their own
booze.’
When challenged about holding the party by Dominic
Cummings and another member of the Downing Street staff Martin Reynolds
declined to withdraw the invite. Cummings then took the issue up with the prime
minister himself, who, he alleges, ‘waived aside’ his concerns [1].
In a pool interview reported by the BBC and other
media outlets Boris Johnson again denied any knowledge that the party/work
event was against the rules then in place and that he had misled parliament
when he made his apology [2].
An investigation into what has been dubbed ‘partygate’
is being conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray, her remit covers the
garden party and other gatherings that took place at Downing Street during
lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
Launching their petition, the Green Party said,
‘While we were staying home, while loved ones gave birth, or died, or were
buried alone - the Prime Minister partied.’
Adding
that: ‘It is right that we are furious. It is fair that we feel abandoned. And
yes - the Prime Minister should resign’ [3].
There
are, they say, serious questions to be asked in relation to how a party that
was illegal under legislation to stop the spread of coronavirus could have
taken place in one of the most heavily guarded locations in the country. They also
question why the Metropolitan Police have been unwilling to fully investigate
this and other parties.
Green
Party peer Jenny Jones has written to the Independent Office of Police
Complaints and Scotland Yard requesting that a full investigation take place
into rule breaking parties at Downing Street, to date the Met police have
refused to instigate one.
The
Spokesperson for North Staffs Green Party said, “to have any meaning at all
rules must apply to everyone, if the prime minister and his staff have broken
those rules they should be investigated and if found to have done wrong face
the consequences”.
The
Green Party has launched a petition through Action Network calling for a full
and independent investigation to take place, it can be accessed at:
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-60028895
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