Johnson apologises to Queen for Downing Street parties

Bloomberg

Boris Johnson’s office apologized to Queen Elizabeth II following revelations of partying in Downing Street the night before her husband’s funeral, heaping further pressure on the prime minister as his government faces a string of allegations over pandemic rule-breaking.
The Daily Telegraph on Friday said that on April 16, 2021, two parties were held in Downing Street to mark the departures of two staffers, on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral. One of them was for Johnson’s former spokesman James Slack. At the time, indoor mixing between households was still banned.
“It’s deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning,” Johnson’s spokesman, Jamie Davies, told reporters at a regular briefing, declining to comment on whether the government believes the events also breached Covid regulations. “We acknowledge the significant public anger.”
The report in the Telegraph, which traditionally leans in favor of the ruling Conservative Party, is especially sensitive for Johnson because the Queen was famously photographed sitting masked and alone at her husband’s funeral service, in accordance with the pandemic rules at the time.
Asked if the premier would apologize personally to the Queen, Davies replied: “Number 10 has apologized to the Palace.” He said Johnson was not in Downing Street when the events took place.
Even so, the apology to the Queen is likely to exacerbate the anger among Tory MPs, some of whom already want him to resign after he finally acknowledged he’d attended a drinks party in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 —also a time when such gatherings were banned under Covid rules.