U.K.'s Johnson orders probe of staff party during lockdown
CTV
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday ordered an inquiry and said he was 'furious' after a leaked video showed senior members of his staff joking about holding a lockdown-breaching Christmas party.
The video has poured fuel on allegations that officials in the Conservative government flouted coronavirus rules they imposed on everyone else. It release came as Johnson urged people to work from home and introduced vaccine passes for crowded venues to try and slow the spread of the new omicron variant.
“I understand and share the anger up and down the country” at officials seeming to make light of lockdown rules, Johnson said.
“I was also furious to see that clip,” he told lawmakers in the House of Commons. “I apologize unreservedly for the offense that it has caused up and down the country, and I apologize for the impression it gives.”
For days, the prime minister's office has been trying to rebut reports that Johnson's staff held a December 2020 office party - complete with wine, food, games and a festive gift exchange - when pandemic regulations banned most social gatherings.
