Bereaved families and friends of people who died from Covid have criticised Boris Johnson over a photo that has emerged showing the prime minister at a gathering with wine and cheese in the Downing Street garden with his wife and up to 17 staff in an apparent breach of lockdown rules. The photo was shared with the Guardian after No 10’s denial last week that there was a social event on Friday 15 May 2020 that included wine, spirits and pizza, inside and outside the building. Johnson’s spokesperson said Downing Street staff were working in the garden in the afternoon and evening.
However, the picture raises questions over that assertion. Bottles of wine are in evidence, there is a lack of social distancing, and 19 people are gathered in groups across the No 10 terrace and lawn. The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said funerals at that time were allowed fewer people in attendance than there appeared to be in the Downing Street garden, and it was “exhausting” to see the “constant, flagrant disregard we have all been held in”.
Jo Goodman, a co-founder of the group, said: “It is exhausting for not only those of who us lost loved ones to Covid-19, but for everyone across the country who sacrificed so much to see the constant, flagrant disregard we have all been held in. We’re not sure how much more the prime minister expects us to take before he’ll accept that he has to be open with the public about these events. “This supposed work meeting, with no pen, paper or laptop in sight (instead replaced with vital cheese and wine) shows that he presided over a culture of believing that the rules applied only to other people since early in the pandemic. When this photo was taken strangers had to hold dying loved ones hands, funerals were allowed less people than in the Downing Street garden that day and we couldn’t even hug each other for comfort. “Many of us worry that it may be too late for the prime minister to regain any credibility and authority to implement any future measures to tackle the pandemic. If that proves to be the case it will be time for him to consider what is best for the country.” Others vented their grief and anger on social media. Nazir Afzal, the former chief prosecutor for the north-west of England, said on Twitter: “Here’s Boris Johnson having a meeting (?) in May 2020 whilst the rest of us were complying with Covid rules which included not being able to attend my own brothers funeral because only six of us could and we only had 29 mins to bury him before the next family came.”
One medic called out the “absolute level of contempt” demonstrated by the Downing Street picture.
Others contrasted the party to the lockdown rules others were adhering to at the time.
The photo attracted ridicule from satirists and political commentators.