Category Archives: downing street

Co-Op Which Provided No.10’s ‘Suitcase Of Wine’ Now Has A Stellar Collection Of Customer Reviews

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The Co-op on the Strand, reported to have been used by Downing Street staff to stock up on wine for parties, has received a flurry of new – presumably fake – reviews.

The Telegraph reported that someone from the office was sent to this particular store with a suitcase which was then “filled with bottles of wine” and brought back to No.10 Downing Street’s basement, where two parties was taking place.

They are said to have occurred on the night before Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021 when all indoor mixing was banned. The Queen sat alone during her husband’s funeral the following day in line with the Covid rules in place at the time.

The two parties were meant to mark the departure of the prime minister former’s head of communications and his personal photographer.

It is the latest party revelation to hit Downing Street over the last two months, but it is the only one said to have taken place during 2021. No.10 has not denied these celebrations took place either.

Prime minister Boris Johnson was reportedly not at these parties as he was in Chequers but the allegations have still added to the calls for his resignation.

This latest claim, particularly the suitcase full of wine, has prompted a series of hilarious reviews left on The Co-op on the Strand’s Google page.

One person wrote: “The perfect place to fill a suitcase full of booze should you be invited to a party at No.10 Downing Street.”

Another noted: “Only 10 minute stroll from 10 Downing Street. Very convenient.”

Others joked about the “booze aisle” always being empty, while one lengthy review posed as someone who worked for No.10.

Newly added Google reviews for the Co-op on the Strand
Newly added Google reviews for the Co-op on the Strand

Google reviews

They wrote: “One colleague suggested we get drunk together, as that’s what all the rest of the departments in our organisation were doing at the time.”

Claiming they were worried about being caught out by Co-op staff for socialising during a pandemic, they said: “I slowly explained it was for a Downing Street work meeting. I knew that there was no way the staff member would believe this, surely, but the staff member apologised profusely and explained he would be happy to help us with the purchase.”

Another claimed to have had a run-in with the person who picked up Downing Street’s booze, writing about their “terrible experience”.

They claimed: “I was reaching up to a shelf to get the last bottle of White Lightning when someone suddenly barged past me and ran over my foot with a massive suitcase.

“They grabbed the bottle out of my hands and said: ‘Sorry Boris can’t get enough of this stuff – take it up with the Cabinet Office.’”

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‘Back Boris!’ – Cabinet Ministers Issue Gushing Plea To Save PM As Tories Call For Him To Resign

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Cabinet ministers are circling the wagons around Boris Johnson as Tory MPs go on the record calling for his resignation over the lockdown party scandal.

Priti Patel issued a gushing plea to her colleagues to rally round and “back Boris” after he was accused of lying about parties in Downing Street during covid restrictions.

“The prime minister has given his heartfelt apologies and taken responsibility for what has happened,” she told the Tory MPs’ WhatsApp group.

Citing Johnson’s majority in the commons and NHS reforms, she added: “Now is the time to put our shoulders to the wheel and back Boris to deliver on the people’s priories.”

Deputy prime minister Dominic Raab has even gone on the airwaves this afternoon, claiming that Johnson had given a “very clear account” of the events of May 20 2020.

It comes after Labour leader Keir Starmer tore into Johnson during prime minister’s questions, telling him to do the “decent thing and resign” and that the public knew he was “lying through his teeth”.

Raab told the BBC Johnson had been “clear” he was acting in accordance with the rules “at the time”

The justice secretary said it was a “daft question” when asked whether he personally would run again for the Tory leadership.

“I’m fully supportive of this prime minister and I’m sure he will continue for many years to come.”

Boris Johnson during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons today.
Boris Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons today.

House of Commons – PA Images via Getty Images

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries said Johnson was “right to personally apologise” and an inquiry should now be allowed to do its work and establish “what happened”.

Communities secretary Michael Gove chipped in: “Nadine is right.”

Meanwhile, Sajid Javid admitted he “completely” understood why people felt “let down”.

He too felt the PM had done the “right thing” by apologising and stressed we must let the investigation complete its work.

In an ominous sign for the prime minister a number of Conservative MPs have publicly called for him to go.

Johnson apologised in the commons today, but defended his actions by saying he believed the bash was a “work event” permitted under the rules.

The PM had been under intense pressure to divulge whether or not he attended the party in the No10 garden on May 20, 2020.

Johnson has ordered an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray who is looking into multiple claims of social gatherings in government during covid restrictions.

Despite huge public and press interest, the PM, his ministers and official spokesman had previously refused to go into details while Gray’s investigation is ongoing.

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Pharmacists Claim They Were Raising Concerns About The Supply Of Lateral Flow Tests ‘Weeks Ago’

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Pharmacists warned the government about supply of lateral flow tests “weeks ago”, according to the CEO of the Association of Independent Pharmacies.

Leyla Hannbeck told HuffPost UK that pharmacies were now at the forefront of this particular crisis, as the store of self-test kits has run dry shortly before the biggest social night of the year – New Year’s Eve.

She explained: “When pharmacists order, it doesn’t arrive or just one box arrives.

Some days, they go completely without. It’s just not sufficient, it’s very sporadic.”

Hannbeck said, despite the government’s claims that distribution and supply chain was still functioning, “none of it is working well”.

Nearly three quarters of pharmacies in London ran out of LFTs on Wednesday, according to the Evening Standard.

“They should have put proper plans in,” Hannbeck continued.

“A lot of stress put on our routine to manage this. We’ve been put at the forefront of this without any support.

“We raised it, we raised a few weeks ago – we were seeing people come in through the doors and we were seeing issues with supply and that it wasn’t enough.

“The government needs to manage supply and demand. It cannot continue for weeks to come.”

The gov.uk website shows that it’s not possible to order LFTs online either.

The gov.uk website is still advising people to pick up rapid lateral flow tests from a pharmacy
The gov.uk website is still advising people to pick up rapid lateral flow tests from a pharmacy

test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/

She predicted it was not going to get any easier in the weeks to come either, due to both the Christmas period and the change in government guidelines.

Daily testing is now in place for anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for Covid, while the self-isolation period for positive cases has been shorted to seven days as long as the individual tests negative – on lateral flow tests – twice in a row.

Everyone has been encouraged to test themselves before socialising, too.

“People want to be responsible and follow the government guidelines – but there are no tests available,” Hannbeck pointed out.

She said it was “logical” that the demand would go up because of the government’s guidelines, but nothing was happening “in terms of managing supply”.

“You can imagine a kit with seven tests in it for a family of five – it will go immediately.

“We can’t continue with it – something’s got to be done.”

Hannbeck also claimed that the shortages are only going to continue as the general population continues to use LFTs for before they go to work, for normal livelihoods, returning from holidays, going back to school.

Hannbeck did tweet the UK’s Health Security Agency shortly before Christmas, claiming: “Your poor handling of the supply of lateral flow tests to pharmacies and the bureaucratic process around it has created a lot of stress for pharmacy teams and for patients during the busy Christmas period. You need to urgently resolve this.”

She also raised the same issue on December 16, tweeting: “Why on earth are pharmacies only allowed restricted supply of lateral flow tests (one box per day) when there is huge public demand?

“How are we supposed to manage when we don’t get the supply to ensure public can access? The government needs to sort this out ASAP.”

Health secretary Sajid Javid has admitted that the supply of lateral flow test kits will be “constrained” in the next two weeks.

In a letter sent to MPs on Wednesday, he said: “In light of the huge demand for LFTs seen over the last three weeks, we expect to need to constrain the system of certain points over the next two weeks to manage supply over the course of each day, with new tranches of supply released regularly throughout the day.”

He suggested MPs should encourage constituents towards their local pharmacists and then see if “their local authority is distributing tests” or find them at local community facilities.

Labour has accused the government of a “shambles”, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting calling for all NHS workers to get priority access to tests.

It is important to note that the government has promised to deliver eight million tests before New Year’s Eve.

A spokesman from UKHSA said: ”The UK’s testing programme is the biggest in Europe with almost 400 million tests carried out since the start of the pandemic.

“We are delivering record numbers of lateral flow tests to pharmacies across the country, with almost eight million test kits being made available to pharmacies between today and New Year’s Eve.

“We have made 100,000 more PCR booking slots available per day since mid-December and we are continuing to rapidly expand capacity – with over half a million tests carried out on December 23 alone and delivery capacity doubled to 900,000 PCR and LFD test kits a day.

“If you have not been able to get the test you need from gov.uk, please keep checking every few hours as more PCR and LFD tests become available every day.”

There has also been a worldwide shortage of LFTs and PCR tests in recent weeks.

The department for health and social care has been approached for comment.

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Boris Johnson’s Strange Explanation About Where He Spent Christmas Is Raising Suspicion

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When asked about his whereabouts for the last 10 days, Boris Johnson appeared to stutter before arriving at the bizarre answer that he had “been in this country” – immediately prompting speculation among his critics.

Speaking to a BBC News journalist on Wednesday during a tour of a vaccine centre, the prime minister was asked: “Where have you been for the last 10 days?”

Johnson replied: “I’ve been in…I’ve been…in this country.”

He appears to laugh slightly, before adding: “Where do you think?”

Before the reporter could reply, the prime minister said, “thank you”, and starts to walk away from the camera crew.

So it is not very surprising that people weren’t exactly impressed with Johnson’s latest hesitant answers on Twitter.

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The Met Confirmed It Won’t Be Investigating No.10’s Alleged Party And People Were Outraged

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The Metropolitan Police announced that it would not be investigating Downing Street’s alleged Christmas party last year – even though it would have breached lockdown rules – and people aren’t happy.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Met admitted they “received a significant amount of correspondence relating to allegations reported in the media” about a breach of lockdown rules at No.10 in both November and December last year.

Referring to ITV’s leaked video of Boris Johnson’s former adviser Allegra Stratton laughing over having a party while the rest of the country was in lockdown, the statement continued: “All the correspondence has been considered by detectives in detail, as well as footage published by ITV News.”

The Met added: “The correspondence and footage does not provide evidence of a breach fo the Health Protection Regulations, but restates allegations made in the media.

“Based on the absence of evidence and in line with our policy not to investigate retrospective breaches of such regulations, the Met will not commence an investigation at this time.”

The Met said it had also spoken to the Cabinet Office about a government inquiry into the party, and added: “If any evidence is found as a result of that investigation, it will be passed to the Met for further consideration.”

It’s worth noting that the policing minister Kit Malthouse was not even able to say whether or not the Met should investigate the alleged party on Monday as well.

There has been a public outcry since the reports about a No.10 party first came to light last week – so this news from the Met did not exactly soothe people.

Some people hit out by claiming the Met investigate other people who breached lockdown rules, so why not Downing Street?

Others wondered what kind of evidence the Met wanted before they felt they could conduct an investigation.

And a handful of Twitter accounts questioned the rules around policing itself…

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Wait – Is There A Covid Plan C Too?

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One of Boris Johnson’s scientific advisers admitted that ‘plan C’ restrictions have been discussed in the health and social care department in the event that Covid cases continue to soar over the winter.

The news comes as the debate over introducing plan B continues.

Downing Street is currently relying on plan A, which involves championing the booster vaccine programme, suggesting people choose to wear face masks in crowded areas, regular testing, more funds for the NHS and the “largest ever flu jab” campaign.

NHS representatives have pushed for stricter measures, also known as plan B, to be introduced – and now there’s even talk of plan C.

Where did all this talk of plan C come from?

Chief scientific adviser to the department of health and social care, Professor Lucy Chappell said measures beyond plan B have been “proposed”.

Speaking to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday, she said: “It has been proposed. The name has been mentioned. It is not being extensively worked up…people have used the phrase.”

She did not say any more on the issue, adding: “At the moment the focus is on plan B.”

The Telegraph reported last week that further measures were being considered, including potentially the banning of household mixing at Christmas.

This is just what happened last year – but the prime minister has promised this year’s festive season will not go the same way, despite rising Covid infections.

The government has also promised not to introduce a lockdown as long as people take precautionary measures to reduce the Covid spread now.

But not everyone agrees that there is even a plan C

The prime minister’s spokesperson said: “As we have repeatedly made clear, there is no plan C.

“We knew the coming months would be challenging which is why we set out our plan A and plan B for autumn and winter last month.

“We are monitoring all the data closely and the government remains committed to taking further action if necessary to protect the NHS from being overwhelmed.”

Deputy chief medical officer for the government department Dr Thomas Waite told MPs: “I haven’t been consulted on anything about a plan C.”

What about plan B?

Plan B would see mandatory face masks implemented in certain crowded or indoor places, recommendations to work from home if possible and the potential introduction of vaccine certification.

According to leaked documents, this would last five months and finish around the end of March 2022.

However Downing Street has insisted that is “no planned five-month timeline” for plan B.

Why hasn’t plan B been introduced?

Professor Chappell told the science and technology there was “no single metric” which would enact plan B.

The government has been accused of deliberately leaking reports that plan B would cost the economy between £11 billion and £18 billion, as people would stop commuting.

The prime minister’s official spokesperson also said plan B would be introduced only if the “pressure on the NHS is unsustainable”, claiming that current measures allow “venues to remain open and remain trading”.

The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, told BBC Breakfast on Thursday: “As soon as you start thinking, ‘Am I or am I not going to do this? It looks close’, that is the time you need to push beyond your natural reluctance to do it and do it.

“This is obviously something the government will have to consider carefully but we need to be ready to move fast if that occurs.”

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No.10 Says £535 Debt Claim Against Boris Johnson ‘Totally Without Merit’

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Boris Johnson will apply to a county court to “strike out” a claim against him for a £535 unpaid debt because it is “totally without merit”, Downing Street has said.

Private Eye reported on Wednesday that the official register for county court judgments (CCJs) in England and Wales shows the prime minister was served with a notice of the judgment in October 26, 2020. 

A search of the county court judgments database shows the “unsatisfied record” registered to Johnson at “10 Downing Street”.

The official court records do not state who the creditor is, nor the nature of the debt.

County court judgments can be issued if someone takes court action against an individual and they do not respond.

The judgment means the court has formally decided the money is owed, according to the government site.

But HuffPost UK understands that No.10 regards the claim as not genuine.

Responding later on Wednesday, a No.10 spokesperson said: “An application will be made for an order to set aside the default judgment, to strike out the claim and for a declaration that the claim is totally without merit.”

The judgment was issued less than a fortnight after a Conservative donor told the party he was donating £58,000 in relation to refurbishments at Johnson’s Downing Street flat. 

No. 10 denied there was any connection between the CCJ and the flat revamp. 

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Boris Johnson Does Not Think People ‘Deserve Truth’ Over Flat Refurb, Says Labour’s Lisa Nandy

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Dan KitwoodPA

Prime Minister Boris Johnson answers questions from the media

Boris Johnson is “withholding information” over the revamp of his Downing Street flat and believes “rules don’t apply to him”, says Labour’s Lisa Nandy. 

The shadow foreign secretary hit out at the prime minister’s “arrogance” on Sunday, claiming he does not believe the public “deserve truth” over the expensive renovation of his official residence at Number 11. 

Johnson has insisted he “met the cost” personally but has pointedly refused to answer questions on whether a Tory donor initially loaned him £58,000 – something which, if true, the PM should have openly declared.

Nandy’s punchy attack came as Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross broke ranks and said Johnson should resign if he is found to have broken the ministerial code. 

Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, Nandy said the public needed to know who Johnson may feel he owed as a result of any loan. 

“There’s an arrogance at the heart of this that he seems to believe that we don’t deserve to know the truth about what goes on in government,” she said. 

“We need to know who the prime minister is beholden to, we need to know what he has promised in return.

“If the prime minister is beholden to other people, who is he not serving? That’s the people of this country.

“This is about integrity, it’s about trust, and it’s about whether there’s one rule for them and one rule for everyone else.”

The Electoral Commission, meanwhile, has launched an investigation into whether the PM broke electoral law.

Downing Street underlined last week , however, that Johnson remained the he “ultimate arbitrator” of the ministerial code and therefore had the final say on whether he broke the rules. 

Nandy added it was clear Johnson was “withholding information” from the public.

“It’s appalling we are in a position where he won’t come clean about who loaned him money or gave him money, and what favours or promises may have been given in return,” she said. 

“We already know that this is a prime minister who frankly thinks that the rules don’t apply to him and his friends. He is quite happy for his cabinet ministers to break the ministerial code and then not resign, he is quite happy for his advisers to drive around the country with Covid in the middle of lockdown and not resign.

“I think people are angry, actually, that in a year when we have all followed the rules, often at great personal cost, we have followed the rules because we know that the rules matter, and yet over and over again we have seen a prime minister who seems to think that the rules don’t apply to him.”

Claims also emerged on Sunday that Johnson sought help from Tory donors for childcare. 

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he has “no idea” if this were true but  dismissed the allegation as “tittle tattle”.

“I have no idea, you don’t have conversations like that with the PM,” he said. “I can’t comment on every little bit of gossip that’s in the newspapers.

“The last thing you asked me about, I think, is an example of tittle tattle.”

Asked if there was a second invoice for refurbishments of the prime minister’s Downing Street flat settled directly with a supplier, he said: “As the prime minister has set out this week, he covered the cost himself, he’s followed all the relevant codes of conduct at all relevant times, he took official advice all along the way.

“There are three reviews now, I think, into this and I think the right thing for me to do is not add political commentary that could otherwise prejudice those reviews, but to respect the integrity of them, so I’m not going to offer you, I’m afraid, any more commentary, or if you like chatter, on the various different reports and speculation that I see in the Sunday papers.”

A No 10 spokeswoman said the prime minister “has covered the cost of all childcare”, but did not respond when asked if he paid for the original bill himself or had reimbursed somebody else.

As well as pressure over the renovations, Johnson has been forced to deny saying he would rather see “bodies pile high” than impose a third coronavirus lockdown, on top of a lobbying row and allegations of cronyism.

Although earlier polls suggested the “sleaze” allegations were not significantly denting public support for the Tories, two fresh surveys gave evidence to the contrary ahead of the local elections in England and votes for the parliaments in Scotland and Wales.

The Conservatives fell to a five-point lead over Labour, with 42% compared to 37%, according to the Opinium poll of more than 2,000 adults between Wednesday and Friday.

That put the Tories down two points and Labour up four compared to a week earlier, halving the Conservatives’ lead ahead of the elections, in which some 48 million people are eligible to vote.

And in separate polling, Focaldata put Labour on 39%, one point behind the Tories, who previously had a healthy lead, according to The Sunday Times.

Johnson has denied breaking any laws over the refurbishment of his residence and insisted he had paid “personally” for the works.

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Matt Hancock Totally Refuses To Answer Questions On Boris Johnson’s Flat

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Matt Hancock has refused to answer questions about Boris Johnson’s Downing Street flat refurbishment, which is subject to an investigation by the election watchdog.

The health secretary twice totally refused to engage with questions on the issue before being challenged on his responses by Mirror deputy political editor Ben Glaze.

In response, Hancock suggested the media should only ask questions that the government decides “really matter”, while insisting the Downing Street press conference he was hosting was only about coronavirus.

At previous press conferences, ministers have been happy to answer questions on wider issues affecting the government.

It came after the Electoral Commission said “there are reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence or offences may have occurred” as it launched a probe into the refurbishment of the prime minister’s flat.

No.10 has refused to say whether Johnson sought an initial loan from the Conservative Party to cover a reported £58,000-worth of renovations to his residence in No. 11, which he shares with partner Carrie Symonds and their baby son Wilfred.

Political donations have to be declared to ensure there are no questions or concerns over politicians or parties being unduly influenced by those giving them money.

At a Downing Street press briefing, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg asked Hancock whether a serving government minister who is found to have broken party funding rules should resign.

But the health secretary replied: “I know that the prime minister answered lots of questions about this in the House of Commons earlier and given that this is a coronavirus press conference you won’t be surprised I’m not going to add to the answers the prime minister has already given to very extensive questioning, thanks.”

Times Whitehall editor Chris Smyth then asked two questions on Covid before enquiring whether the government was still threatening to abolish the Electoral Commission.

Hancock replied: “I think we’ll give the third one [question] a miss.”

The health secretary was then challenged over his approach by Glaze.

The Mirror journalist said: “As culture secretary, you championed the right of the free press and fourth estate to ask difficult questions.

“Yet this evening you haven’t engaged with those questions from Chris or from Laura around Tory sleaze.

“Now what’s the point in us being able to ask difficult questions if you’re not going to engage with them?”

Hancock replied: “The point of the press conference is the incredibly important progress that we’re making about coronavirus, which is without doubt the most important thing facing the country.

“And if you’ve listened to the answers, I’m sure you have… you will have one of the most illuminating descriptions of where we are up to scientifically, and operationally and clinically that is available, and I’m very, very grateful to the incredible capability of people who support me as a minister.

“It is important there are questions and there were endless questions in the House of Commons earlier on some of the issues that you’ve raised, and you will have seen the appointment of [new independent adviser on ministerial interests] Lord Geidt earlier.

“But you’ve also got to concentrate on the big things that really matter.”

Earlier this month, Boris Johnson was accused of breaking ministerial rules when he used a televised briefing on the Covid pandemic to launch an “unprompted political attack” on London mayor Sadiq Khan about the Transport for London budget. 

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Defence Minister Johnny Mercer Resigns From Government

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Defence minister Johnny Mercer, the Conservative MP for Plymouth Moor View, has resigned from the government.

Boris Johnson thanked Mercer for his service as a minister, according to a Downing Street spokeswoman.

In a statement released shortly after 7pm, the spokeswoman said: “This evening the prime minister has accepted the resignation of Johnny Mercer as minister for defence people and veterans.

“He thanks Johnny Mercer for his service as a government minister since 2019.”

In a letter to the PM, posted on his Twitter account, Mercer said: “It is with a heavy heart that I am forced to offer you my resignation from your government.”

He said he had hoped Johnson’s premiership would “signal a step change in veterans affairs in the UK”.

Mercer added: “Whilst we continue to say all the right things, you will understand that if we fail to match that with what we deliver, we risk damaging an already bruised veterans cohort further, as I told you last month in our first face to face meeting, we crossed that line some time ago.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. Follow HuffPost UK on Twitter here, and on Facebook here.

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