THE Downing Street garden drinks party has been slammed as “infuriating” and “embarrassing” by the Royal Borough’s health chief, who helped deliver the vaccine rollout.
Boris Johnson is facing strong calls for him to resign after he admitted at Prime Minister Questions he attended a booze party during the first coronavirus lockdown on May 20, 2020, believing it was a “work event”.
He apologised for attending the “bring your own booze” gathering but urged MPs to wait for the inquiry led by senior civil servant Sue Gray.
Reacting to the latest revelation, councillor Stuart Carroll (Con: Boyn Hill), lead member for adult social care, children’s services, health, and mental health, said the party was “regrettable” as well as “embarrassing, infuriating, and disturbing”.
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Cllr Carroll is an epidemiologist and is working with the government in rolling out the Covid-19 vaccines as part of the UK vaccine taskforce for nearly 17 months.
In a statement on social media, the Royal Borough’s health chief wrote he had to miss a funeral of a family relative due to restrictions at the time.
Despite criticising the “ill-judged” party, he said it was right for Mr Johnson to apologise and take responsibility for it – but called for “immediate” resignations if people have been found to have deliberately broken the law and public health guidance.
Cllr Carroll wrote: “I personally believe, and always have, in allowing evidence to be considered and full conclusions to be reported independently with every single detail, witness statement, and the clear facts fully and robustly established.
“That is why we live in a democracy and have cherished judicial values of innocent until proven guilty.
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“Something this serious cannot just be left to media speculation, leaked documents and opposition politics, however instinctively tempting that might be and despite the truly infuriating nature of the situation and clear fact, like the Prime Minister has said, the gathering should never have happened and the fact he regrets it and rightly so. It needs robust natural justice and process.”
During the midst of the scandal, Cllr Carroll still urged everyone eligible to get vaccinated and called for people to continue to test regularly and keep following public health protocols.
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