By Sebastian Payne, Laura Hughes and George Parker
Boris Johnson is set to announce new Covid-19 restrictions in England to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, as he faced new questions over parties held in Downing Street last Christmas.
Three senior Whitehall officials told the Financial Times that the government had decided to implement the so-called ‘Plan B’ of further restrictions, including vaccine passports for large venues and an order to work from home.
Johnson’s decision to act reflects growing concern at the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, but government officials also said he wanted to regain the initiative after days of disastrous coverage over a Downing Street Christmas party last year.
One said the move to Plan B — much earlier than expected — was a “dead cat” move by Johnson to distract attention from the row over a leaked video of a mock Downing Street press conference showing staff laughing about the party, which breached Covid rules.
Ministers on the Covid operations committee met on Wednesday to decide on the exact measures. One government insider suggested the work from home order could be implemented as soon as tonight. Downing Street did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The new restrictions could be announced at a press conference as early as Wednesday with regulations laid before parliament on Thursday, according to government insiders.
The decision comes as Johnson faced further pressure after his close aides were caught on video laughing about a Downing Street Christmas party — or “business meeting” — at a mock press conference.
“It looks very much like a dead cat,” one said, a reference to a media strategy to distract from bad news.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to push Johnson to explain the footage during prime minister’s questions as he grapples with growing condemnation from his own backbenchers for the apparent breach of the rules.
Multiple sources have said that a party took place at No 10 on December 18 last year, when parties were illegal under strict coronavirus restrictions. Johnson has insisted that no such party happened.
UK health secretary Sajid Javid pulled out of a number of national broadcast interviews on Wednesday morning after the video, which was published by ITV News, emerged, as No 10 grapples with how to respond.
Javid had been due to discuss the UK’s vaccination efforts on the BBC and Sky News, as well as a number of radio stations, to mark a year since the first Covid-19 jab was administered.
Former education secretary Gavin Williamson was also reported to have held a Christmas party in his department last December. A spokeswoman for the education department confirmed a “gathering” had taken place and apologised.
“Drinks and snacks were brought by those attending and no outside guests or supporting staff were invited or present,” she said. “While this was work-related, looking back we accept it would have been better not to have gathered in this way at that particular time.”
The reports of rule-breaking by the most senior figures in government prompted fears that the imposition of further coronavirus measures could be undermined.
Neil Ferguson, one of the country’s leading coronavirus experts, warned on Wednesday morning that if no further measures were introduced, the peak of the current wave of infection would come in January. He said that cases of the Omicron variant, which he said were doubling “at least every three days”, could overtake the Delta variant by Christmas.
The internal video published by ITV News was from a mock Downing Street press conference on December 22 last year, when Allegra Stratton, then Johnson’s press secretary, was asked if any Christmas parties were held.
“I went home,” she laughed, before telling her colleagues to “hold on”. Stratton asked aides present: “What’s the answer?” One suggested: “It wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine”.
“This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced,” she joked.
One Downing Street official said of the video: “It’s pretty disastrous, the government and PM denying it and then this footage leaks out saying otherwise.”
The Metropolitan Police said it was reviewing the footage. “It is our policy not to routinely investigate retrospective breaches of the Covid-19 regulations, however the footage will form part of our considerations,” it said in a statement.
Oh look at that conveniently timed dead cat that has landed on the table
And the timing of this definitely has nothing to do with what came out yesterday…
Fuck this mop haired cunt. That is all. Hope everyone else’s Wednesday is going well.
I hate this man and his party with every fibre of my being.
If they seriously do this I wouldn’t be surprised if we began getting civil unrest.
We’re already seeing multiple strikes kick off on a scale not seen in the last decade, taxes are going up for the poor, its currently the focus of the media that the Government broke their own rules at the height of Xmas lockdown last year.
To try and introduce another lockdown right next to Christmas again? May just be what gets people protesting.
On radio 4 earlier the predominant sentiment from callers seemed to be “they can get stuffed now”. They regard compliance with ways to prevent people dying as the enemy. See the comments on the FT article for more of the same.
**In polarising the public against following what are good virus safety protocols Johnson’s government is now effecting even more harm on the public they should be protecting.**
Oh yes? And what about the ‘business meeting’ christmas party with no social distancing, mr. Johnson?
Fvck off.
Such an obvious ploy to shift the front page stories from the Christmas party. Fuck him.
No one will listen to these pond scum now. They took the piss one too many long ago.
I have never seen such incompetent leadership like this, any scandal used to mean you resigned, this absolute cunt has one every week and people still vote him in, it’s fucking embarrassing as a country.
Good luck getting anybody to stick to them. These hypocritical assholes have never had the least regard for the covid restrictions. I think we’ve all had enough of them.
Purely a personal rant, but I’ve got a ton of printing to do which can’t be done from home. Trying to rush to get it done before the announcement this evening is really stressful!
I wear a mask still, I social distance, I still stay at home when possible and make every effort to not spread anything.
They can get fucked if they think I’m staying away from my family for another Christmas.
This motherfucker. Restricting everyone just to save his ass.
This is why they had their Christmas party so early.
I called it.
Bro please don’t do this before Spider-Man honestly it’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to all year
Hundreds of people facing court over having illegal parties, the whole country not seeing their families at Christmas, people were literally lonely while these cunts partied. Disgusting.
“When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters – first and foremost – how they behave.
This is called the “principle of legitimacy”, and legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice – that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.
Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
What a coincidence that it’s being announced today.. the country is being punished for daring to find out about the illegal Xmas party.. 100% Tory tactics to bury bad news, no one will be talking about the party anymore
A lot of the public will refuse to comply with any restrictions this government tries to implement now. Their lies will cost even more lives, and they do not give a shit.
>Johnson to introduce new restrictions
(for everyone apart from him and his mates)
The new restrictions are we can have a party with our mates as long as we keep it a secret from all the stupid cunts out there that think we are doing the best for them. Fuck this government.
After that video, nobody is going to follow their new rules. I’ve got friends who have followed the guidelines to the letter since the first lockdown, they’re not going to do it this time around now.
No more compliance, if the rule-makers (Tory Parliamentarians) themselves don’t follow their own rules then why should anyone else?
Good one Boris I’ll definitely be sticking to these thanks mate
Fuck Johnson, fuck his government, and fuck his restrictions.
I’m gonna act sensibly, avoid crowds, wear my mask etc, but ignore the bullshit artists bullshit
Fuck him and anyone who supports the cunt
Like anyone is going to listen to them now! You’ve well and truly fucked it!
You mean imposing vaccine passports for a variant where the vaccine has no effect after the virus has become more transmissible and less potent thus ending its real threat. All coincidentally when the PM should be resigning. Also has no one thought to drug test him? You know full well he’s about 25% pure Colombian bam bam powder.
30 comments
By Sebastian Payne, Laura Hughes and George Parker
Boris Johnson is set to announce new Covid-19 restrictions in England to curb the spread of the Omicron variant, as he faced new questions over parties held in Downing Street last Christmas.
Three senior Whitehall officials told the Financial Times that the government had decided to implement the so-called ‘Plan B’ of further restrictions, including vaccine passports for large venues and an order to work from home.
Johnson’s decision to act reflects growing concern at the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, but government officials also said he wanted to regain the initiative after days of disastrous coverage over a Downing Street Christmas party last year.
One said the move to Plan B — much earlier than expected — was a “dead cat” move by Johnson to distract attention from the row over a leaked video of a mock Downing Street press conference showing staff laughing about the party, which breached Covid rules.
Ministers on the Covid operations committee met on Wednesday to decide on the exact measures. One government insider suggested the work from home order could be implemented as soon as tonight. Downing Street did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The new restrictions could be announced at a press conference as early as Wednesday with regulations laid before parliament on Thursday, according to government insiders.
The decision comes as Johnson faced further pressure after his close aides were caught on video laughing about a Downing Street Christmas party — or “business meeting” — at a mock press conference.
“It looks very much like a dead cat,” one said, a reference to a media strategy to distract from bad news.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is set to push Johnson to explain the footage during prime minister’s questions as he grapples with growing condemnation from his own backbenchers for the apparent breach of the rules.
Multiple sources have said that a party took place at No 10 on December 18 last year, when parties were illegal under strict coronavirus restrictions. Johnson has insisted that no such party happened.
UK health secretary Sajid Javid pulled out of a number of national broadcast interviews on Wednesday morning after the video, which was published by ITV News, emerged, as No 10 grapples with how to respond.
Javid had been due to discuss the UK’s vaccination efforts on the BBC and Sky News, as well as a number of radio stations, to mark a year since the first Covid-19 jab was administered.
Former education secretary Gavin Williamson was also reported to have held a Christmas party in his department last December. A spokeswoman for the education department confirmed a “gathering” had taken place and apologised.
“Drinks and snacks were brought by those attending and no outside guests or supporting staff were invited or present,” she said. “While this was work-related, looking back we accept it would have been better not to have gathered in this way at that particular time.”
The reports of rule-breaking by the most senior figures in government prompted fears that the imposition of further coronavirus measures could be undermined.
Neil Ferguson, one of the country’s leading coronavirus experts, warned on Wednesday morning that if no further measures were introduced, the peak of the current wave of infection would come in January. He said that cases of the Omicron variant, which he said were doubling “at least every three days”, could overtake the Delta variant by Christmas.
The internal video published by ITV News was from a mock Downing Street press conference on December 22 last year, when Allegra Stratton, then Johnson’s press secretary, was asked if any Christmas parties were held.
“I went home,” she laughed, before telling her colleagues to “hold on”. Stratton asked aides present: “What’s the answer?” One suggested: “It wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine”.
“This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced,” she joked.
One Downing Street official said of the video: “It’s pretty disastrous, the government and PM denying it and then this footage leaks out saying otherwise.”
The Metropolitan Police said it was reviewing the footage. “It is our policy not to routinely investigate retrospective breaches of the Covid-19 regulations, however the footage will form part of our considerations,” it said in a statement.
Oh look at that conveniently timed dead cat that has landed on the table
And the timing of this definitely has nothing to do with what came out yesterday…
Fuck this mop haired cunt. That is all. Hope everyone else’s Wednesday is going well.
I hate this man and his party with every fibre of my being.
If they seriously do this I wouldn’t be surprised if we began getting civil unrest.
We’re already seeing multiple strikes kick off on a scale not seen in the last decade, taxes are going up for the poor, its currently the focus of the media that the Government broke their own rules at the height of Xmas lockdown last year.
To try and introduce another lockdown right next to Christmas again? May just be what gets people protesting.
On radio 4 earlier the predominant sentiment from callers seemed to be “they can get stuffed now”. They regard compliance with ways to prevent people dying as the enemy. See the comments on the FT article for more of the same.
**In polarising the public against following what are good virus safety protocols Johnson’s government is now effecting even more harm on the public they should be protecting.**
Oh yes? And what about the ‘business meeting’ christmas party with no social distancing, mr. Johnson?
Fvck off.
Such an obvious ploy to shift the front page stories from the Christmas party. Fuck him.
No one will listen to these pond scum now. They took the piss one too many long ago.
I have never seen such incompetent leadership like this, any scandal used to mean you resigned, this absolute cunt has one every week and people still vote him in, it’s fucking embarrassing as a country.
Good luck getting anybody to stick to them. These hypocritical assholes have never had the least regard for the covid restrictions. I think we’ve all had enough of them.
Purely a personal rant, but I’ve got a ton of printing to do which can’t be done from home. Trying to rush to get it done before the announcement this evening is really stressful!
I wear a mask still, I social distance, I still stay at home when possible and make every effort to not spread anything.
They can get fucked if they think I’m staying away from my family for another Christmas.
Fuck off.
Fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off, fuck off.
This motherfucker. Restricting everyone just to save his ass.
This is why they had their Christmas party so early.
I called it.
Bro please don’t do this before Spider-Man honestly it’s the only thing I’ve been looking forward to all year
Hundreds of people facing court over having illegal parties, the whole country not seeing their families at Christmas, people were literally lonely while these cunts partied. Disgusting.
“When people in authority want the rest of us to behave, it matters – first and foremost – how they behave.
This is called the “principle of legitimacy”, and legitimacy is based on three things. First of all, the people who are asked to obey authority have to feel like they have a voice – that if they speak up, they will be heard. Second, the law has to be predictable. There has to be a reasonable expectation that the rules tomorrow are going to be roughly the same as the rules today. And third, the authority has to be fair. It can’t treat one group differently from another.
Malcolm Gladwell, David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants
What a coincidence that it’s being announced today.. the country is being punished for daring to find out about the illegal Xmas party.. 100% Tory tactics to bury bad news, no one will be talking about the party anymore
A lot of the public will refuse to comply with any restrictions this government tries to implement now. Their lies will cost even more lives, and they do not give a shit.
>Johnson to introduce new restrictions
(for everyone apart from him and his mates)
The new restrictions are we can have a party with our mates as long as we keep it a secret from all the stupid cunts out there that think we are doing the best for them. Fuck this government.
After that video, nobody is going to follow their new rules. I’ve got friends who have followed the guidelines to the letter since the first lockdown, they’re not going to do it this time around now.
No more compliance, if the rule-makers (Tory Parliamentarians) themselves don’t follow their own rules then why should anyone else?
Good one Boris I’ll definitely be sticking to these thanks mate
Fuck Johnson, fuck his government, and fuck his restrictions.
I’m gonna act sensibly, avoid crowds, wear my mask etc, but ignore the bullshit artists bullshit
Fuck him and anyone who supports the cunt
Like anyone is going to listen to them now! You’ve well and truly fucked it!
You mean imposing vaccine passports for a variant where the vaccine has no effect after the virus has become more transmissible and less potent thus ending its real threat. All coincidentally when the PM should be resigning. Also has no one thought to drug test him? You know full well he’s about 25% pure Colombian bam bam powder.