London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

Boris Johnson's career takes a new blow

Boris Johnson's career takes a new blow

Up to 30 people took part in the celebrations in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street on June 19, 2020, according to reports
The UK media has uncovered another gathering attended by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in violation of his own Covid-19 curbs in 2020, with Downing Street confirming that the birthday party in question did take place.

Johnson’s wife, Carrie, had organized a surprise party for him in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street on June 19, 2020, broadcaster ITV reported on Monday.

The event was attended by some 30 people, despite indoor gatherings being banned in the UK at that time as part of anti-coronavirus measures. There was a cake, and Carrie allegedly led those gathered in singing happy birthday to the PM.

Some officials who were present at the gathering have denied ITV’s claim of 30 people being in attendance. Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told the BBC that the group was much smaller and that it had been working together all day. Environment Secretary George Eustice said the number of those present was “closer to ten,” adding that the whole event “was literally just a birthday cake brought in at the end of the day.”

The birthday gathering at 10 Downing Street took place just hours after Johnson visited a school in Hertfordshire, where he had posed with his arms outstretched with students to again underline the importance of social distancing to the British public.

And it wasn’t the PM’s only party that day, according to ITV, with a separate birthday celebration for family and friends being held at Johnson's residence in the evening.

Downing Street has confirmed that the prime minister attended an event at work, with a government spokesperson insisting “he was there for less than ten minutes.”

“A group of staff working in No. 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room, after a meeting, to wish the prime minister a happy birthday.”

However, the spokesperson denied claims of a second gathering at Johnson’s apartment, saying: “This is totally untrue. In line with the rules at the time, the prime minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening.”

The British PM is facing mounting calls to resign amid recent revelations of him taking part in a string of parties during the first lockdown in the UK. The so-called ‘Partygate’ scandal has seen the 57-year-old’s ratings plummeting, with a poll earlier this month suggesting that two-thirds of voters want him out of office.

MPs from within Johnson’s own Conservative Party also seem to be losing faith in the prime minister, with one telling the Guardian that the gathering on June 19 was “clearly social” and “changes things – a lot.”

Another unnamed Tory lawmaker said that “presumably there is more being stored up for release after the Gray report, just in case that hadn't dealt the killer blow.”

He was referring to a crucial report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, who is investigating the alleged breaches of lockdown regulations by the prime minister, that is expected be released this week.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×