Boris Johnson quiz photo seems to show he broke Covid laws, says Keir Starmer

Sarah Harvey|Sami Quadri12 December 2021

Boris Johnson appears to have broken Covid laws, Labour leader Keir Starmer has said after a picture emerged of the prime minister hosting a quiz for Downing Street staff last Christmas.

The image, reported by the Sunday Mirror, shows a screen with the Prime Minister sitting in front of a laptop in the No 10 library.

One of his colleagues is draped in tinsel.

Sir Keir, who is also a former director of public prosecutions, was asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr whether he thought the PM was in breach of the Covid legal restrictions. He said: “It looks as though he was”.

“He must have known that other groups were in other rooms in his own building,” he said, describing the quiz as a “social event”.

“He has damaged his authority, he is now so weak, his party is so divided - he can’t deliver the leadership this country needs,” he said.

“He is the worst possible leader at the worst possible time”.

Downing Street said the Conservative Party leader had “briefly” taken part “virtually” in the quiz.

The Sunday Mirror reported the event happened on December 15.

The festive event is said to have taken place only three days before an alleged rule-breaking Christmas party in No 10, which is currently being investigated by Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.

Deputy party leader Angela Rayner said: “While the rules said that people shouldn’t have Christmas parties at work and Britons across the country were doing the right thing, Boris Johnson was instead happy to preside over a culture of disregard for the rules at the heart of Government.

“Despite repeated denials of parties in Number 10, it now transpires that there were numerous parties, gatherings and the Prime Minister even took part in a festive quiz.

“Boris Johnson really believes it’s one rule for him, another for everyone else.

“He is a man unfit to lead this country.”

However, Cabinet minister Nadhim Zahawi hit back by saying Labour had taken the “wrong” stance over Boris Johnson’s appearance at the quiz.

The Education Secretary told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show: “I think (Sir) Keir Starmer needs to make his mind up.

“One minute he says he does not want to play politics, the next he is, I think, being political and wrong on this.”

He added: “I think in many ways the hype of the past two weeks around parties will quite rightly be investigated by the Cabinet Secretary.

“My email box is full of people thinking that he was sort of at parties with guests and all sorts of things happening.

“Actually, they can now make their mind up when they see this picture of the Prime Minister on a virtual screen, on a Zoom call thanking his team, who are in the building because they have to respond to a national emergency.”

Official guidance at the time stated: “Although there are exemptions for work purposes, you must not have a work Christmas lunch or party, where that is a primarily social activity and is not otherwise permitted by the rules in your tier.”

At the time of the quiz, London was in Tier 2 which said there should be no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and maximum of six people outside.

The Sunday Mirror quoted a source who claimed many staff were huddled by computers, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place.

It reported Mr Johnson surprised staff by turning up on screen as quiz master for one round lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.

A No 10 spokeswoman said: “This was a virtual quiz.

“Downing Street staff were often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response so those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks.

“The Prime Minister briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year.”

The quiz reports come as Mr Case, who is also head of the Civil Service, investigates three alleged rule-breaking Government gatherings last winter.

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