Boris Johnson accused of mocking the demand to wear a mask in the theater | Boris Johnson

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Witnesses said Boris Johnson once again mocked official requests to wear a mask while watching a performance of Macbeth in a crowded theater in north London on Tuesday night.

The Prime Minister was in attendance to watch Shakespeare’s tragedy at the Almeida Theater in Islington, after a tense few days in which the Conservative party chief accused him of losing the plot.

Three fellow audience members said Johnson did not wear a face covering during the show, despite theater requests for visitors to wear one at all times when not eating or drinking. He is photographed in the auditorium with a mask around his chin and again within a public area of ​​the theater without a mask at all, alongside someone he believes is a member of his family.

An audience member seated near him in the auditorium said Johnson had “coughed and squashed” during the performance without wearing a face covering and was “talking all the time” adding to the impression of “arrogance”.

Ticket holders were emailed before the performance, saying: “Remember to wear a face covering at all times throughout the building unless you are exempt.”

The theater has a message on its website that it has been asking all customers to wear a mask in the theater, including during a performance, to protect “all of our staff, cast and other audience members from Covid.” Theater goers were required to wear masks as they entered and there were signs around the building asking to wear masks.

Another witness, seated in a different place in the room, said that most people in the theater were abiding by the rules but that the Prime Minister finally removed his mask again when the lights came on.

A third member of the audience on the other side of the hall said she saw him not wearing a mask during the first half, and while in the bar area with his fellow guest. It is believed that he put his mask around his chin during the first half, and then took it off completely during the second.

The government’s guidance on covering the face defines it as “that which covers the nose and mouth securely”. “You will be expected and advised to continue to wear a face covering in crowded, enclosed spaces where you come into contact with people you do not normally meet.”

Downing Street did not deny that Johnson did not wear a mask in the theater but said he was “following all the rules of Covid”.

Johnson’s apparent decision not to wear a mask in Almeida comes after he was previously criticized for not wearing a mask while sitting next to 95-year-old David Attenborough at the summit of Cop26, while he was with medical staff in a corridor at Hexham Hospital and on a train day in Manchester. The prime minister apologized for the hospital incident, although he said “barely 30 seconds”.

He recently wore one while sitting in the House of Commons room, jointly with other MPs.

Johnson has been in heat in recent days due to his handling of various areas of politics, from railroads to welfare, as well as his chaotic speech before the CBI on Monday. During the speech, he lost his place in the text for about 20 seconds, saying “Forgive me” three times, and then went on a long diversion from Peppa Pig World, which he visited on Sunday with his wife and young child.

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