Woman ‘sacrificed her the last time dad saw grandchildren’ while Employee 10 joked about a Christmas party

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‘I sacrificed the last time my father saw his grandchildren,’ says Louisa Buckway, whose father died of prostate cancer earlier this year.

A woman who missed her father’s last birthday before his death has spoken out of her anger after she saw a leaked video showing Downing Street employees joking about a Christmas party in lockdown.

ITV News has revealed a recording that showed then-Boris Johnson’s spokesman Allegra Stratton joking about a Christmas party during a media rehearsal.

The video, taken four days after the lockdown breach occurred last December, shows Ms Stratton joking that there was “definitely no social distancing” as staff laughed and referred to “cheese and wine”.

Downing Street denies holding a Christmas party last December.

Louisa Buckway, whose father died of prostate cancer after being unable to spend his last Christmas with his children and grandchildren, said she and her family were “furious” after watching the video.

Watch the leaked video of then-Boris Johnson’s spokeswoman Allegra Stratton joking about her Christmas party in Downing Street:

She told ITV News: “It’s kind of a betrayal to people because you sacrifice so much.

“And to know now that I sacrificed the last time my father saw his grandchildren, the last time I saw my father when he was healthy and himself, I cannot take back that time.”

And she continued, “My father has only met his youngest granddaughter once. And knowing that there were people who were eating cheese and wine and nibbling and laughing at her, this is just a beggar of faith.”

When asked what she thought of Boris Johnson as the country’s leader, she said: “Well, I’m not really a leader, I’m not really a leader to allow that kind of thing.”

After a struggle for words, she said, “Maybe I can’t really say what I’m thinking about him right now, because I’m just, I’m just so angry, so angry. And I’m sure a lot of people are too.”

“But, you know, if I could say one thing to him: My family made sacrifices and everyone had to make those sacrifices and it seems to me that not everyone has.”

When asked about her thoughts on Boris Johnson, Ms. Buckway said: “I’m just so angry, so angry.”

She added: “It is as if there is a culture that does not respect British public opinion.

“It seems, you know, a base for them and another for us.”

Explaining the difficult sacrifice she had to make last Christmas, Ms Buckway said: “So last Christmas we really hoped the family could get together because my father, who had prostate cancer, only saw his youngest granddaughter once. One during the summer when the lockdown eased.

“So we were really looking forward to celebrating Christmas together, but as December went by we kind of realized that, you know, issues were going up, and my dad was vulnerable and we wanted to keep him and everyone around us as safe as possible.

“So we made the decision, before the official rules were introduced, that we would in fact not see close family members at Christmas, and we would have a quiet family Christmas, the four of us at home.

Louisa Buckway’s father credit: UGC

“So it was a really difficult decision because you don’t know at this point what the future holds.

“So I didn’t know at that point, that was the last time my dad was healthy and then, in the new year, the cancer started to progress and he was hospitalized and he died on May.

“So, you know, hindsight is great, but I don’t think I would have changed the decision.”

Ms. Buckaway said she hoped the public would continue to take Covid rules seriously.

In response to the ITV News story, Downing Street said: “There was no Christmas party. Covid rules were followed at all times.”

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