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Boris Johnson meets with his cabinet amid the growing threat of war with President Putin in Eastern Europe and more outrageous allegations by the Downing Street party at home.
After a protracted war council with President Biden and other European leaders, the prime minister is expected to step up diplomatic efforts to prevent a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
But he is facing more calls to resign from opposition leaders after fresh allegations that he attended a party in the Cabinet Room in 10 Downing Street on his 56th birthday in June 2020.
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It is reported that about 30 guests sang Happy Birthday and ate a Union Jack cake in the Cabinet Room before the Prime Minister chaired a COVID strategy meeting to discuss the way out of the lockdown.
Besides Ukraine, Tuesday’s regular cabinet meeting will also include discussions about the rising cost of living crisis and could also hear calls to scrap the National Insurance increase to pay NHS and social care fees.
Meanwhile, ahead of Sue Gray’s Partigate Report, the prime minister is facing a renewed rebellion and is also forced to abdicate an investigation into allegations that the junior minister, Nusrat Ghani, was sacked because she was a Muslim.
Johnson’s emergency talks with world leaders on the Ukraine crisis, held in a virtual meeting, ended with an agreement to take all steps to prevent a Russian invasion and implement tough sanctions if the invasion continues.
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“Leaders agreed on the importance of international unity in the face of growing Russian hostility,” Downing Street said after the talks. The Prime Minister stressed the true human cost of any Russian aggression and the need to do everything in our power to prevent such an outcome.
“Leaders agreed that in the event of a further Russian incursion into Ukraine, allies should take swift retaliatory responses including an unprecedented package of sanctions. And they decided to continue coordinating closely on any such response.”
Christmas party allegations
Allegations of a celebration within 10 Downing Street arose from gatherings for Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday on 19 June 2020. After a surprise birthday party in the Cabinet Room, it is alleged that in the evening, family friends were hosted upstairs in the Prime Minister’s apartment, and also broke closing rules.
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The allegations are particularly embarrassing for the prime minister because three months before his birthday in 2020, in March, Johnson wrote to a seven-year-old girl, Josephine of Hampshire, after she told him she had postponed her birthday party.
The Prime Minister tweeted: “Josephine is setting a great example to all of us by postponing her birthday party until we send out coronavirus packages.” He concluded his tweet with the hashtag #BeLikeJosephine #.
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In another blow to the beleaguered prime minister, attorney and lockdown law expert Adam Wagner said it appeared the cabinet room meeting was a party and would have been against the rules at the time.
“If this is a purely social event (which cake and Marks and Spencer food strongly suggest), it cannot fall into any of the list of exceptions to strict gatherings rules,” he said. “So everyone who attends will be liable for a notice of a fixed fine or prosecution of £100.”
“They’re a little over the top.”
But in response to the allegations, first made by ITV News, cabinet supporter George Eustis admitted that some of the recent party allegations were more serious than the latest allegations.
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“My understanding is that the prime minister had a few close family members, with him outdoors in the garden to celebrate his birthday,” he said.
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“I trust what I have been told about these things and I believe that in this story there have been some very serious allegations. These allegations have been investigated.
“I don’t think these recent allegations fit into that category. I think they’re a little over the top.”
Downing Street says PM was there ‘less than 10 minutes’
At the meeting on the afternoon of the Prime Minister’s birthday, Number 10 said: “A group of employees working at Number 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting wishing the Prime Minister a Merry Christmas. He was there for less than 10 minutes .”
Photo: Boris Johnson with a birthday cake. Pic: Flickr / No. 10
But regarding the allegations regarding the Prime Minister’s family upstairs in his apartment in the evening, No. 10 insisted: “This is absolutely not true. In keeping with the rules at the time, the Prime Minister hosted a small number of family members outside that evening.”
The Prime Minister is a ‘national disgrace’
Labour’s leader, Sir Keir Starmer, has stepped up his demands for Mr Johnson’s resignation, declaring: “This is further evidence that we have a Prime Minister who thinks the rules he has set do not apply to him.
“So we have a prime minister and a government who spend all their time cleaning up corruption and deception.
“In the meantime, millions of people are struggling to pay their bills and we cannot afford to continue with this chaotic, rudderless government. The Prime Minister is a patriotic distraction and he has to leave.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has called for a police investigation into the latest allegations and said: “This cannot go on any longer.
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Party after party, lie after lie, this disgraced prime minister brings more pain every day to bereaved families who have already suffered too much.
“It is now clear that the Sue Gray investigation is not fit for purpose. The Met must investigate this to bring justice to the millions who have sacrificed so much during this pandemic.
“Britain stuck to the rules written by Boris Johnson, but couldn’t have bothered to stick to himself. It’s time for him to save the country more pain and quit.”
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Sources 2/ https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiogFodHRwczovL25ld3Muc2t5LmNvbS9zdG9yeS9ib3Jpcy1qb2huc29uLXRvLWhvbGQtY2FiaW5ldC1tZWV0aW5nLWFtaWQtZ3Jvd2luZy10aHJlYXRzLW9mLXJ1c3NpYW4taW52YXNpb24taW4tdWtyYWluZS1hbmQtbW9yZS1kb3duaW5nLXN0cmVldC1wYXJ0eS1jbGFpbXMtMTI1MjQ2OTXSAaYBaHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLnNreS5jb20vc3RvcnkvYW1wL2JvcmlzLWpvaG5zb24tdG8taG9sZC1jYWJpbmV0LW1lZXRpbmctYW1pZC1ncm93aW5nLXRocmVhdHMtb2YtcnVzc2lhbi1pbnZhc2lvbi1pbi11a3JhaW5lLWFuZC1tb3JlLWRvd25pbmctc3RyZWV0LXBhcnR5LWNsYWltcy0xMjUyNDY5NQ?oc=5 The mention sources can contact us to remove/changing this article |
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