The British morning papers on Thursday have nothing good to say about the Christmas party that would have been organised last year in the office of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
For example, The Sun writes on the front page, next to a photo of Boris Johnson dressed as the Grinch: “Do what I say, but don’t do what I do for Christmas”.
Former spokesman and government adviser Allegra Stratton resigned on Wednesday after video footage was leaked in which she joked about an alleged Christmas party at the end of last year. In an emotional statement, she apologised on Wednesday, but it remains unclear whether a Christmas drink was organised.
According to The Guardian, Johnson’s party is “overwhelmed by scandal”. Thursday morning, the Telegraph newspaper writes, “Don’t go to work, go to parties”. On Wednesday, Johnson announced that the measures in Great Britain must be tightened again due to the high number of corona infections and hospital admissions and the rapid emergence of the Omikron variant. Johnson called it “Plan B.”
The Mirror writes: “Plan B for us, plan lies, lies and lies for him”. Johnson did not want to say much about the alleged party on Wednesday, although he apologised for the unrest that had arisen and the “joke” that Stratton would have made in the leaked video. The Daily Mail wrote on its front page: “One rule for them, new rules for the rest of us”, along with a photo of a tearful Stratton.
The media elsewhere in the world also write about the alleged Christmas party and the reactions to it. According to CNN, this is “the most serious scandal” Johnson has faced as prime minister.
The Scottish newspaper Edinburgh Evening News quotes an ICU nurse as saying that “she was tending people who were dying while there was apparently partying elsewhere”. The Scottish newspaper The Daily Record writes: “The party is over, now get out”.
The riot already dominated the front pages of the morning newspapers on Wednesday. Prime Minister Johnson has ordered an investigation into the party, although according to the opposition, this is unnecessary. “The Prime Minister has been caught red-handed,” Labor leader Keir Starmer said. “Why doesn’t he end the investigation by just admitting it?”