Downing Street staff ‘started boozing at lunch as part of drinking culture’
A long-standing drinking culture in Downing Street saw staff start boozing at lunch and waking up there in the same clothes the next day, a former No 10 official has said.
Boris Johnson 'KNEW about May 20th party and LIED to Parliament': Dominic Cummings says he is prepared to go on oath to accuse PM of misleading MPs about boozy Downing Street event and warns 'There are many other photos yet to appear'
The PM's former top adviser said tonight that he discussed a May 2020 BYOB event with Mr Johnson before it happened but his concerns were 'waved aside'. The claim contradicts Mr Johnson's statement to the House of Commons last Wednesday. Ahead of PMQs he insisted that he believed that the knees-up organised by his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds - currently being probed by senior civil servant Sue Gray - was a work event that did not breach regulations. Downing Street has mounted a full-scale rescue plan to bolster the PM after last week's astonishing slew of revelations, code-named Operation Red Meat. But writing on his Substack blog today, Mr Cummings suggested that worse might still be to come for No10. He wrote: ‘I said to the PM something like: ''Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse''. The PM waved it aside.' He added: 'Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened.' It came as Sonia Khan (inset), an aide sacked by Mr Cummings, lifted the lid on the drinking culture in Downing Street by claiming people would start boozing at lunchtime and 'wake up in their clothes' after crashing on sofas.
It seems somehow appropriate to refer to the old BBC mantra at such times:-
There is a crisis. Deputy Heads must roll
As Boris Johnson launches Operation Red Meat in a desperate attempt to turn the tide of war... RICHARD LITTLEJOHN takes peek inside in the Prime Minister's Whitehall bunker
RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Today, Boris Johnson finds himself under siege, after a series of clumsy own goals. His political future hangs by a gossamer thread. He may have won important battles against the Covid-19 doomsayers, but he is in grave danger of losing the war. If he is to survive, he must take a leaf out of the playbook of his hero Winston Churchill, who signed off personally on Operation Mincemeat, despite the risks. The fightback has been dubbed Operation Red Meat, a long-overdue blitz of proper Conservative policies and values.
Exposed: Dozens of new-intake and Red Wall Tory MPs launch 'pork pie plot' to bring down Boris Johnson with letters of no-confidence set to go in tomorrow - as PM battles to put down 'coup' and furious allies rage: 'They only got elected because of him'
Boris Johnson is tonight battling to put down a coup attempt by Red Wall MPs. Ministers rounded furiously on the group of newly-elected Tories after details emerged of their so-called 'Pork Pie Plot' to unseat the Prime Minister. On a febrile day at Westminster, around 20 MPs are said to have held a secret lunchtime meeting to co-ordinate the submission of the 'no confidence' letters required to spark a Conservative leadership contest. Senior party sources last night identified Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison and fellow Tory Alicia Kearns as ringleaders. The involvement of Miss Kearns led to the coup attempt being dubbed the 'Pork Pie Plot' because she is the MP for Melton Mowbray, where they are made. Another alleged conspirator, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, became the seventh Tory to announce he had submitted a letter of no confidence to party shop steward Sir Graham Brady. The plotters are said to have discussed submitting their letters en masse today. Ministers were outraged because the rebellion came as Mr Johnson was poised to end Covid Plan B measures and figures showed a 'jobs miracle' – with unemployment down to within a whisker of pre-pandemic levels. A senior Tory source accused Miss Davison, who presents a TV show with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, of 'madly whipping up the Red Wallers' against the PM. (Pictured: Centre, Boris Johnson. Left (from left to right), Therese Coffey, Alicia Kearns, Gary Sambrook, Christian Wakeford and Chris Loder. Right, Dehenna Davison with Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak)
'In the name of God, go!' Boris is told to QUIT over Partygate by ex-minister David Davis in bear-pit PMQs just minutes after Red Wall Tory MP DEFECTS to Labour - as 'Pork Pie plotters' vow no confidence vote and Keir Starmer says more rebels are 'welcome'
Ex-Cabinet minister David Davis said Mr Johnson had failed to take responsibility for the breaches of lockdown in Downing Street, and he had enough of taking the flak for him. 'In the name of God, go!' he said. A visibly shaken Mr Johnson insisted he was not going to resign, urging people to 'wait for the outcome' of the inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray. But it was another hammer blow as Westminster reels from Christian Wakeford's announcement that he was leaving for Labour. The Bury South MP - who has a wafer-thin 402 majority in the Red Wall seat - had already announced he had put in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson. And he was on the Opposition benches wearing a Union Jack face mask. In a parting shot letter to the premier, Mr Wakeford branded his leadership 'disgraceful' and said he believed Labour would do more to tackle the cost of living crisis. Sir Keir goaded Mr Johnson in the Commons that any more defectors were 'welcome', saying the Tories had shown they were 'incapable' of governing the country.
Comments
A long-standing drinking culture in Downing Street saw staff start boozing at lunch and waking up there in the same clothes the next day, a former No 10 official has said.
https://uk.yahoo.com/news/downing-street-staff-started-boozing-151658890.html
The PM's former top adviser said tonight that he discussed a May 2020 BYOB event with Mr Johnson before it happened but his concerns were 'waved aside'. The claim contradicts Mr Johnson's statement to the House of Commons last Wednesday. Ahead of PMQs he insisted that he believed that the knees-up organised by his principal private secretary Martin Reynolds - currently being probed by senior civil servant Sue Gray - was a work event that did not breach regulations. Downing Street has mounted a full-scale rescue plan to bolster the PM after last week's astonishing slew of revelations, code-named Operation Red Meat. But writing on his Substack blog today, Mr Cummings suggested that worse might still be to come for No10. He wrote: ‘I said to the PM something like: ''Martin’s invited the building to a drinks party, this is what I’m talking about, you’ve got to grip this madhouse''. The PM waved it aside.' He added: 'Not only me but other eyewitnesses who discussed this at the time would swear under oath this is what happened.' It came as Sonia Khan (inset), an aide sacked by Mr Cummings, lifted the lid on the drinking culture in Downing Street by claiming people would start boozing at lunchtime and 'wake up in their clothes' after crashing on sofas.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10411585/Dominic-Cummings-ready-oath-accuse-Boris-Johnson-lying-Downing-Street-parties.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/pm-lied-to-parliament-about-downing-street-party-dominic-cummings-says/ar-AASSdnt?ocid=msedgntp
There is a crisis.
Deputy Heads must roll
RICHARD LITTLEJOHN: Today, Boris Johnson finds himself under siege, after a series of clumsy own goals. His political future hangs by a gossamer thread. He may have won important battles against the Covid-19 doomsayers, but he is in grave danger of losing the war. If he is to survive, he must take a leaf out of the playbook of his hero Winston Churchill, who signed off personally on Operation Mincemeat, despite the risks. The fightback has been dubbed Operation Red Meat, a long-overdue blitz of proper Conservative policies and values.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10412067/RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-Operation-Red-Meat-desperate-attempt-turn-tide-war.html
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/former-tory-leader-appalled-at-boris-johnson-s-failure-to-tackle-drinking-at-no-10/ar-AASTzv1?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/pm-says-nobody-told-me-party-was-against-rules-as-more-mps-prepare-to-submit-no-confidence-letters/ar-AASTF9U?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/is-the-game-up-johnson-looks-defeated-as-mood-turns-sour-in-tory-party/ar-AASUkal?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/tory-mp-andrew-bridgen-called-village-idiot-by-protester-on-live-tv/ar-AASTvKF?ocid=msedgntp
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/don-t-dodge-responsibility-over-no-10-parties-says-minister-in-veiled-swipe-at-boris-johnson/ar-AASSlBX?ocid=msedgntp
https://video.dailymail.co.uk/preview/mol/2022/01/18/9063508846830664209/964x580_MP4_9063508846830664209.mp4
Boris Johnson is tonight battling to put down a coup attempt by Red Wall MPs. Ministers rounded furiously on the group of newly-elected Tories after details emerged of their so-called 'Pork Pie Plot' to unseat the Prime Minister. On a febrile day at Westminster, around 20 MPs are said to have held a secret lunchtime meeting to co-ordinate the submission of the 'no confidence' letters required to spark a Conservative leadership contest. Senior party sources last night identified Bishop Auckland MP Dehenna Davison and fellow Tory Alicia Kearns as ringleaders. The involvement of Miss Kearns led to the coup attempt being dubbed the 'Pork Pie Plot' because she is the MP for Melton Mowbray, where they are made. Another alleged conspirator, Bury South MP Christian Wakeford, became the seventh Tory to announce he had submitted a letter of no confidence to party shop steward Sir Graham Brady. The plotters are said to have discussed submitting their letters en masse today. Ministers were outraged because the rebellion came as Mr Johnson was poised to end Covid Plan B measures and figures showed a 'jobs miracle' – with unemployment down to within a whisker of pre-pandemic levels. A senior Tory source accused Miss Davison, who presents a TV show with former Ukip leader Nigel Farage, of 'madly whipping up the Red Wallers' against the PM. (Pictured: Centre, Boris Johnson. Left (from left to right), Therese Coffey, Alicia Kearns, Gary Sambrook, Christian Wakeford and Chris Loder. Right, Dehenna Davison with Carrie Johnson and Rishi Sunak)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10415969/Dozens-new-intake-Red-Wall-Tory-MPs-launch-pork-pie-plot-bring-Boris-Johnson.html
Ex-Cabinet minister David Davis said Mr Johnson had failed to take responsibility for the breaches of lockdown in Downing Street, and he had enough of taking the flak for him. 'In the name of God, go!' he said. A visibly shaken Mr Johnson insisted he was not going to resign, urging people to 'wait for the outcome' of the inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray. But it was another hammer blow as Westminster reels from Christian Wakeford's announcement that he was leaving for Labour. The Bury South MP - who has a wafer-thin 402 majority in the Red Wall seat - had already announced he had put in a letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson. And he was on the Opposition benches wearing a Union Jack face mask. In a parting shot letter to the premier, Mr Wakeford branded his leadership 'disgraceful' and said he believed Labour would do more to tackle the cost of living crisis. Sir Keir goaded Mr Johnson in the Commons that any more defectors were 'welcome', saying the Tories had shown they were 'incapable' of governing the country.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10417645/Boris-faces-make-break-PMQs-Red-Wall-MPs-threaten-no-confidence-move.html