Boris and Carrie Johnson have enjoyed a date night at one of London ‘s most exclusive private members’ clubs.
The Prime Minister and his wife were photographed walking out of Oswald’s in Mayfair last Thursday night at about 9.30pm accompanied by a security detail of six people before getting into a waiting Range Rover.
Mrs Johnson, 33, was wearing a £695 Wiggy Kit black Marais midi dress made from cotton canvas with velvet panelling and white embroidery, accompanied by a £413 Anya Hindmarch eyes beaded shoulder bag.
It comes as a bombshell email leaked last night proved that Boris Johnson’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 staff to bring their own drinks to No10’s lavish gardens on May 20, 2020 to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’.
At the time, only two people were allowed to socialise outside while at least two metres apart under national Covid curbs.
On a visit to his constituency yesterday, Boris Johnson ducked questions about whether he attended the May 20 garden party, merely insisting it was a matter for Sue Gray, the senior official leading an investigation into allegations of lockdown-busting parties across Whitehall.
However, ITV News alleges that around 40 staff met for drinks and food from 6pm that evening — including the PM and his wife Carrie.
Before the latest update in the party scandal broke, the couple enjoyed an evening out at the exclusive club Oswald’s, which has a ground floor inspired by the Hall of Mirrors in the Palace of Versailles and is known for its fine wines – with members also allowed to cellar up to 12 of their own there and no corkage fees applied.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie Johnson are photographed walking out of Oswald’s in Mayfair last Thursday
Carrie Johnson leaves Oswald’s private members’ club on Albemarle Street in Mayfair last Thursday night at about 9.30pm
The Prime Minister’s wife s photographed walking out of Oswald’s in Mayfair last Thursday night at about 9.30pm
Boris Johnson sits in a Range Rover after leaving Oswald’s private members’ club with his wife last Thursday evening
Carrie Johnson is pictured inside a Range Rover before being driven away from Oswald’s private members’ club in London
The club has aimed to attract female members as well as couples and is owned by entrepreneur Robin Birley who named it after his grandfather, the portrait artist Sir Oswald Birley who painted Winston Churchill.
Applicants must be recommended by existing members and there is a waiting list, with membership prices only available on application. Visitors have included Dame Joan Collins, David Beckham and actress Amber Heard.
Other Conservative politicians known to have attended the club – owned by Winter Restaurants Limited – include Home Secretary Priti Patel, Housing Secretary Michael Gove and former chancellor George Osborne.
Today, Mr Johnson visited a vaccine clinic at a pharmacy in his Uxbridge constituency in West London, and said he would ‘act according to the science’ around cutting the self-isolation period for Covid-19 cases.
Experts are examining whether the period could be cut from seven to five days for cases, something which would help ease staffing crises across the economy and public services.
Boris Johnson walks along Albemarle Street towards a waiting car as a person looks out at him from behind a window
Boris and Carrie Johnson were accompanied by a security detail of six people and got into a waiting Range Rover outside
Carrie Johnson walks towards a Range Rover outside Oswald’s, one of London’s most exclusive private members’ clubs
Mr Johnson also pledged that free lateral flow tests would be available for ‘as long as it is necessary’ as ministers considered how to move to a position of living with Covid-19.
The Prime Minister said testing was an important line of defence, along with vaccinations, in the face of the Omicron wave.
He is under pressure from Tory MPs to commit to ending restrictions and shift to a position where Covid-19 is treated in a similar way to other illnesses which do not require state interventions.
There is also a debate in Cabinet about cutting the self-isolation period, as France and the United States have done.
Carrie Johnson holds baby Romy as son Wilf heads off to explore at Thorpe Bay in Essex in a recent picture she posted online
Wilf and Dilyn the dog strike matching poses on their recent trip to the seaside in Essex
Wilf is seen sporting a characteristic Johnson hairstyle during the trip to the Essex resort
The Prime Minister’s silhouette could be seen in the distance on the beach, wearing his signature beanie hat
Over the weekend, Mrs Johnson shared photos online of their children Wilf and Romy against a scenic backdrop of the beach at low tide at Thorpe Bay in Essex as they headed to the coast away from the pressures of Downing Street.
Wearing a red woollen hat and jeans, Mrs Johnson, 33, smiled broadly as she carried her one-month-old daughter in a cloud-patterned papoose.
Meanwhile Wilf, 20 months, enjoyed exploring the puddles in a red dinosaur jumpsuit and playing with the family’s dog Dilyn.
In another picture, the Prime Minister’s silhouette could be seen in the distance on the beach, wearing his signature beanie hat.
But by the end of Monday, Boris Johnson was again facing questions about whether he had attended the party in the garden of No 10 Downing Street in May 2020.
Scotland Yard has now confirmed that they are now ‘in contact with the Cabinet Office’ over reports of the drinks party. The force is thought to be waiting to see if Ms Gray’s inquiry identifies rule-breaking before considering whether further action is needed, The Times reports.
The Prime Minister’s principal private secretary Martin Reynolds invited more than 100 staff to bring their own drinks to No10’s lavish gardens on May 20, 2020 to ‘make the most of the lovely weather’, an email leaked to ITV News shows
A spokesman for the Met said: ‘The Metropolitan Police Service is aware of widespread reporting relating to alleged breaches of the Health Protection Regulations at Downing Street on May 20 2020 and is in contact with the Cabinet Office.’
Mr Reynolds’s email said: ‘Hi all, after what has been an incredibly busy period it would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No10 garden this evening. Please join us from 6pm and bring your own booze!’.
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner said: ‘Boris Johnson has consistently shown that he has no regard for the rules he puts in place for the rest of us.’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey thundered: ‘This is yet more evidence that while the vast majority of people were sticking to the rules, those in No 10 were breaking them.
‘To add insult to injury, on the very same day that the Culture Secretary said people could only meet in pairs outdoors, it seems Boris Johnson’s staff were holding a boozy party in Downing Street.’
Sir Ed added that Ms Gray’s inquiry ‘must interview Boris Johnson personally’ to get to the bottom of claims of Downing Street parties.
And Ian Blackford, the SNP’s Westminster leader, accused the PM of ‘sleaze and corruption’, and demanded he ‘come clean’.
Mr Johnson’s authority has come under serious challenge among backbenchers and Cabinet colleagues in recent months.
His government is fighting allegations that staff broke lockdown rules during the pandemic. In December, the PM insisted that a photo of a gathering in the No10 garden where staff were seen eating cheese and drinking wine from May 15, 2020 showed people ‘working’.
Another photo, obtained by the Sunday Mirror, showed Mr Johnson hosting a Christmas quiz in Downing Street in winter 2020.
The PM has also come under criticism for imposing restrictions including facemarks and Covid passes in response to the Omicron variant. It is understood that the issue sparked Lord Frost’s dramatic resignation last month.
Source: Daily Mail
