Downing Street Accused Of Hosting Two Parties That Ended Hours Before Prince Philip's Funeral

Downing Street has been accused of hosting two 'boozy' parties on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral last year.

Eye witnesses have told The Telegraph about how there were two events being thrown at Number 10 on April 16, despite lockdown rules preventing such behaviour.

One event was a leaving do for Prime Minister Boris Johnson's director of communications, James Slack.

There was reportedly a bunch of Downing Street staff who gathered for the leaving party and they eventually headed out to the garden with their drinks.

One party-goer also allegedly managed to break a swing outside that belonged to Mr Johnsons' son Wilf.

A Downing Street spokesperson has told LADbible: "On this individual's last day, [James Slack] gave a farewell speech to thank each team for the work they had done to support him, both those who had to be in the office for work and on a screen for those working from home."

The other party, which was reportedly held on the same evening (April 16), was a farewell for one of the Prime Minister's personal photographers.

This one was described by someone in attendance as consisting of much younger staff and had a 'party atmosphere with music blaring out'.

At one point, one staffer was allegedly ordered to go to a nearby Co-op with a briefcase to buy alcohol.

A witness told The Telegraph that people were 'worried there was too much wine spilling on the basement carpet' so they moved upstairs.

People who confessed to the UK newspaper said the parties consisted of 'excessive alcohol' drinking and the latter even featured some dancing.

An attendee reported that the two gatherings were held in different parts of Number 10 before eventually combining.

One person said the soirees stretched into the wee hours of April 17.

Boris Johnson didn't attend either event.

It's a damning set of allegations for the UK government because, at the time, tens of millions of Britons were sticking to the rules. But it's even worse because of specifically when it happened last year.

Just hours after the alleged parties wrapped up, Queen Elizabeth II sat in a private chapel in Windsor Castle to farewell her husband of more than seven decades.

Images of the British monarch sitting almost completely alone in the chapel broke people's hearts as social distancing rules required Prince Philip's funeral to be a small ceremony.

The UK was, at the time, on Step 2 of easing out of lockdown, however the rules meant citizens couldn't socialise indoors with people from outside their households. People could only meet up in groups of six or two households outside.

These two alleged parties add to a growing list of gatherings that Downing Street have been accused of hosting over the past two years while lockdown measures were in place.

The Queen was forced to sit alone to farewell her husband of seven decades while the night before Number 10 staff let their hair down.

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: UK News, Downing St, News