Footie pundits rip into the government and Boris Johnson as an update emerges on fans attending matches this festive period.
Gary Lineker has accused the Prime Minister of “laughing” in the faces of all those who have made “sacrifices” throughout the pandemic.
The Match of the Day presenter has expressed his frustration to the growing anger from the public after Boris and his Downing Street staff held parties last year and has since been caught out big time.
In the clip, obtained by ITV, Ms Stratton responds in a playful tone to questions from colleagues pretending to be journalists.
Special adviser to the prime minister, Ed Oldfield, questions her about reports of a party in Downing Street “on Friday night”.
In reply, Stratton responds: “I went home” and then pauses.
After Mr Oldfield follows up to ask if the prime minister would “condone” a Christmas party, Stratton asks: “What’s the answer?”
When another aide jokes that “it wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine”, she laughs and asks “is cheese and wine all right?”, adding: “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”
In response to the clip, No 10 said: “There was no Christmas party. Covid rules have been followed at all times.”
As revealed by the Daily Mirror last week, Johnson gave a speech at a busy leaving do in November 2020, when the UK was in its second lockdown.
He then went to a party at Number 10 in the lead-up to Christmas with London still under tier three restrictions.
Johnson insists neither event breached the Covid restrictions in place at the time however he’s facing growing pressure to resign for attending while so many Brits were unable to see family and friends with the death count rising last Christmas.
Lineker took to Twitter to brand the PM’s actions “unforgivable” and then suggested there is one set of rules for top Conservatives and another for the rest of Britain.
“After all the sacrifices the people of this country have made, they’re (the Tories are) laughing at us. Pretty unforgivable,” he wrote.
Then, replying to a tweet which said Johnson is “satisfied” no rules were broken at either Downing Street party last year, Lineker said: “Which rules, theirs or ours?”
Lineker’s accusations against Johnson come after Gary Neville slammed Boris earlier this week.
In another tweet posted on Wednesday morning, Neville doubled down on his criticism of Johnson, writing: “He should be done!
“He lies constantly to us all. His ministers then lie to us all on his behalf. Here’s what he will do: 1. Ride the storm today and fudge it 2. In the next 2-3 days put a big Covid distraction out there! Work from home! Rule of 6. Don’t fall for it.”
Asked by the BBC about the party, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “I don’t know the detail of what happened.
“I know that the prime minister’s spokesman answered those questions in detail [on Tuesday] and I am sure there will be further discussion of that issue, but my focus has been – as I am sure you can imagine – on foreign policy.”
Pushed on why the public should follow the rules if No 10 does not, she added: “We do follow the rules on Covid.”
Senior Tory Sir Roger Gale said “the buck stops at the top”, and called for Mr Johnson to give definitive answers over what happened when he appears in the Commons at 12:00 GMT.
Dormer chair of the Conservatives, Baroness Warsi, said every employee who was at the Christmas party should resign, “no ifs, no buts”.
UPDATE ON FANS ATTENDING MATCHES
Nothing in the Government’s Plan B limits the playing of sport at either elite or non-elite level.
However, new rules on ‘covid passports’ could put some limits on which fans can attend events. pic.twitter.com/nq03XCFYKR
— Ollie Bayliss (@Ollie_Bayliss) December 8, 2021
Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur could ask the Premier League to postpone their trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday amid a Covid outbreak.
There has been no official communication from the club, however reports on Monday night claimed that as many as six players and two staff members recently tested positive.
Spurs are expected to play Thursday’s Europa Conference League clash with Rennes if no more cases are confirmed, with PCR tests set to be administered on Tuesday to rule out the possibility of false positives.
Premier League clubs are planning to demand supporters show vaccine passports to enter stadiums, starting from this weekend, say the Daily Mail.
All spectators attending matches are expected to show their vaccine certification.
Top-flight clubs discussed the new potential regulations at last Friday’s Premier League shareholder meeting.
It will likely cause chaos for those entering grounds, where they have largely only been spot-checked for vaccine certification in the first four months of the season since stadiums reopened.
Clubs are also expecting backlash from fans, who have been able to attend matches in large numbers without wearing masks or having their vaccine status checked during the season to date – to then suddenly possibly doing all those things and more just as last year’s government party comes to light.
Twitter users have reacted as footie pundits rip into Boris Johnson as an update emerges on fans attending matches…
YES GARY! 👊🏼
People were committing suicide because of the restrictions placed on the UK. People lost their lives. People lost their loved ones. People sacrificed their freedom.
THEY:
– had secret affairs
– had Christmas parties
– mocked us, and continue to do so!!Enough now.
— Maz (@Maz_1910) December 8, 2021
— andrew whittington (@andywhitt2) December 8, 2021
👇 @PhoenixNightsNC pic.twitter.com/6VYLqFXCHW
— Max and Paddy Quotes (@maxandpaddyline) December 8, 2021
@waIeedIfc: Not sure about this one
@JonathanOllie: Box ticking exercise that will easily be passed
@jamieboy712: Ridiculous
@DanMetcalf007: 🤣😂 Well they’ll see a large drop in the gate.
@4ndyferg: So, are they going to refund all of the season ticket costs back to the un vaccinated fans ’cause I’m pretty sure this wasn’t a condition when they sold them…….
@dick_gazinya: Fuck the rules now, our elected leaders don’t follow them so why should we?
@blinklee182: so when they say everyone is inclusive and taking the knee to stop discrimination they create a new form of discrimination, this blows my mind, i hope the fans dont turn up, this should not be supported
@brettgask76: @BorisJohnson @10DowningStreet @sajidjavid @pritipatel @grantshapps you clowns ain’t half going to have some riots on your hands imagining alienating yourselves from the hole country to distract from you party. Go & FOOK yourselves & stick your PLAN B UP YOUR ARSES 🎅🏼 From a 💉💉
@AVFCFaithful_: For some people. This will cause issues. 😳 #avfc
@louis_1404: Anyone with a moral compass should have a problem with it
ConorMcShane12: I’ve been to matches in mainland Europe the past few months and had no problem showing my vaccine cert going into the stadium (and also the Christmas markets in Berlin).
This won’t end well
— Al (@AL__AVFC) December 8, 2021
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