Don’t argue with in-laws, UK PM gives upbeat Christmas message

LONDON: Buoyed by a landslide win the December 12 election, Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday struck an optimistic note in his Christmas message, ending with an appeal: “Try not to have too many arguments with the in-laws, or anyone else”.

Johnson’s Christmas message did not mention politics or Brexit, but Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn rued defeat in the elections. Labour is expected to elect its new leader in early 2020. Johnson, however, used the message to dwell on the persecution of Christians in various countries, recently highlighted by a report by the Bishop of Truro for the Foreign Office.

“As Prime Minister, that’s something I want to change. We stand with Christians everywhere, in solidarity, and will defend your right to practice your faith... let us reflect on the year, and celebrate the good that is to come”.

2019 WAS A BUMPY YEAR, BRITAIN'S QUEEN SAYS

Queen Elizabeth II described 2019 as “quite bumpy” in Christmas Day message at the end of a chaotic year which saw Britain bitterly divided over its split from the EU and her scandal-plagued son Prince Andrew withdraw from public life.

The 93-year-old monarch’s address came as her husband Philip was in hospital with an undisclosed illness.

The royal family was swept up in scandals that included a calamitous BBC interview in which the queen’s second son Andrew tried to distance himself from American paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Royal commentators noted the queen’s use of the word “bumpy”, compared to her headline-grabbing description of 1992 as an “annus horribilis”, when the marriages of three of her children fell apart and the Windsor Castle nearly went up in flames.