Carrie ‘broke lockdown to have pal stay’
PM and wife deny Xmas rule breach
DOWNING Street is facing questions about whether Boris Johnson and wife Carrie broke lockdown rules last Christmas.
Her best friend, Nimco Ali, reportedly joined them at No10 for the festive period even though there were tough social distancing restrictions in London amid a huge surge in Covid cases.
No10 and Carrie’s spokeswoman deny rules were broken.
The allegations first appeared in the US in Harper’s Magazine which claimed Ali, who is godmother to the Johnsons’ 17-month-old son Wilfred, “spent Christmas with the couple at No10 despite pandemic restrictions on holiday gatherings”.
The article was by Lara Prendergast, executive editor of The Spectator magazine, which the PM edited before entering politics.
A No10 spokesman said last night: “The Prime Minister and Mrs Johnson have followed coronavirus rules at all times. It is untrue to suggest otherwise.”
Carrie’s spokeswoman issued an almost identical comment. But neither responded to a specific question about whether political campaigner Ali spent Christmas with the pair.
The PM’s official spokeswoman is set to be quizzed this morning about the Johnsons’ arrangements last Christmas.
Under the curbs the PM imposed a week before, the planned relaxation of Covid rules for the festive season was scrapped for much of England, and cut to just Christmas Day. Social mixing was reduced to meeting one person in an open public space, unless people lived together or were in a support bubble.
Last October, Ali was handed a job as a Home Office adviser on tackling violence against women and girls. The key position, said to be worth £350 per day, was not advertised.