‘Frivolous, vengeful, partisan’: PM blasts BBC over ‘Partygate’

BORIS Johnson has condemned the BBC as ‘shamefully frivolous, vengeful and partisan’ over its coverage of the No10 ‘Partygate’ row.

The embattled Prime Minister believes that it has neglected its ‘primary duty’ of publicising a need for booster jabs to combat the new Omicron coronavirus variant.

Mr Johnson – who is facing a Commons revolt, a crunch byelection and rumours of a vote of no confidence in his leadership – angrily told friends that the BBC’s exhaustive coverage of the party scandal has ‘wasted’ too much ‘public time and attention’ instead of urging the public to get their jabs now.

Ministers have been rattled by data which shows people who had two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine several months ago have almost no protection against Omicron, but are encouraged that a booster takes protection above 70 per cent.

The analysis has triggered intense debate within Government over how the booster campaign can be accelerated to avoid fresh Covid restrictions.

In a separate move, Ministers are expected to scrap the controversial ‘traffic light’ system for travellers to the UK, meaning those arriving from ‘red list’ countries no longer have to quarantine for ten days.

The move comes in response to the speed at which Omicron is spreading and the expectation that there will soon be limited differences in infection rates between countries.

Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has launched an investigation into the alleged Downing Street party as well as another reported gathering on November 27 and an event at the Department for Education on December 10. He is expected to report back within days.

The story led BBC bulletins and dominated Radio 4’s Today Programme, with much of the coverage led by outgoing Political Editor Laura Kuenssberg.

Ms Kuenssberg incensed No10 last month by quoting a Downing Street source as saying that there was ‘a lot of concern inside the building about the PM’.

Mr Johnson is facing a rebellion by more than 50 Conservative MPs on Tuesday when the Commons votes on new Plan B Covid restrictions.

Amid a tidal wave of sleaze allegations, Tory chiefs fear they could lose the North Shropshire by-election two days later.

Meanwhile, a growing number of Tory rebels are discussing sending letters to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the backbench 1922 committee, calling for a leadership contest.

And an opinion poll for Opinium

‘It has wasted public time and attention’

‘Never been more important for boost’

last night gave Labour a lead of nine points, their biggest the company has reported since March 2014. The poll puts Labour on 41 per cent and the Tories on 32.

In other developments: lScientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the UK is facing a substantial wave of Omicron infections in January, with an estimated 25,000 to 75,000 dying from the variant by April. lNew cases of Omicron rose by half yesterday – from 448 to 663 – taking the total to 1,898, with the variant now predicted to be the dominant form of the virus in England by the end of the year; lDowning Street is resisting a ‘grinch’ push by Michael Gove for tougher measures such as ‘pub passports’; lA study found that working from home is having a detrimental impact on family life as parents struggle to balance childcare and jobs.

Dr Emily Lawson, head of the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme, said: ‘With the emergence of the new variant and the rising case numbers, there has never been a more important time to get boosted. So when it is your turn, book in.’

A BBC spokesman declined to comment last night.