Boris Johnson rocked by bombshell video as Health Secretary reappears

Britain’s Health Secretary has reappeared after he was notably from broadcasts on the same day a bombshell video leaked.

Britain’s Health Secretary has reappeared after he was notably missing from TV screens on the same day Boris Johnson’s top aide resigned over a bombshell leaked video which showed Downing Street staff joking about holding a Christmas party during Covid-19 lockdowns last year.

The British Prime Minister’s announcement on Wednesday evening of new “Plan B” measures to contain a rise in cases of the Omicron variant coincided with a PR firestorm enveloping his government, after a chaotic day that saw senior ministers humiliatingly pull out of TV interviews to avoid answering questions over the scandal.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid was among those who avoided the press, fronting interviews the next morning only to claim he did not appear because he was “upset” by the footage.

“I didn’t appear because I saw that video … it upset me, it upset a lot of people across the country, it upset the Prime Minister,” he told UK’s Sky News.

Asked whether he “refused” to appear, he said, “I spoke to my colleagues … and we actually agreed it’s best to have some time to respond to the video.”

He echoed those comments when appearing on Good Morning Britain, saying he was “pleased to be here now but the honest truth is I was very upset and angry”.

Mr Javid faced intense criticism over the government’s response to the video and its reaction to growing Covid-19 concerns.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer earlier said Mr Johnson had lost the “moral authority” to impose restrictions after the damning video, which has sparked public fury once again at perceived hypocrisy of Tory government figures flouting their own rules.

Johnson has announced an internal probe into the claims after a week of repeated denials that the party took place, and insisted he was told it did not breach the guidelines.

Broadcaster ITV released the bombshell footage on Tuesday night showing Allegra Stratton during a mock press conference on December 20, 2020, laughing about holding a Christmas party at Number 10 four days earlier.

The release of the video came after a week of controversy surrounding the alleged rule-breaking gathering, held while London was under tier three restrictions when such gatherings were banned, which the government had insisted did not happen.

In the rehearsal press briefing, Ed Oldfield, an adviser to Mr Johnson, says to Ms Stratton, “I’ve just seen reports on Twitter that there was a Downing Street Christmas party on Friday night, do you recognise those reports?”

“I went home,” she replies, before laughing and saying “hold on” as she considers her answer. “Umm, errr, ahhhh,” she says as she thinks for a long time.

Mr Oldfield asks, “Would the Prime Minister condone having a Christmas party?”

Ms Stratton laughs before asking, “What’s the answer?”

Staff then suggest it “wasn’t a party, it was cheese and wine”.

“It was a business meeting,” Ms Stratton says. “This fictional party was a business meeting and it was not socially distanced.”

The video has sparked outrage in the UK. Picture: ITV News

Allegra Stratton has tearfully resigned over the video. Picture: ITV News

At the time of the alleged party, in-person business meetings were allowed but only when strictly necessary, and had limits on numbers.

Days later tier four restrictions were introduced, cancelling Christmas for millions.

Mr Johnson told parliament on Wednesday he was “sickened and furious” about the video and apologised “unreservedly for the offence that it has caused up and down the country and I apologise for the impression that it gives”.

But he continued to insist that “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken”.

He said an investigation had been launched and “if those rules were broken then there will be disciplinary action for all those involved”.

The Metropolitan Police, however, announced it would not “commence an investigation at this time” in line with Scotland Yard’s “policy not to investigate retrospective breaches” of Covid-19 rules.

Mr Starmer slammed the government, saying Britons had “followed the rules even when that meant being separated from their families, locked down and, tragically for many, unable to say goodbye to their loved ones”.

“They had a right to expect that the government was doing the same,” he said.

“To lie and to laugh about those lies is shameful. The Prime Minister now needs to come clean, and apologise. It cannot be one rule for the Conservatives and another for everyone else.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson leaves Downing Street. Picture: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

The UK has reintroduced ‘Plan B’ coronavirus restrictions. Picture: Daniel Leal/AFP

Mr Starmer raised the example of the Queen, who was forced to sit alone at her husband’s funeral due to coronavirus rules.

“Leadership, sacrifice – that’s what gives leaders the moral authority to lead,” he said.

“Does the Prime Minister think he has the moral authority to lead and to ask the British people to stick to the rules?”

In an emotional speech on Wednesday announcing her resignation, Ms Stratton apologised to the British public.

“The British people have made immense sacrifices in the ongoing battle against Covid-19,” she said.

“I now fear that my comments in the leaked video of the 20th of December last year have become a distraction in that fight. My remarks seemed to make light of the rules, rules that people were doing everything to obey. That was never my intention. I will regret those remarks for the rest of my days and I offer my profound apologies to all of you at home for them.”

Ms Stratton said she understood “the anger and frustration people feel”.

“To all of you who lost loved ones, who endured intolerable loneliness, and who struggled with your businesses, I am truly sorry,” she said.

Responding to Ms Stratton’s resignation, Mr Johnson said, “I don’t just take responsibility for things that happen in this building, I take responsibility for everything that happens in this government.”

It came as Dominic Cummings, a former top aide to Mr Johnson who was also embroiled in his own controversy after breaching lockdown in March last year, alleged there had been more Downing Street parties.

The rogue adviser claimed on Twitter that there had been a party at Number 10 on the evening of November 13 last year, hours after he was sacked by Mr Johnson over claims he had briefed the media against the PM’s then fiancee Carrie Symonds.

In another tweet, Mr Cummings suggested “regime change is coming”.

Last year Professor Neil Ferguson, whose advice led to Mr Johnson plunging the UK into lockdown, was forced to resign his government advisory position in disgrace after being caught breaking social distancing rules to meet his married lover.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock stepped down in June this year over a similar scandal.