Public mourning care home residents attack Boris Johnson for partying in lockdown

Families and friends of people who died in care homes have expressed their anger at Prime Minister Boris Johnson for allowing parties to take place at Downing Street, while the country was in lockdown.

The Prime Minister, who was born on 19 June, has been attacked for breaching Covid rules by celebrating his own birthday party in June 2020 with up to 30 people, despite the government forbidding social gatherings indoors at the time.

'Hope you enjoyed your cake'

A neighbour of a care home resident who was unable to celebrate her 84th birthday with friends and family, posted on Twitter (@ohchrissavidge) his disgust by addressing the PM directly to say: ‘Hello @BorisJohnson

'Our lovely neighbour Julia would have been 84 in April 2020.

‘Covid precautions and your laws meant we couldn’t visit her to celebrate her Birthday, or later when she was sick or then when she died in a care home.

‘Or for her funeral. Hope you enjoyed your cake.’

'My beloved grandma died alone'

Jo Goodman, co-founder of Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK tweeted: "Like thousands, I remember June 19th vividly. It was the day before what would have been my Dad’s 73rd birthday, shortly after he had passed away. But we stuck to the rule, not even being able to hug to comfort each other."

A relative of a care home resident (Northernlurker1 ) tweeted on 19 January: ‘Tomorrow will be a year since my beloved grandma died alone.

'Went into hospital at the end of Nov and we never saw her again as she wasn’t deemed EOL [end of life]. She was 98.

'We kept the rules'

'After 364 days my heart remains broken. We should have forced our way in but we kept the rules.

‘She lived for 2 months in hospital and care home, us forbidden to see her. The night before her daughters were to visit she died. Alone.’

Mr Johnson’s birthday party is one of several parties at Downing Street being investigated by the police and the subject of a much-anticipated report by Sue Gray.

A Downing Street Christmas party on 18 December, two more are reported to have been held the night before the funeral of the Queen's husband Prince Philip.

Mr Johnson was photographed in the No 10. garden with about 20 other people, some wine and pizza on 15 May 2020. He has admitted he attended the party but claimed that he thought it was a work event.

Retired NHS dementia ward manager Jenny Davies tweeted: ‘I wasn’t “allowed” to see my hubby in his nursing home for a full 6 months at one point.

'Asked at Christmas. Denied. Asked at his birthday. Denied. Not even “allowed” to look through the window’.

During lockdown, £100 fixed penalty notices were issued by police to the public for breaching lockdown rules with organisers of parties fined as much as £10,000.

PM told 7 year old 'We have all got to do our bit'

A little girl called Josephine, who turned seven in 2020, wrote to Mr Johnson to tell him ’I want to let you know it is my birthday today but I am staying at home because you asked us to'.

In a handwritten letter to the child in March 2020, the Prime Minister told Josephine she was right to cancel her birthday party during lockdown. Mr Johnson wrote: ‘I’m sorry to hear about your party. We have all got to do our bit to protect the NHS and save lives. You are setting a great example’.

During PMQs in Westminster on 26 January, Mr Johnson was criticised by Labour leader Keir Starmer for failing to show leadership to the country by breaching his own lockdown rules.

Keir Starmer reminded Mr Johnson of statements he had made in the Commons last December in which he said "all guidance was followed completely in No 10” and he had been “repeatedly assured” there were no parties.

Mr Starmer said this was untrue and asked the PM: “Since he acknowledges the ministerial code applies to him, will he now resign?”