Scandal in sight for Boris Johnson.

Under fire from critics, the British Prime Minister apologized on Wednesday and announced an internal investigation after a video was released significantly reinforcing suspicions of the Christmas party last year in Downing Street, amid anti-Covid restrictions .

Watched by millions, the video sparked outrage in the UK, where the government has repeatedly denied press reports that a party bringing together dozens was held on December 18, 2020.

Boris Johnson "furious"

Boris Johnson, who said he was "furious" after the broadcast of the video, reaffirmed that he had "been assured several times" since the start of this affair that "there had been no party And that "no rules" had been broken. While some opposition MPs demanded his resignation, he announced an internal investigation and promised "consequences" for those who did not follow the rules.

This investigation will be carried out by the highest British civil servant, Simon Case, specified the spokesman of Boris Johnson, saying that his conclusions were awaited "as quickly as possible".

Video released by ITV shows its then publicist Allegra Stratton, along with colleagues, preparing answers to hypothetical questions from journalists on December 22 about a Christmas party in Downing Street four days earlier.

Resignation and tears of the spokesperson

Allegra Stratton, who was the government spokesperson for COP26, resigned Wednesday, in tears, saying she would regret "all (her) life these words".

In the video, a colleague asks him: "We saw tweets that there was a Christmas party on Friday night, do you confirm this information?

"Stratton laughs" I'm back home "before kicking in touch.

A colleague then suggests that "it was not a party, but an (evening) of cheese and wine", before adding "No, I'm joking".

Allegra Stratton then evokes "a business meeting" and adds jokingly "This imaginary party was a business meeting and there was no social distancing".

Anger all over the country

When many Britons were deprived last year of the opportunity to see their loved ones at Christmas, this "Christmas party" would have brought together about forty people. "I understand the anger across the country to see the staff at 10 (Downing Street) seem to take the restrictions lightly, I understand how infuriating it must be to think that the people who set the rules don't have them respected ”, conceded the Prime Minister during the weekly session of questions to the Parliament.

"I wholeheartedly apologize for the offense that (this video) has caused across the country and I apologize for the impression it gives," he added.

Most British dailies headlined Wednesday on this case which undermines the government, already implicated in the past for other violations of anti-Covid restrictions.

According to a SavantaComRes poll, 54% of those polled believe Boris Johnson should resign.

The situation sparked the ire of the opposition, with Labor Party leader Keir Starmer denouncing "shameful" behavior.

" Caught red-handed "

"The Prime Minister spent the week telling the public that there had been no party", he declared in front of the Parliament, and he is now "taken hand in the bag".

“Millions of people now think he took them for idiots,” he added.

Even within the Conservative Party, anger is brewing.

For the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, Douglas Ross, the executive must say "why it was authorized when it was totally against the directives".

London police are also looking into the matter, reviewing the video in connection with "alleged violations" of anti-Covid rules.

These revelations embarrass the government all the more because it could, according to several media, announce a tightening of the restrictions to fight against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.

The United Kingdom, one of the countries in Europe most affected by the pandemic with 145,800 dead, now has more than 45,000 daily contaminations.

One hundred and fifteen new cases of the Omicron variant were reported on Wednesday.

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