Allegra Stratton is probably the first press spokeswoman to put her boss in trouble with a test recording, which was also a year ago.

On Tuesday, a video was leaked to ITV television channel in which Stratton was trained by employees of the British Prime Minister for the post she was never to take on.

One of them asked her in the style of a journalist whether reports were true that a secret Christmas party had been held in Downing Street.

Stratton laughs and hesitates to answer.

Jochen Buchsteiner

Political correspondent in London.

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The questioner continues: "Would the Prime Minister approve such a Christmas party?"

Stratton wrestles again and then asks back into the room with a grin: "What's the answer?"

One in the hall suggests: "It wasn't a party, just cheese and wine."

Stratton laughs, "Would the wine and cheese be okay?"

Then she replies to the laughter of her practice audience: "It was a working meeting - and there was no distance."

The moody scene in the Downing Street rehearsal room was taped on December 22nd last year.

It would be of no further concern had it not actually been for a meeting four days earlier at the same location, which some today describe as a "Christmas party".

When the first allegations surfaced a week ago that the government had disregarded the lockdown it had imposed, Boris Johnson and his people tried to get the matter out of the way at first vaguely.

Weak defense line

A meeting was neither disputed nor specified - but it was emphasized that all applicable rules were adhered to in any case. The line of defense was weak, but thanks to the Omicron variant and diverted attention, the government seemed to be able to get away with it - until the video surfaced. The recording, which has meanwhile been clicked on by millions of Brits, leaves little doubt that Downing Street was a lascivious awareness of injustice about the event.

This brings up the question once again that opposition leader Keir Starmer likes to put it like this: "Do other laws apply to the Prime Minister than to ordinary people?" In any case, the latter were not even allowed to invite their closest relatives to Christmas last December. Memories are awakened of the legendary lockdown trip of the former Johnson consultant Dominic Cummings to a Scottish observation hotel, which was declared in March 2020 as a "test drive" to test eyesight. Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davies called Johnson and the Downing Street workforce "serial offenders" on Wednesday.

Even before Starmer could launch the attack in the House of Commons on Wednesday, the Prime Minister began making a statement. He himself was "angry about the clip," said Johnson, and apologized for the impression that was created that Downing Street was making fun of corona measures. To clarify what exactly happened in his house on December 18, 2020, he initiated an internal investigation. He was assured that no corona rules had been broken, but should other "facts" come to light, he would take "disciplinary measures".

Starmer, a career lawyer, neatly exposed the contradictions in the statement, but his probably most powerful attack was principled: “Her Majesty the Queen was alone when your husband, to whom she was married for 73 years, was buried.

Leadership, sacrifice - this is what gives leaders the moral authority to lead.

Does the Prime Minister believe he has the moral authority to lead the British people and call them to obey the rules? ”