Boris Johnson doesn’t have the ‘moral authority’ to lead the UK says ‘disgusted’ Mark Drakeford
The First Minister has said that he reacted with a combination of “despair and disgust” to the revelation that Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a birthday party at No 10 Downing Street during the first national lockdown.
Mark Drakeford said that Boris Johnson did not “have the moral authority to lead the United Kingdom” when he was breaking the rules at a time when people were not allowed to gather for funerals.
According to Number 10 Downing Street: “A group of staff working in Number 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than 10 minutes.”
At the time of the party, social gatherings indoors were still forbidden under the government’s own coronavirus rules.
Asked on Radio 4 Today what he thought of the latest revelation in the saga dubbed ‘partygate’, Mark Drakeford said: “I just reacted with a combination of despair and disgust, really.
“Despair that this is where our country has ended up after this awful experience, and disgust at the things that went on in Downing Street. And at the way the Tories turn out people to try and justify if.
“‘It was only a party.’ Well, only two people were meant to meet indoors, you know? ‘It only lasted ten minutes.’ Well, you weren’t supposed to meet for ten seconds.
“Among the hardest letters I’ve had to read throughout the entire pandemic has been from people saying they’ve had to attend a funeral where only eight people were able to be there. Where it didn’t last ten minutes. Where you weren’t able to sing.
“You know, in Wales, a funeral without being able to sing is a really difficult experience. And yet those people stuck to the rules. It was hard but they did it.”
Asked what he thought of Boris Johnson as a person, Mark Drakeford said that he should go.
“I just don’t think that the Prime Minister has the moral authority to lead a country like the United Kingdom,” he said.
“That’s what all this exposes for me. You cannot be someone who asks other people to do things – difficult, upsetting things – that you are so patently unwilling to do yourself.”
The latest revelations of Downing Street parties came at the beginning of the week in which senior civil servant Sue Gray is expected to publish her report into the allegations.
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The UK is finished just concentrate on Wales and the welsh people in wales that’s your first priority it’s time for a new wales 🏴
I’m very wary of perpetuating conspiracy theories about covid, the situation is bad enough. However, leaks in politics are, pretty much without exception, always managed, mediated and timed to either maximise or minimise impact. The tories exist to represent business, finance, the ruling classes. This is why they wanted to pursue the reckless “herd immunity” strategy, ie the strategy that involved the least economic shutdown. They were extremely slow and reluctant to take effective action against covid. When Cummings’ day trip to Barnard castle was leaked, it marked a turning point in public attitude towards the restrictions, from a broad… Read more »
“Despair that this is where our country has ended up”….er our country (Wales) is doing just fine Mark….and we’ll be doing even better when we are out of this rotten unequal union.
Not our country Mark, THEIR COUNTRY. We aren’t the same and never were.
Grant Shapps this morning claimed that drinking wine, singing songs and eating birthday cake was not a party but a “work gathering”.
Nobody asked him why Lulu Lytle was in the cabinet rooms for this work gathering, whether she had DV security clearance to even be there or whether three week old Wilf was there.
NB; Johnson has started to claim they met indoors and went out into the garden. It rained in London that day.
Much as it helps let off steam and frustration we need to turn away from all this complaining about “that man’s behaviour and lack of principles” We will never be able to moan our way out of this rotten Union even as it becomes more and more flaky.
We need to get serious and start building our way out, spend more time planning and creating the foundations for some stability in that immediate post independence period. If we don’t we’ll have chaos and another bunch of unpalatable types will hijack us.
When then PM Theresa May used those words “coalition of chaos” as an attack towards the possibility of Labour seeking a coalition talks with the SNP and other parties to oust her government today rings ironic seeing the absolute Unionist farce occurring under the worst PM & English/UK Government in British history. From Conservative cack-handed Brexit vote based on lies & hatred of immigrants. Their undemocratic attacks on Scottish & Welsh devolution. Through to their rule breaking partying at No 10 as hundreds died daily of Covid in hospitals throughout Britain without their families being there at their sides due… Read more »
The Crown Estate in Scotland makes around 6 million a year profit. And has probably cost more to devolve.
When is Mark Drakeford going to realise they are all the same? Immoral corruption runs deep in Westminster – Wales is better off out of it and independent.