Boris Johnson hosted Downing Street Christmas quiz on Zoom last year before ‘No10 staff were told to leave by back door’
STAFF who took part in the Downing Street Christmas quiz hosted by Boris Johnson on Zoom were allegedly told to leave by the back door.
The PM has been accused of personally breaking Covid laws by hosting the virtual quiz in No10 for staff in the policy unit and press office last Christmas.
Mr Johnson was pictured on screen as he read out questions to colleagues on December 15, 2020.
A No10 spokesman said of the revelations: “This was a virtual quiz.
"Downing Street staff were often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response so those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks.
“The Prime Minister briefly took part virtually in a quiz to thank staff for their hard work throughout the year.”
It also told staff not to come in for the quiz if they weren’t due to work that day.
It read: “Teams in the office should ensure that they arrange themselves behind the Perspex screens.
“All staff will be required to leave the office immediately after the end of the quiz."
But sources told the paper staff had allegedly stayed on for two hours or so drinking and chatting.
No10’s head of HR is said to have told staff taking part in the quiz to leave through the rear exit.
'GO OUT THE BACK'
At 9.39pm on December 15, the official is understood to have sent a message to the chat group being used for the quiz, saying: “Go out the back.”
The prize for the winning teams are said to have included bottles of “whatever was lying around the office,” while the prize for last place was a bottle of Sanctuary body wash.
Names used by the teams are said to have included "Professor Quiz Whitty", "Next Slide Please", "We've Been Clear”, “The 6 Masketeers” and "Hands, Face, First Place" - referring to the slogan used to encourage social distancing and mask wearing.
Mr Johnson last week said he was “sickened and furious” to see footage of Downing Street staff making jokes about lockdown rules.
The fresh allegation follows reports of multiple Christmas parties having happened in and around Downing Street during the festive season last year.
“We all just went ahead and did it."
They added: “We felt like we were working extremely hard and working a lot of hours. Looking back, I accept we shouldn’t have done that.”
Halfway through the event, the PM surprised staff by turning up on screen as quizmaster for one round lasting between 10 and 15 minutes.
MERRY QUIZMAS
It comes as Downing Street WON'T hold a Christmas party this year because No10 wants to "focus on tackling Omicron".
Festive celebrations are still allowed to take place this year, but No10 officials will be focusing on the "intensive work" needed to beat the mutant virus instead.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: "As the Prime Minister said Christmas parties can continue to go ahead under Plan B.
"Everyone should continue to behave cautiously and we recommend people take lateral flow tests before meeting others socially in high-risk settings, but it is up to individual businesses and people to decide what works for them.
"No10 is focused on tackling the rise of the new omicron variant and the ongoing pandemic, and there are therefore no plans for a party while this intensive work is ongoing."
Boris Johnson has also been accused of flouting three Covid lockdown rules in a late-night dinner date with wife Carrie last year.
A source has told how the pair were at a fashionable London restaurant until 10.25pm — despite the curfew imposing 10pm closing.
At the time, venues in the capital were subject to strict rules which also required diners to wear masks when moving around in restaurants and a ban on different households mixing at tables.
But he is said to have breached those curbs too.
The PM and his wife enjoyed the night out on October 21 last year at Darby’s restaurant, a mile and a half from Downing Street.
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Meanwhile, the Met police said they WON'T be probing the Downing Street Christmas Party which allegedly happened last year.
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