London, January 11 (RHC)-- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under renewed pressure after an e-mail was leaked inviting staff to bring drinks to a party during the country’s first lockdown.  The e-mail was sent in May 2020, when UK residents were told they could only meet one other person from outside their household, outside, and at a two-metre distance.  

In a message leaked to ITV News, an aide to Prime Minister Boris Johnson invited just more than 100 people working in 10 Downing Street to “socially distanced drinks” in the garden.  “Please join us at 6 pm and bring our own booze!”   About 30 to 40 people reportedly accepted the invitation.

Revelations about previous gatherings by government officials in contravention of their own rules have sparked widespread public anger. Johnson’s government has denied breaking COVID-19 protocols.

The UK’s death toll from COVID-19 has now surpassed 150,000, and the Omicron wave is fuelling a new wave of admissions to hospitals.