Labour Accuses BoJo of Preparing for Farewell Party ‘While Britain Boils’ as PM Skips COBRA Meetings

© AFP 2023 / CARLOS JASSOBritain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks to a waiting car as he leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on July 13, 2022 to head to the Houses of Parliament for the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson walks to a waiting car as he leaves from 10 Downing Street in central London on July 13, 2022 to head to the Houses of Parliament for the weekly Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) session - Sputnik International, 1920, 17.07.2022
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Boris Johnson's farewell festivities come amid the ongoing Tory leadership race, with five candidates, among them former Chancellor Rishi Sunak and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, still in the running.
Outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to hold a lavish farewell party at the prime minister's country estate on Sunday, Sky News has cited an unnamed Tory source as saying.

“The invitation comes from Mr. and Mrs. Johnson. It is their farewell bash at Chequers this weekend. Partners and children are all invited,” the source said.

Chequers, which has been the official country residence of British prime ministers since 1921, has an indoor swimming pool and at least 1,000 acres of land. The mansion reportedly features 10 bedrooms and boasts a vast art collection, with 190 pieces dating from the early 16th century.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits the Francis Crick Institute in London, Monday, July 11, 2022 - Sputnik International, 1920, 11.07.2022
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A No 10 spokesperson did not deny information about Johnson hosting the goodbye party, saying, “as this is not relevant to government business there is nothing to add”.
The spokesperson added that the leaving do was a “private event with no taxpayers' money being spent”, declining to elaborate on who had been invited to the party.
The remarks followed Johnson skipping emergency COBRA meetings on the record­-breaking heatwave, which is expected in southern England over the next few days. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) earlier increased its heat health warning to level 4, which constitutes a “national emergency” amid forecasts of temperatures hitting 38.7C (101.7F) on Monday and Tuesday.
Labour's deputy leader Angela Rayner was quick to accuse Johnson of going "missing in action again" as he "prepares to party while Britain boils". She berated BoJo for being “back to his old tricks of skipping important COBRA meetings,” in an apparent nod to the PM missing five Cobra meetings while the UK government sleepwalked into the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago.

“Where's the plan for the delivery of essential services and how people will be kept safe at work, on transport, in schools, hospitals and care homes? The public will have no confidence in this zombie Conservative government responding swiftly and decisively to this national emergency as this disgraced prime minister prepares to party while Britain boils. If he still can't take the responsibility of the job, he should leave right now,” Rayner told reporters.

Johnson’s “farewell bash” is coming as the five remaining contestants in the Conservative leadership race are bracing for the second televised debates slated for later on Sunday. Eight candidates officially declared their leadership bids following Johnson’s resignation on July 7, but only five remained in the running after two rounds of voting.
They include former Chancellor Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Trade Minister Penny Mordaunt, Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch and Foreign Affairs Committee chair Tom Tugendhat.
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