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Birds of a feather flock together:

Carrie Johnson pictured breaking Covid rules hugging friend at West End club

Carrie Johnson with her friend, Anna Pinder

Carrie Johnson with her friend, Anna Pinder

Carrie Johnson, the Prime Minister's wife, was photographed breaking Covid-19 social distancing rules days after the public was warned that it was "critical" to follow the guidance, The Telegraph can disclose.

Despite Boris Johnson's warning that "you should keep your distance from anyone you don't live with", Mrs Johnson, 33, was pictured embracing a close friend while the pair celebrated the friend's engagement at a private members' club in London's West End.

The pair seemingly shared a joke as they posed for the camera while sitting next to each other on a sofa on the club's outdoor roof terrace. 

Mrs Johnson appeared to have her arm around the friend, Anna Pinder, and one of her legs draped over her leg. Ms Pinder's hands were clasped together in her lap.

The embrace, seemingly initiated by Mrs Johnson, stands in stark contrast to the isolation rules members of the public rigidly stuck to.

People have been angered by allegations of parties being held at Number 10 despite coronavirus restrictions, including a young woman who abided by guidance which prevented her from hugging her grandmother at her mother's funeral.

At the time, in September 2020, ministers had warned that Britain was facing a second wave of infections. The law prevented people from gathering in groups of more than six, other than for education, work, weddings and funerals. 

But the Prime Minister, together with senior ministers and health officials, stressed that adhering to separate social distancing guidance was key to slowing the spread of Covid-19 and avoiding a second national lockdown. 

The guidance included remaining two metres apart from those in other households where possible, or one metre with extra precautions in place, such as meeting outdoors.

A spokesman for Mrs Johnson said on Saturday: "Mrs Johnson was one of a group of six seated outside celebrating a friend’s engagement. Mrs Johnson regrets the momentary lapse in judgment in briefly hugging her friend for a photograph."

The disclosure of Mrs Johnson breaking social distancing guidance emerges as the Prime Minister awaits the outcome of the inquiry by Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, into a series of apparently illicit parties held by staff at No 10.

The disclosures have rocked the Government and left MPs facing a barrage of emails and letters from constituents furious that many in No 10 appeared to have routinely broken rules that Mr Johnson himself urged the public to follow.

Downing Street has also apologised to Buckingham Palace over two "deeply regrettable" parties held on the eve of Prince Philip's funeral.

Mrs Johnson has previously been dragged into claims of a culture in No 10 in which Covid-19 rules were ignored or overlooked. Her spokesman's statement is the first time she has admitted breaking any rules.

Last month, a photograph emerged showing Mrs Johnson sitting at a table with the Prime Minister, Martin Reynolds, his principal private secretary, and Dominic Cummings, Mr Johnson's then senior adviser, in the Downing Street garden, with wine and cheese. No 10 said a "work meeting" was taking place.

The Prime Minister's wife was also said to have attended the May 2020 gathering in the Downing Street garden that was also attended by Mr Johnson and forms the centre of Ms Gray's inquiry. 

Sources have reportedly claimed that she was drinking with Henry Newman, a senior aide to the Prime Minister and a close friend of Mrs Johnson. No 10 has declined to comment on the claim, saying the nature of the party and who attended are being examined by Ms Gray.

It has also been claimed that Mrs Johnson, who is head of communications at a wildlife charity, hosted a party in the flat above No 11 Downing Street that she shared with the Prime Minister and their two young children. That allegation has been described by Mr Johnson's spokesman as "total nonsense".

Mrs Johnson, a former communications director of the Conservative Party, is said to advise the Prime Minister on an informal basis on issues ranging from animal welfare to the appointment of advisers and ministers. However, No 10 has said claims that she has played a central role were "incorrect". She has her own adviser funded by the Conservative Party.

Mrs Johnson attended an engagement celebration for Ms Pinder, a friend from their time at Godolphin and Latymer, a private school in West London, on September 17 2020 at The Conduit, a private members' club in Covent Garden.

Ms Pinder, a trained chef who co-wrote a recipe book, posted that the pair were celebrating, days after she became engaged. 

Last year, she was pictured leaving through the front door of No 10 having been one of 30 guests at a party in the Downing Street garden to celebrate Mrs Johnson's marriage to the Prime Minister earlier that day.

People told to 'limit social contact'

Three days before Ms Pinder posted the photograph with Mrs Johnson on her Instagram account, the Prime Minister tightened Covid-19 restrictions in response to the rising transmission of Covid-19.

A statement issued by the Government on September 9, when the new rules were announced, warned: "This is not the time for complacency; we have seen big increases in the spread of the virus in Europe and other countries."

The statement said it was "critical that everybody observes the following key behaviours".

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on September 9, Mr Johnson said: "If we are to beat the virus then everyone, at all times, should limit social contact as much as possible and minimise interactions with other households.

"It is safer to meet outdoors and you should keep your distance from anyone you don't live with, even if they are close friends or family.

“By bearing down on social contact and improving enforcement, we can keep schools and businesses open."

On September 7, Matt Hancock, then the health secretary, warned that the recent increase in transmission was "among more affluent younger people".

Mr Hancock later quit his post after leaked images showed the MP in a clinch with an aide in his ministerial office. 

He was accused of breaching social distancing guidance and said: "We owe it to people who have sacrificed so much in this pandemic to be honest when we have let them down as I have done by breaching the guidance."

Carrie Johnson pictured breaking Covid rules hugging friend at West End club (msn.com)

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  • 2 weeks later...

True that mainstream media just started covering a little bit about this shambolic Brexit-caused disaster, but it is not enough - yeah, let's show an entitled spoiled brat of a singer crying on camera instead, because that's surely more important to people... Lorry drivers waiting DAYS to get the heck through due to paperwork. 

 

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When they have no ammunition left, they resort to personal jabs of course - Bozo is in no position himself to suggest weight issue on anyone as a cheap comeback, but good on Blackford for once again asking such despicable human being to go:

 

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As if the poverty line wasn't high enough as it is, more jolly good dreading news from the Tory infested isles, with the utterly appalling major tax increase on our hard earned income. Squeezing us to death:

Middle income earners ‘to be hit hardest’ by national insurance rise

Photograph: WPA/Getty Images

Earners of £100,000 a year could end up paying proportionately less in national insurance than those on middle incomes if a planned increase goes through in April, it has emerged.

Figures produced by the Tax Calculator UK website show those earning £100,000 a year will pay just 7% of their overall salary in national insurance contributions (NICs) – the same proportion of their income as someone on £20,000 a year.

 

The prime minister and the Treasury have come under intense pressure to scrap or at least postpone the £12bn increase in NICs – introduced to cover the shortfall in social care funding – as the cost of living crisis continues to escalate.

While the Treasury has repeatedly claimed the increase is “progressive”, figures published on Friday by the online tax calculator show that workers earning between £30,000 and £50,000 will be the hardest hit by far.

It calculates that someone earning £50,000 a year will pay £5,086 a year in NICs alone after April – a £505 increase – amounting to 10% of their gross salary.

While someone earning £100,000 a year is set to pay the highest national insurance bill – £7,008 a year (an increase of £1,130), the proportion of their pre-tax income paid in NICs will be just 7%. Those on £30,000 a year will pay 9% of their gross salary in NICs.

“The increase in national insurance will have a huge effect on workers’ earnings in 2022, especially given soaring energy bills and the fact that inflation is at its highest point in 30 years,” said a spokesperson from Tax Calculator UK.

“This data gives us a compelling insight into the fact that lower and average earners will be significantly more squeezed by the NICs hike than those at the very top.

“People earning some of the highest salaries in the country are set to pay the same percentage of their salary as a person on £20,000, despite earning five times as much.”

From April, NICs are set to be charged at 13.5% on most earnings up to £50,000 but at just 2% on income above that threshold.

The figures will be seized upon by Labour, which has called for a fairer, more progressive way to fund social care. The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told the BBC on Friday morning that this was the “wrong tax at the wrong time” and described it as a tax on “ordinary working people and on jobs”.

The increase in NICs was announced by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in last autumn’s budget and will hit wage packets on 6 April, at the same time as a four-year freeze on income tax thresholds.

Related: Boris Johnson ‘fully committed’ to national insurance rise

The combination will leave the average household £600 a year worse off in 2022-23, the equivalent of 1.4% of their disposable income, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank.

Business groups are also furious at rising bills for employers. On Friday the Institute of Directors joined calls from other business leaders to scrap the tax rise.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “It is not true to say that high earners are least affected by the health and social care levy. Everyone with earnings above the primary threshold will pay a flat 1.25% on their income.

“Over half the revenue from the health and social care levy will come from the wealthiest 15% of the population, while over 6 million people on lower incomes will be completely exempt.”

“This data gives us a compelling insight into the fact that lower and average earners will be significantly more squeezed by the NICs hike than those at the very top.

“People earning some of the highest salaries in the country are set to pay the same percentage of their salary as a person on £20,000, despite earning five times as much.”

From April, NICs are set to be charged at 13.5% on most earnings up to £50,000 but at just 2% on income above that threshold.

The figures will be seized upon by Labour, which has called for a fairer, more progressive way to fund social care. The shadow chancellor, Rachel Reeves, told the BBC on Friday morning that this was the “wrong tax at the wrong time” and described it as a tax on “ordinary working people and on jobs”.

The increase in NICs was announced by the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, in last autumn’s budget and will hit wage packets on 6 April, at the same time as a four-year freeze on income tax thresholds.

Related: Boris Johnson ‘fully committed’ to national insurance rise

The combination will leave the average household £600 a year worse off in 2022-23, the equivalent of 1.4% of their disposable income, according to the Resolution Foundation thinktank.

Business groups are also furious at rising bills for employers. On Friday the Institute of Directors joined calls from other business leaders to scrap the tax rise.

A Treasury spokesperson said: “It is not true to say that high earners are least affected by the health and social care levy. Everyone with earnings above the primary threshold will pay a flat 1.25% on their income.

“Over half the revenue from the health and social care levy will come from the wealthiest 15% of the population, while over 6 million people on lower incomes will be completely exempt.”

Middle income earners ‘to be hit hardest’ by national insurance rise (msn.com)

 
 
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They can shove their Greenland trade deal up the only orifice that didn't get a Covid-lockdown party treatment with cake and booze, as they are about to be squeezing the population even more through that bloody evil national insurance tax hike they are rolling out.

Same old story since the dawn of rich and poor: the rich always taking from the poor.

Scumbags. Cockwomble lying scumbags, vile vampires the lot of them.

National Insurance: Opposition MPs urge rethink on April tax rise

National Insurance: Opposition MPs urge rethink on April tax rise - BBC News

Opposition MPs have accused the prime minister and the chancellor of ignoring struggling families, after they confirmed taxes would rise in April.

Writing in the Sunday Times, Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak insisted their £12bn National Insurance increase would go ahead, despite opposition.

Labour, the Lib Dems and some Tory MPs are urging a rethink, arguing workers cannot afford more tax at the moment.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss the hike was needed due to Covid spending.

She said the Tories wanted to be able to lower taxes to boost the economy - but government support during the pandemic had to be "paid back".

Under the plans, employees, employers and the self-employed will all pay 1.25p more in the pound for National Insurance from April 2022 for a year.

From April 2023, the extra tax will be collected as a new Health and Social Care Levy. Legislation to set it up was approved in Parliament in September.

The government says the money will initially help clear NHS backlogs, and then be moved into social care system over the next three years.

But critics - including some Conservatives - say the rise will place a tougher burden on the lower-paid and should be scrapped.

There is also concern about the timing of the increase, with the cost of energy soaring and rising inflation also pushing up the cost of food and other bills.

Business groups have also warned about the effect of the rise on small companies and the wider economy.

Graph showing how much more employees will pay under the National Insurance changes
1px transparent line

Shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy called on the government to "rethink" the planned rise, adding it would see people's incomes "squeezed even more".

She told BBC One's Sunday Morning programme: "You can't possibly hit people with more taxes at the moment. It's just simply not possible for a lot of people to survive."

"The stories that I'm hearing from people across the country about the sacrifices they're going to have to make are enormous."

She added Labour would be "doing everything that we can over the next few weeks to try and appeal to Tory MPs' consciences".

'Number one priority'

The Liberal Democrats have described the National Insurance rise as unfair.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey called for action on energy prices, including more support for poorer families paid for through a "Robin Hood" tax on fuel companies.

He accused the prime minister of being "focused on saving his own skin" over the No 10 lockdown parties scandal, rather than "taking action".

Robert Halfon, one of the Tory MPs calling on the government not to go ahead with the rise, said ministers should make the cost of living their "number one priority".

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, he suggested money for the NHS could instead be raised from the taxes on capital gains - profits made from selling certain assets - or by raising taxes on oil companies.

Senior backbench Tories Robert Jenrick and Mel Stride have also called for the increase to be delayed. Former cabinet minister Mr Jenrick saying that 2022 would already be "exceptionally hard" for families.

Inflation chart

Defending the rise in the Sunday Times, Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak said it was "progressive" because higher earners pay more.

They described themselves as "tax-cutting Conservatives" and "Thatcherites, in the sense that we believe in sound money".

But they added: "There is no magic money tree."

The article will be seen as a show of unity between the pair, after widespread criticism of Mr Johnson over claims of parties in Downing Street during lockdown.

'Very difficult situation'

Mr Sunak is a leading candidate to replace Mr Johnson if a leadership contest is triggered before the next election.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who is also seen as a possible leadership candidate, defended the tax rises but accepted they are "never popular".

Also speaking to the Sunday Morning programme, she said the country was in a "very difficult situation" because of money spent supporting the economy during Covid.

"As soon as possible, we want to be in a position to lower our tax rates, we want to drive economic growth, because ultimately that is what will make our country successful," she added.

"But we do face a short-term issue, which is that we have spent significant amounts of money dealing with the Covid crisis that does need to be paid back."

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More rule braking shit by the government being unearthed.. and they even did use an Abba song, The Winner Takes it All, which by the way it has nothing to do with winning against someone, only the most superficial shallow people in the world use that Abba's song as a victory-over-someone type of song - who cares anyway, they are going to get away with it, as usual.

The smug on their self-assured faces, pathetic:

Downing Street party after Dominic Cummings quit 'played Winner Takes It All'

Downing Street party after Dominic Cummings quit 'played Winner Takes It All' (msn.com)

Senior civil servant Sue Gray has taken evidence about a ‘victory party’ at Downing Street on the night of Dominic Cummings’ resignation (Pictures: PA/Getty/Reuters)

Friends of Carrie Johnson are alleged to have held a triumphant ‘Winner Takes It All’ party with numerous Abba tracks to mark the resignation of Dominic Cummings.

As chaos around a series of alleged lockdown-breaking gatherings at Downing Street continues to engulf the Tory government, Sue Gray has taken evidence about a ‘victory party’ on the night of November 13, 2020.

It reportedly happened hours after the prime minister’s former chief adviser was pictured leaving Number 10, carrying a box with his belongings.

He had allegedly lost a power struggle with Boris Johnson’s then fiancée and other advisers, the Daily Mail reports.

‘There was the sound of lots of banging and dancing and drinking, and a number of Abba tracks – including a triumphalist Winner Takes It All,’ a source told the newspaper.

A spokesperson for Mrs Johnson, quoted by the publication, insisted any claims about a party on that date are ‘totally untrue’.

The Tory leader’s closest and most controversial aide was forced to resign after weeks of public scrutiny over his notorious trip to Barnard Castle to ‘test his eyesight’ during the height of the pandemic in 2020.

Both Mr and Mrs Johnson have faced serious accusations about breaking Covid-19 restrictions (Picture: Getty)

As Mr Johnson was forced to defend himself in the Commons in December last year over claims there was a secret party for staff on December 18, Mr Cummings dropped a bomb on Twitter about another flat bash on the day of his departure.

He wrote: ‘Will the CABSEC also be asked to investigate the *flat* party on Fri 13 Nov, the other flat parties, & the flat’s ‘bubble’ policy…?’

Following the damning allegations, Labour MP Catherine West asked during PMQs if the prime minister could confirm whether there was a part in Downing Street that day.

He replied ‘no’ and added: ‘I’m sure that whatever happened the guidance was followed and the rules were followed at all times.’

The Metropolitan Police could now investigate the Abba party as part of their investigation, and call on Mrs Johnson to provide written evidence.

The enquiry will reportedly focus on eight out of 17 parties looked at by Ms Gray and the force has requested that her report has only ‘minimal reference’ to the events, to ‘avoid any prejudice’ to its investigation.

Further claims of gatherings, including an alleged surprise birthday party for the prime minister in 2020, have emerged in recent days.

Mr Johnson and senior ministers have continued to dodge questions from the opposition, excusing themselves with Ms Gray’s report, which is set to determine whether lockdown rules were indeed breached.

It is understood that the prime minister’s wife has not been interviewed by the senior civil servant or approached by the police.

But ex-chief superintendent Dai Davies, who was in charge of Royal Protection, told the Daily Mail that those who have been interviewed by Ms Gray could in fact retract their testimony.  

He said: ‘Now it’s a legal quagmire. Anyone who has spoken to her inquiry could retract their evidence, arguing they did not know it could be used against them in a criminal inquiry.’ 

Metro.co.uk has contacted Downing Street for a comment.

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Meanwhile in Far-right-Eton island....

UK politics: Keir Starmer rescued from angry demonstrators by police – as it happened

UK politics: Keir Starmer rescued from angry demonstrators by police – as it happened | Politics | The Guardian

Evil conniving cocks.

But Johnson won't withdraw the insult he lashed out against Starmer last week, besides it's too late now.

Traditionally the Tories have no issue taking you down once you no longer serve their purposes; they bring you up just as easily as they take you down in no time - Thatcher, May, a few past examples. What else does it need to be unearthed about and by this despicable cockwomble Eton buffoon for the conservatives to take him down? Do they really believe that their party is beautifully led by the best possible ever leader they ever chose to lead them and the country too?! Do they really believe conservative voters are happy with the way their beloved party MPs have behaved in the wake of all the allegations that have emerged, not to mentioned the abysmal increases of EVERYTHING in people's lives since they have been in power, and bound to be increasing to staggering levels from April this year with all the tax hikes the Tories are rolling out???!

 

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So now Boris wants to scrap all COVID restrictions at the end of the month. A month earlier than planned.

Clearly he wants to distract everyone from the continued party scandals but this is bonkers 

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Yeah, and no medical expert has signed on that abhorrent decision, despite the fact that we have daily cases and deaths on the rise in England - where the fuck are Witty and Tam? Did the lying-corrupted-fat-blonde Eton buffoon swallow them whole for afternoon tea or during a recent boozy party with his equally lying corrupted chums? As if the Sue Gray report will ever see the light of the day in full - never.

Madness. Absolute scary madness.

And on top of that, the whole border control catastrophe due to that fuckery called Brexit + the oh so wonderful tax hikes on our hard earned money we are all so eager to get slashed in less than two months until we are all squeezed to death. If it ain't a bloody virus to kill us, rest assured the Tories will do everything they couldn't care less to do to ensure quality of life is available for all in Brexit land.

The lowest of the low in power. Scary times in Brexit land, scary times...

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