Boris Johnson Mocked For Saying 'Nobody Told Me' Downing Street Party Broke Rules

It was kind of his job to know.
Boris Johnson talks to staff during a visit to the Finchley Memorial Hospital in North London on Tuesday.
Boris Johnson talks to staff during a visit to the Finchley Memorial Hospital in North London on Tuesday.
Ian Vogler via PA Wire/PA Images

Boris Johnson has faced ridicule for suggesting “nobody told me” the Downing Street party he attended broke lockdown rules.

On Monday, Dominic Cummings, the PM’s former top aide until November 2020, alleged Johnson knew about the now notorious “bring your own booze” gathering held in Downing Street in May 2020 and was told it was violated restrictions.

But in his first interview in days, as pressure has mounted almost by the hour, Johnson extraordinarily said “nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules” to the “best of my recollection”.

Boris Johnson says he wants to apologise for "the misjudgements that I've made, we may have made... whether in Downing Street or throughout the pandemic"

"Nobody told me that what we were doing was against the rules," he sayshttps://t.co/JzrcIuPEg3 pic.twitter.com/zqI7IwB46g

— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) January 18, 2022

He insisted he does “humbly apologise to people for misjudgments that were made” as he faces public calls to resign over the so-called “partygate” affair, including from six of his own Tory MPs.

Pretty much everyone on social made the point: well, you came up with the rules.

As the No. 10 staff were gathering for the May 20th party - which Boris Johnson says “nobody told him” was against the rules - Oliver Dowden was on TV AT THAT MOMENT explaining that it was against the rules.

— Mitch Benn 🇬🇧🇪🇺 (@MitchBenn) January 18, 2022

Boris Johnson tells Sky News that "nobody told me" the garden party he attended with dozens of his colleagues was against the rules. Here's what he told a member of the public a week before it happened. pic.twitter.com/Ndsqo19GTU

— Adam Bienkov (@AdamBienkov) January 18, 2022

“Nobody told me it was against the rules” is a pretty weird thing for a man who was on telly literally every night for an hour telling people what the rules were.

— Mikey Smith (@mikeysmith) January 18, 2022

In a remarkably cackhanded interview, Boris Johnson complains that ‘nobody warned me’ that a gathering in Downing Street during lockdown was against the rules. Why should they. They were HIS rules.

— Andrew Neil (@afneil) January 18, 2022

Give Boris Johnson a break!

There were 65 Covid press briefings before 20th May 2020, a lot of them hosted by Boris Johnson, so it was very unlikely that Boris Johnson would have been able to find out what the rules were.

— David Schneider (@davidschneider) January 18, 2022

From across the Atlantic, US cable news channel CNN could also see the contradiction ...

Actively trolling us now. pic.twitter.com/YOJumuIEuW

— Katie Myler (@LadyMyler) January 18, 2022

INDEPENDENT DIGITAL: No one warned me party was against rules, says man who set the rules #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/lPZVSXjflS

— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) January 18, 2022

And the memes flooded in...

"Nobody warned me that it was a bad idea to make a sharp turn with the gun ports open..." pic.twitter.com/GOLoZDj1cC

— The Mary Rose (@MaryRoseMuseum) January 18, 2022

"I was on the beach for 25 minutes & saw people swimming. No one told me sharks eat people" pic.twitter.com/vzzIoSBceS

— joe heenan (@joeheenan) January 18, 2022

Shoplifter walking out of Currys with a TV under his arm: “Nobody told me this was against the rules.”

— James Oh Brien (@mrjamesob) January 18, 2022

Nobody told me eating people was against the rules, Clarice pic.twitter.com/iH8d9QmQaX

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) January 18, 2022

'Nobody told me that burning money in front of homeless people and smashing up restaurants wasn't very nice', Boris Johnson.

#nobodytoldme #JohnsonOut pic.twitter.com/Je8ek0KnMn

— El Christo (@ElRaynerista) January 18, 2022
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