Downing Street has been forced to deny Boris and Carrie Johnson broke lockdown rules at Christmas. 

A friend of the couple, campaigner Nimco Ali, reportedly stayed with the prime minister and his wife over the festive period, despite London being under tier four restriction. 

Allegations of a potential breach of Covid rules emerged in a report in Harper’s about the closely guarded private lives of Britain’s ‘first family’.

It claimed the female genital mutilation campaigner, who is a good friend of both Mr and Mrs Johnson, ‘spent Christmas with the couple at No 10 despite pandemic restrictions on holiday gatherings’.

Ms Ali is understood to have stayed with the Johnsons, who at the time were engaged to be married, under the ‘bubble’ arrangements, which allowed friends or family to provide informal childcare.

The couple’s son Wilfred, to whom Ms Ali is reportedly godmother, was eight months old at the time.

A spokesperson for the prime minister said: ‘The prime minister and Mrs Johnson have followed the coronavirus rules at all times.’

Ms Ali insisted ‘I did not break any rules’ and said she had been subjected to racist abuse after the story was circulated by a popular news aggregator Twitter account.

The ‘childcare bubble’ rules were open to anyone living in a household with a child aged under 14, allowing friends or family from one other household to provide help looking after the child.

The prime minister’s official spokesman refused to confirm whether Ms Ali joined the Johnsons in No 10.

But he added: ‘The rules made clear you can continue to use a childcare bubble on Christmas itself, including in a Tier 4 area. 

‘The prime minister and Mrs Johnson adhered to those rules at all times.’

Ms Ali is a longstanding friend of Mrs Johnson’s. She is an independent government adviser on tackling violence against women and girls and was appointed OBE in 2019.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article