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Staff who stayed at No 10 Downing Street to take part in a Christmas quiz were told to leave “out the back”, it has been claimed.
The Daily Mirror reported that the quiz on December 15, which Prime Minister Boris Johnson helped to host, was held online, but with many taking part from the office.
The prime minister's office had said that Downing Street staff were “often required to be in the office to work on the pandemic response” during the various lockdowns.
Therefore, “those who were in the office for work may have attended virtually from their desks”.
But the Mirror said a message sent by No 10’s head of HR on the night advised that those who had stayed behind to “go out the back” when they left.
“Given there is an ongoing review, it would be inappropriate to comment while that is ongoing,” a government representative said.
An image published by the Sunday Mirror showed the Prime Minister flanked by colleagues, one draped in tinsel and another wearing a Santa hat, in the No 10 library.
The paper quoted a source who said many staff were huddled by computers in their Downing Street offices, conferring on questions and drinking alcohol while the quiz was taking place.
Tier 2 restrictions in London on December 15 stated there could be no mixing of households indoors, apart from support bubbles, and a maximum of six people outside.
Former Conservative mayoral hopeful Shaun Bailey quit as chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee on Tuesday.
His resignation came shortly before The Mirror published a photograph of him and other staff at a party in Conservative headquarters.
The image showed 24 people with drinks and buffet food laid out.
The Tories previously admitted the party had taken place on December 14, when London was in Tier 2 restrictions, and said that staff had been disciplined.
And the GLA Conservatives confirmed on Tuesday that Mr Bailey had resigned from the role.
“Shaun Bailey AM has today stood aside as chairman of the London Assembly’s police and crime committee," they said.
“He does not want an unauthorised social gathering involving some former members of the London mayoral campaign team last December to distract from the committee’s important work holding the Mayor of London to account.
“He will continue to speak up for Londoners who no longer feel safe in our city and push for a strategy to tackle the disproportionate level of crime in London’s black community.”
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has been given the job of investigating alleged gatherings or parties held in government buildings during restrictions.
It has been suggested he could come back with his findings as early as this week.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Points to remember
- Debate the issue, don't attack the person
- Build the relationship and dialogue by seeking to find common ground
- Express passion for the issue but be aware of when you're losing control or when there's anger. If there is, pause and take some time out.
- Listen actively without interrupting
- Avoid assumptions, seek understanding, ask questions
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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The years Ramadan fell in May
