Boris Johnson, Staff Held 'Wine-Time Fridays' During Lockdown

Staff at 10 Downing Street held gatherings dubbed "wine-time Fridays" during England's coronavirus lockdowns, British tabloid newspaper The Mirror reported on Friday, Luke McGee, Robert Iddiols, and Sharon Braithwaite wrote for CNN.

Photo Insert: The accounts of Prime Minister Boris Johnson having violated COVID-19 protocols during the UK lockdown continue to rise, and it has put him and his allies in the oven of public opinion, and has, not to mention, given the opposition more ingredients to justify calls for his resignation.

A former No, 10 source, who worked at the UK Prime Minister's official residence all through 2020, confirmed to CNN that such gatherings regularly took place. The source said other people referred to them as "wine-time Fridays," but the source did not personally attend the events.

Revelations of numerous parties at Downing Street -- including one on the night before Prince Philip's funeral last April -- have caused a major political scandal for Prime Minister Boris Johnson and prompted questions about how long he can survive as leader of the governing Conservative party.

When reached by CNN, Downing Street did not deny the reporting. It referred CNN to an ongoing inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray into such gatherings.

"There is an ongoing investigation to establish the facts around the nature of gatherings, including attendance, setting, and the purpose with reference to adherence to the guidance at the time.

The findings will be made public in due course," a Downing Street spokesperson said Friday. Conservative MP Andrew Bridgen became the latest politician to demand Johnson's resignation on Saturday. He told British broadcaster Sky News that the PM's position was now "untenable" and that Johnson should "call it a day for the good of the country."

The news comes as the former director general of the UK government Covid-19 task force Kate Josephs apologized for holding office leaving drinks on Dec. 17, 2020, while the UK was in lockdown.

"I gathered with colleagues that were at work that day, with drinks, in our office in the Cabinet Office, to mark my leaving the Civil Service," Josephs said Friday in a statement posted on her Twitter profile.

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