FURIOUS bereaved families last night let rip at Boris Johnson for taking them “for fools” after his grovelling apology for attending a No10 drinks party during lockdown.
Raging campaigners branded him a “walking public health hazard” for trying to defend it as a work gathering – and demanded he quit.
Meanwhile, exhausted NHS doctors said they felt “insulted” as they tried not to pass out taking care of Covid victims for hours on end in layers of PPE in the heatwave taking place at the time.
It came after the PM issued a grovelling apology this lunchtime, admitting he did attend the May 20 bash – but thought it was a work event.
Breaking cover for the first time since the leaked email invite was revealed, he said in hindsight it should not have happened and he should have ordered everyone to go home, rather than thanking staff before heading back to his office.
Hannah Brady from the Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice, who met the PM in the very same garden the drinks took place in, said MPs had a “moral duty” to boot him out now for attending the gathering.
Her father Shaun died from Covid aged 55 just a few days before, and the death certificate was signed on the day of the Downing Street bash.
She said of the under-fire PM: “Every time he lies to us, he pours more salt into the wounds of those who have already lost so much to this pandemic, but that doesn’t stop him.
“He’s incapable of telling the truth and he needs to go.
“The Prime Minister is now a walking public health hazard who has lost the trust, respect and good faith of the public.”
Jackie Green, whose mother Beryl Harris died alone in hospital with Covid on December 18 2020 – the day of another alleged Downing Street party – said Wednesday’s apology was “completely insincere”.
She raged: “How stupid does he think the British public are?”
And Fran Hall, whose husband Steve Mead died in October 2020 – just three weeks after they married – added: “Nobody trusts him anymore. Everybody thinks he’s lying.”
Last night James Bond actor Rory Kinnear lashed out at their “direct assault” on the tragedy of millions who were forced to bury their own family members before their time.
In a moving article about his sister Karina’s funeral, which took place on the same day as the May 20 party, he said the No10 bashes had “released a stench so toxic that I can’t see how they will be able to put it back in the bottle, no matter how desperately they try.”
Writing in The Guardian, he said: “They can’t point the finger anywhere else this time, can they? After all, they brought the bottle themselves.”
Dr Saleyha Ahsan, who lost her father to Covid in the pandemic, said the PM can’t stay in post.
She said of the PM’s apology: “It was weak, it was poor. It did fall short of what he should have done, which is put his hands up, admit what he’d done, admit he’s a liability.
“His situation now as PM is untenable.”
