Phillip Schofield has made a joking jab against Boris Johnson. (Getty Images)
British prime minister Boris Johnson should swap Number 10 for Dancing of Ice to “fill extra time”, Phillip Schofield has said.
As the coronavirus engulfed and battered Britain, government officials were asked to a “bring your own booze” for bash in the backyard of Downing Street, where premiers both live and work, to “make the most of the weather” in May 2020.
This was despite it being during the nation’s first and harshest coronavirus lockdown, where people could only meet one other person outdoors – one that Johnson’s government imposed.
It was a function that Boris Johnson, who had only just recovered from the virus, claimed he mistook for a “work event”, he told lawmakers in a contrite and humiliating speech to parliament Wednesday (12 January).
But amid a deafening chorus of calls for Johnson’s resignation, This Morning co-host Schofield has given the Conservative premier some job tips.
Namely, joining ITV figure staking competition Dancing on Ice, set to return to screens this Sunday.
“I think you’ll all got to look for someone who’s looking at different career options or different things they can do, to fill in extra time,” he told Metro.co.uk.
“So, maybe Boris?” Schofield joked.
Holly Willoughby says Boris Johnson is ‘pushing the ball away’ with inquiry
Boris Johnson has been thrown into the hot seat as stories of alleged cheese-filled Christmas gatherings, leaving dos and pre-funeral hootenannies have surfaced, raising questions of the double standards seemingly embraced by those in power.
Staking his premiership in an alibi – it was a “work event” organised by his subordinates, he thought, one he swung by for 25 minutes – Johnson has urged critics to wait for the results of an investigation into the May party.
Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, is leading the inquiry – the results of which may decide whether the Metropolitan Police investigate themselves.
Boris Johnson claimed that the BYOB gathering was a chance to thank staff for their efforts during the first wave of the pandemic.
But it’s an explanation at odds with the invitation sent by his private secretary Martin Reynolds.
In an email sent to more than a hundred Downing Street employees seen by ITV News, Reynolds wrote: “It would be nice to make the most of the lovely weather and have some socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden this evening”.
The outlet reported that around 40 staff gathered in the garden that evening to eat picnic food and drink tipple.
“We have great office parties,” Phillip Schofield’s co-host Holly Willoughby said during the Metro.co.uk interview.
Schofield replied: “What’s more, we have all just got a little bit of cheese.”
“I also don’t think many people in the workplace are encouraged to bring their own booze,” Willoughby said.
“He seems to heavily be pushing the ball away by saying let’s see what happens in the enquiry.”
As the Conservative Party’s once seemingly immovable lead in the polls drastically dips, Boris Johnson did something he rarely does – he said sorry.
“I want to apologise,” a visibly tired Johnson said during a tense session of Prime Minister’s Questions.
“I know the rage they feel with me and with the government, I lead when they think in Downing Street itself the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules.
“There are things we simply did not get right and I must take responsibility.”