Allegra Stratton resigns

Winterwhite I agree with you. It's turning into a witch hunt by people who seem to have only half the information.

I think you’ve quoted from someone else’s post Maizie, not mine.

I also assumed that she knew nothing about the video clip until it emerged this week. Maybe I'm wrong.

Of course she knew about the video.
She just assumed that it had been buried, that they were 'all in it together' and no-one would spill the beans on their jolly jape.

Germanshepherdsmum

What are you on about Maizie? Home? I didn’t say home:

You did. You said that AS said she went home. I copied & pasted it from your post, like this

AS says on the video clip that she went home, so wasn't at the party.

I'm saying that when AS said 'home' ( as per your post) it sounded as though it was in inverted commas - she just didn't make the little squiggly gesture with her fingers that people do to represent inverted commas in an oral statement. I'm not saying that she actually was lying, just that it felt like a lie to me...

Other words come to my mind, but I'm too polite to say them on here.

I certainly did not say I thought there was no party!! I'm quite sure there was. I meant, and think I said, that until it is shown that AS was present we ought to believe her when she said she went home - she isn't the one with the track record of lying.

I also assumed that she knew nothing about the video clip until it emerged this week. Maybe I'm wrong.

In all I just think she has been hauled very roughly over more coals than she deserves given the size of her share in the whole thing. Yes, others are hiding behind her skirts as someone else has put it. The word scapegoat also comes to mind.

What are you on about Maizie? Home? I didn’t say home:

Germanshepherdsmum

She found it funny. Her behaviour on the clip was reason enough for her to go.

'home' felt as though it was in inverted commas to me.

Yes they were. I expect her mates will give her another good job though.

AS has paid a heavy price??? Nowhere near winterwhite. Even if, giving her the benefit of your doubt, there was no party, she sniggered and laughed at the very notion of social distancing, knowing that COVID victims were dying alone, families were unable to meet and millions of people spent that Christmas alone because they had done as was asked of them. If you'd looked at the video I posted of her at 11.19, you'd see for yourself that she's utterly bereft of empathy for anyone. Those tears yesterday were for herself.

She found it funny. Her behaviour on the clip was reason enough for her to go.

AS says on the video clip that she went home, so wasn't at the party.

Looking at her 'tone' and body language when she said that she went home, I don't even believe that that was true... But even if it were true, it just confirmed that there was a party. She was completely thrown by that question.

The questioner has been identified as Ed Oldfield, a Downing St Special Advisor.

This is getting witch-hunty.

AS says on the video clip that she went home, so wasn't at the party. If there's no evidence to the contrary we have to believe that? So she broke no rules.

The whole row has clearly added salt to the wounds of those with relatives who died at this time, but the rules about hospital and care home visiting were separate and I think it's going rather far to charge AS and others with specific lack of compassion towards them.

The party flagrantly breached the rules about indoor gatherings and it is well nigh impossible to believe that BJ didn't know about it. That is a resignation matter in itself. In addition in his remarks yesterday afternoon he showed a staggering lack of loyalty to his staff.

Quite useless to expect any inquiry to find out anything at all.

AS has paid a heavy price, and IMO comes out of ut better than many.

I thought Dan Rosenfield replaced Cummings.

I'd like to know, though, exactly who is running the show since Cummings left.

According to one, rather credible, conspiracy theorist I'm following on twitter, it's Chloe Westley. A Tufton Street (home of several right wing libertarian 'think tanks' and a key mover in the leave EU campaign) alumna, former campaign manager of the Tax Payers Alliance.

One 'view' of her:

cabinetofhorrors.org/chloe-westley/

And another

www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/chloe-westley-boris-johnson-anne-marie-waters_uk_5d3b027fe4b0a6d6373e88ad

The whole lot of them who were in that communications suite video should be resigning, they were all having a good laugh about Schrodinger's party.

And the PM who has been lying through his teeth about it should be going, too...

I agree, it seems to be all one big joke.

I'd like to know, though, exactly who is running the show since Cummings left.

twitter.com/i/status/1468517952953761793

Stratton is merely a pawn in the game.

Some of the people on the clip have been named by people who have recognised them. Like former government employees...

Twitter is a good source of information if you follow the right people...

The tears Stratton shed yesterday were tears of pity for herself; she has zero compassion for anyone else, as can be witnessed in this video:

m.youtube.com/watch?v=2b83rSqBLfw

I don’t agree that she went under a bus, she went because of what she did. We saw her doing it. There will be others who have to go too if there was an illegal gathering. I have no idea who else was at the mock press conference, people were seen on the clip but I doubt any of us could name them. The investigation must be seen to be thorough and also cover who gave these alleged assurances to Johnson and whether he knew before or afterwards or actually attended an illegal gathering.

There’s always someone who has to go under the bus.
I too am wondering who organised the “do”. These things don’t just pop up.
And if Boris Johnson really had no idea what was going on then he is even more of a fool than normal.

Germanshepherdsmum

It was inevitable that she would have to resign after that disgraceful clip was shown. She hasn’t been made a scapegoat, she’s gone because of what she did, and quite right too. We have all made mistakes but she was in a very senior position and behaved appallingly. I’m waiting for the results of the investigation to find out who was at whatever went on and who organised it.

You know what? I agree with you. She had to go but….she’s not the only one !

Yes good to know that people think we arent capable of making our on judgements on how outraged we feel.

Germanshepherdsmum

It was inevitable that she would have to resign after that disgraceful clip was shown. She hasn’t been made a scapegoat, she’s gone because of what she did, and quite right too. We have all made mistakes but she was in a very senior position and behaved appallingly. I’m waiting for the results of the investigation to find out who was at whatever went on and who organised it.

The whole lot of them who were in that communications suite video should be resigning, they were all having a good laugh about Schrodinger's party.

And the PM who has been lying through his teeth about it should be going, too...