This week, Boris Johnson had to fauxpologize for the sixteen boozy parties thrown at 10 Downing Street, all of which involved Boris and/or his senior aides and cabinet ministers. The parties happened during 2020 and 2021, before there were widespread vaccinations and during the time that the UK was under very strict lockdown protocols. Boris was telling people not to socialize, not to see their families for Christmas, not to go to pubs, and the entire time, he and his staff were throwing ragers every other week night. In the wake of Sue Gray’s report and BoJo’s apology, four Tory senior aides have now resigned, all in a row:

An exodus of senior officials from 10 Downing Street on Thursday deepened the crisis engulfing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he fought to hold on to power in the wake of a scandal over get-togethers that breached lockdown restrictions.

Mr. Johnson’s chief of staff, private secretary, communications chief, and head of policy all resigned, leaving the top of British government rudderless at a time when Mr. Johnson is struggling to avert a mutiny in the ranks of his Conservative Party. About a dozen party lawmakers have called publicly for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister.

Some of the departures fulfilled Mr. Johnson’s promise to overhaul the Downing Street operation, following the release of a government report on Monday that criticized the office for “excessive” workplace drinking, citing 16 social gatherings — some of them now under police investigation — during periods when England was under strict lockdowns.

But the resignation of his policy chief, Munira Mirza, carried an extra sting. One of his longest-serving and most influential aides, Ms. Mirza sent the prime minister a sharply critical letter in which she said he made a “scurrilous accusation” against the leader of the opposition Labour Party, Keir Starmer.

[From The NY Times]

BoJo’s Tory allies are blanketing the British right-wing media to claim that these resignations are not a “mass exodus.” There are some claiming that this is actually BoJo’s call, that he’s been “cleaning house” and asking problematic people to resign. While that sounds ass-covering, I kind of believe it. Boris Johnson seems exactly like the kind of man who would go around, firing subordinates and blaming them for the parties as opposed to owning his role in the debacle and resigning in disgrace. I wonder if the resigning staffers will get a going away party! (Oh, and a fifth staffer just resigned this morning, lol).

The recently installed editor of the Daily Mail's decision to go all in on defending Boris Johnson last month must be one of the worst calls in the history of Fleet Street.

— James Oh Brien (@mrjamesob) February 4, 2022

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.