Under fire, UK PM apologises for staff joking about Christmas lockdown party

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attends a news conference in Downing Street, London, Britain November 30, 2021. REUTERS/Tom Nicholson/Pool

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised on Wednesday after a video surfaced showing his staff laughing and joking about a party in Downing Street during a Christmas COVID-19 lockdown last year when such festivities were banned.

Hours later the main aide featured in the video, Johnson's press secretary at the time, Allegra Stratton, resigned as an adviser to the prime minister. In a tearful statement, she said she would regret the remarks she made in the video for the rest of her days.