Ryanair trolls British PM Boris Johnson for attending 'bring your own booze' event

Irish low-cost carrier has not held back on its jabs at British prime minister Boris Johnson, who recently faced calls to resign after coming clean that he had attended a Number 10 "bring your own booze" event last May. The airline tweeted out a spoof drinks menu with the caption "Preview of our upcoming summer inflight drinks #DowningStreetParties". The image included drinks such as Bojohito and Virgin Vax on the Beach for six and seven euros respectively.

The Bojohito contains fresh lime juice, dash of deceitfulness, sugar syrup, rum and a splash of "lovely weather", while the Virgin Vax on the Beach has peach grant shapps and cranberry juice vodka that can be added if one brings their own booze. Extras include Jacob Rees-Mogg's Creek, which is a jab at Rees-Mogg himself, the leader of the House of Commons and lord president of the Council.

https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/1480899323298816003

This 11 January tweet received 1.2k retweets, 210 quote tweets and 4.1k likes at the time of writing. Ryanair later posted an illustration of Johnson standing in a corner saying: I don't know I'm at a party" along with the caption "Boris Johnson for 25 minutes on 20 May 2020".

https://twitter.com/Ryanair/status/1481238702013796352

According to multiple media reports including the Financial Times, Johnson attended the "bring your own booze" evening event in the Downing Street garden on 20 May last year, when lockdown restrictions were imposed in England. More than 100 staff were invited to the event which was organised by the head of the PM's private office, FT said, adding that Johnson was present at the event for less than an hour.

Citing witnesses, FT reported that Johnson and his wife Carrie both attended the party, which saw about 40 individuals attend. This was despite Johnson constantly denying that parties that violated COVID-19 restrictions were held in Downing Street, FT said.

Meanwhile on 20 May 2020, former culture secretary Oliver Dowden also said during a press conference that individuals are only allowed to meet one person outside of their household in an outdoor, public place, provided they stay two metres apart, FT reported.

Johnson has since apologised, stating that he thought the event was "a work event". According to him, he had gone to the garden to thank staff before returning to his office 25 minutes later. "I believed implicitly that this was a work event," he said, according to FT, but this failed to calm fellow MPs who called for his resignation.

Trust in government is important, especially during such challenging times. According to the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer, CEOs have emerged as the most trusted institution (61%), replacing government (53%). More than two-thirds expect them to step in when the government does not fix societal problems.

At the same time, businesses were the only institutions deemed ethical and competent and outscored government by 48 points on competency. A majority of respondents believed that government leaders (57%), business leaders (56%), and journalists (59%) are purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false.

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