How many more Boris Johnson scandals will it take before enough is enough?

Letters to the editor: our readers share their views. Please send your letters to letters@independent.co.uk

The prime minister gets his booster jab at St Thomas’ Hospital in London last week (PA Wire)

We now know that there was a “boozy party” in 10 Downing Street on 18 December 2020, while the rest of the country was in the middle of a tier 3 Covid lockdown imposed by Boris Johnson’s government.

On the day of the Downing Street party, 514 people were reported to have died from coronavirus.

Some, perhaps most, would have died alone, and were denied the comforting presence of family and friends by order of the lockdown.

The Tories had a party at 10 Downing Street while their hypocritical home secretary Priti Patel went on television to tell the public that if there was a “big party taking place” then “it would be right to call the police”.

This scandal is the latest in a never-ending series of scandals that has characterised Boris Johnson’s premiership.

How many more scandals will it take before enough is enough and Johnson and his cabinet face justice?

How much more filth needs to accumulate in the Tory stables before the sh*t is cleaned out?

Sasha Simic

London

Sustainable Christmas

An estimated 120 million trees are going to be cut down around the world just for this Christmas. And an even greater number of trees will be chopped down next year for the festive season alone.

Something must change. Trees are the earth’s first line of defence against the climate crisis, devastating rising water levels, floods, and other erratic weather patterns like droughts and desertification.

If you have never done anything to fight climate change, skipping a Christmas tree is a good chance to start. Or think ahead and plant your Xmas tree instead, and start having an eco-conscious Merry Christmas.

Hussein Lumumba Amin

Kampala, Uganda

Austrian lockdown

The Austrian government is right to lift lockdown only for the vaccinated part of the population. In these times, when Europe is once again becoming the epicentre of Covid-19, Austria is the first country in Europe to make such a distinction between vaccinated and unvaccinated.

The unvaccinated people who use the “freedom to choose” argument to justify their decision to not get the jab, forget that living in society means that they cannot use their freedom as they please, especially when it conflicts with security. This is precisely what the Austrian government is doing with this plan: protecting the citizens who follow the rules (get the vaccine) to guarantee safety/security and restrict access to society for the free riders (unvaccinated) who try to benefit from the system without playing their role.

Tristan Gilet

Newcastle Upon Tyne

One rule for them

Of course, the Downing Street party was within the rules. A special regulation had been passed declaring Downing Street to be a temporary outpost of Barnard Castle, and we all know that the rules don’t apply there.

PJ Johnston

Hexham

National humiliation

In just one day we listen to the news about the Christmas party at No 10 last year and the catastrophic evacuation of Afghanistan. We hear them joke, laugh and their denials.

Personally, I was unable to see my 92-year-old mother, my two daughters and my granddaughter. Will I take any new restrictions seriously? Probably not.

To express my disappointment seems to be pointless. Having faced several years of untruths, distorted information and blatant arrogance, why am I really surprised?

This government is a national humiliation. I look forward to Boris Johnson one day going so I can vote Conservative again.

Tony Howarth

London