The Metropolitan Police have privately assured the Prime Minister and Carrie that they will not be receiving any further fixed penalty notices following the conclusion of their investigation. Cabinet Secretary Simon Case has not yet received a fine either, although he hasn’t received final confirmation that no action will be taken…
UPDATE: No fine for Case, either.
“Prime Minister Boris Johnson and wife Carrie have announced the birth of a healthy baby girl at a London hospital earlier today”. It’s all go today…
The Daily Mail’s Deputy Political Editor John Stevens has clarified that Boris, Carrie and their close friend Nimco Ali formed a childcare bubble over Christmas last year – which means the trio did not break any of the Covid-19 rules, despite claims to this effect published in The Daily Mirror.
The row, which started following a profile about the Johnsons in Harper’s Magazine, accused Carrie’s best friend Nimco of illegally staying with the Johnsons over the holidays. A spokesperson for the PM initially told Harper’s Magazine that the “Prime Minister and Mrs Johnson follow coronavirus rules at all times” without denying claims that they hosted Nimco for Christmas. Given Downing Street’s relatively tight-lipped response, Nimco has been left to defend herself online the past three days…
At the time, rules allowed people to have both childcare bubbles and support bubbles, and also allowed bubbles to change if there was a 10 day gap between meet ups.
What a childcare bubble is
If you live in a household with anyone aged under 14, you can form a childcare bubble. This allows friends or family from one other household to provide informal childcare. ‘Informal’ childcare means it is unregistered.
You can only form a childcare bubble if you meet certain eligibility rules. Not everyone can form a childcare bubble.
Childcare bubbles are different from support bubbles.
If providing informal childcare within a childcare bubble, you should follow the guidance on how to stop the spread of coronavirus, including washing your hands and opening windows to let in plenty of fresh air.
When providing childcare, it may not always be possible to maintain social distancing. You should still limit close contact as much as possible and take other precautions.
Boris’s spokesperson has therefore confirmed that Boris’s mother did not join Boris and Carrie for Christmas. After all that, it’s Johnson’s critics who’ve ended up looking like turkeys…
The ONS released their annual survey of baby names this morning, and Guido can report that while the number of Borises being born is holding steady, the number of Keirs has plummeted. 15 Keirs were born in 2019, yet by 2020, this number plummeted by 40% to just 9. As a result, Sir Keir’s name has fallen from 1587th most popular to 2228th. The PM will be happy that the number of baby Borises remains constant at 745th, with 43 born in 2020…
Carrie may also join in despair with Sir Keir. Despite 18 Carries born in 2018, and 14 in 2019, 2020 saw just seven – a ranking fall from 1940th most popular to 3117th. Labour’s deputy leader is proving less of a turn-off for parents than her leader, with 54 Angelas born in 2020 – a very popular baby name at 683th…
