Tens of thousands of Brits have signed up for Boris Johnson’s leaving party – with attendees urging revellers to “bring cheese and wine”.
The joke event on Facebook has received more than 40,000 responses, with partygoers signing up for the “big bash” in their droves.
Johnson will finally be replaced as prime minister at the start of September, with Liz Truss the favourite to succeed him.
And Brits seem eager to give him a raucous send off, with event organisers describing the event as “the one we’ve all been waiting for”.
See full details of the planned piss-up here.
It comes after Downing Street was unable to confirm whether Johnson would be returning to work from Westminster after his latest holiday.
Labour hit out at the PM for his decision to take another holiday, accusing him of treating recent months as “one big party”.
A spokesperson said: “On the evidence of the last few months it seems to make little difference if the Prime Minister is in the office or on holiday as he has continually failed to meet the challenge of the Tory cost-of-living crisis. It’s all just one big party for Boris Johnson while the country struggles to pay their bills.”
Asked if Johnson’s holiday could have waited a few weeks, his spokesman said: “I can’t get into the decision around timings but he is on leave this week. He will be back this weekend.”
He insisted that “Government activity continues”.
“Over recent weeks we’ve made a number of significant announcements and will continue to do so in the coming days.”
Last week, former Cabinet minister Brandon Lewis defended Mr Johnson, rejecting any suggestion that he had “thrown in the towel”.
He told LBC: “Even when you are not in the office in Downing Street you are working.”
He added: “He’s probably in about his second week [of] holiday in the last year or so, certainly this year. So while somebody is away, whether they are secretary of state or let alone the Prime Minister, they will be continuing to work.
“I can assure you he will still be going through inboxes, he will still be dealing with national security issues where relevant. Being out of the country does not mean the PM stops working.”
Johnson’s spokesman said that he would remain “contactable”.
“He will be contactable. Any urgent decisions that need to be made, he will obviously be involved and will leave that but he is on leave.”
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