A mother who was not allowed to visit her poorly baby daughter in hospital with her husband by her side has spoken of her anger about an alleged Downing Street party held around the same time during the first coronavirus lockdown.
The Prime Minister apologised for attending a “bring your own booze” gathering in the garden of No 10 and acknowledged the public “rage” over the incident but insisted he thought it could have been technically within the rules.
Ayda Evans, from Abermule, near Newtown, fought for her life after she was born 12 weeks prematurely in April 2020. She then had to stay in neonatal intensive care units in Stoke and Telford between April and August.
Parents Tanya and Andrew were not allowed to sit by their baby girl’s side or be in the hospitals at the same time.
Tanya said: “We are incredibly thankful and blessed that she survived, and we have her in our lives, but those restrictions imposed by the government still makes my blood boil. It made an already stressful and frightening time far worse.
“The whole country stayed home, to protect ourselves, to protect our families, to protect people we didn’t know.
“Threatened with fines or police visits if you were suspected to be breaking these rules while Boris Johnson hosted parties.
Left: Ayda Evans in a neonatal intensive care unit in hospital. Right: One-year-old Ayda celebrating Christmas in December 2021. Pictures by Tanya Evans
Ayda Evans, from Abermule, was born 12 weeks premature during the first lockdown in 2020. Picture by Tanya Evans
“There were often police patrols on the roundabouts checking people’s reason for travelling, we were stopped many times on our way to the hospital, having to explain why we were out driving.
“Our then four-year-old son lived with his grandparents the majority of this time as we could not bring him to the hospital with us.
“So many people’s lives were affected as we stuck to ever changing rules while the people imposing them broke them. Shouldn’t they have been leading by example?”
Craig Williams MP (Montgomeryshire - Conservative)
Montgomeryshire MP Craig Williams welcomed the Prime Minister’s apology to the House of Commons on Wednesday, January 12.
He said: “I am waiting for the results of the independent inquiry into who, what, when and why in establishing what has taken place.
“I, of course, fully understand the anger and deep upset which has been conveyed to me by my constituents, and I have every sympathy with Tanya and Andrew following their harrowing ordeal in 2020.”
Boris Johnson told MPs that he attended the May 20, 2020 gathering for around 25 minutes to “thank groups of staff”.
“I believed implicitly that this was a work event,” he said.
Bereaved daughter ‘feels sick’ over Boris Johnson lockdown party claims
But “with hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside, I should have found some other way to thank them, and I should have recognised that – even if it could have been said technically to fall within the guidance – there would be millions and millions of people who simply would not see it that way”.
Mr Johnson acknowledged that that included “people who have suffered terribly, people who were forbidden for meeting loved ones at all inside or outside”, adding: “To them and to this House, I offer my heartfelt apologies.”
Brecon and Radnorshire MP Fay Jones was approached for a comment.
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