A mother shared a heartbreaking image of her daughter opening a birthday present alone in a park during lockdown - on the same day Boris Johnson reportedly enjoyed a surprise party at Downing Street.
Rebecca Young, from Liverpool, had to break the news to her daughter, Meadow, that they would not be having a party to celebrate her birthday on June 19 last year.
Meanwhile, Boris Johnson is said to have enjoyed a surprise birthday party organised by his wife Carrie - where around 30 people gathered in the Cabinet Room of No10 - enjoying birthday cake, signing happy birthday and eating party food.
For then 10-year-old Meadow, instead of the usual group of friends enjoying a bouncy castle and ice cream in the garden, she exchanged a gift five metres from another friend in a park.
Mum Rebecca, 41, recalled the pain of her disappointed daughter calling her a "liar" after Rebecca assured Meadow in the months before that her birthday would go ahead as usual.
But when it came to the date, the mum and daughter, anxious at the spread of covid, stuck to every rule enforced by the government - and cancelled the planned gathering.
Rebecca said: "I did feel like a liar, and like I'd personally let her down somehow.
"It was just so hard for children of her age to process what was happening."
Now, Rebecca has spoken out against the government for treating the public as "stupid" - saying children have had their childhoods snatched from them in order to do the right thing and protect others.
She said: "At the beginning of all this, I actually supported Boris when he was getting a hard time.
"I thought, 'anyone in that position wouldn't know what to do' - but I was so shocked when this all came out about parties.
"It was hard enough looking at the pictures of the Queen sat alone at Prince Philip's funeral when she'd lost one of the most important people in her life.
"Then when I saw the date of this birthday party - the same as Meadow's, I thought, 'my god, our kids have missed out on all this socialising and had their childhood snatched away because of lockdown.
"Meadow's last normal school year was year four and now she has just started secondary school last September.
"I feel this generation of children are so underprepared for things like moving to secondary school because they haven't had the right socialising needed.
"We now have a generation of young anxiety sufferers because we stuck to the rules - some toddlers won't even know a life without adults wearing masks."
Rebecca said even Meadow now fumes as she listens to allegations of parties and gatherings within the government.
She added: "Meadow is now watching the news and listening to the radio saying how unfair it is that politicians didn't stick to the rules.
"I know we did the right thing not having a party, but seeing her opening a present in the park sat across from one friend was a sad sight."
Rebecca recalled how she and daughter Meadow watched as Boris preached to the nation about sticking to the rules in order to protect those around us and the NHS.
She described how they became "petrified" of the virus, with Rebecca suffering from increased levels of health anxiety as Covid continued to spread.
Rebecca added: "People like us have stuck to every rule, being petrified about what was going to happen.
"Then to hear those setting these rules are not following them - at the same time people can't go to funerals or be with loved ones as they're dying - is unbelievable.
"These politicians act as thought the public are just so stupid.."
At the time of the Prime Minister's alleged gathering, social mixing indoors was banned, people could only meet their loved ones outside in groups of up to six people and most schools remained closed to their pupils.
People who lived alone in England and Northern Ireland were able to form a “support bubble” with another household.
Carrie Johnson is said to have presented Mr Johnson with a cake, as Carrie led staff to sing a chorus of Happy Birthday.
People were not allowed to mix indoors at the time.
Days earlier, Mr Johnson asked the public "to continue to show restraint and respect the rules which are designed to keep us all safe".
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer has said it's "yet more evidence" that the Prime Minister Boris Johnson "thinks the rules do not apply to him".
The party was held in the Cabinet Room, after Mr Johnson returned from a visit to a school in Hertfordshire.
In response to the allegations Number 10 said: "A group of staff working in No 10 that day gathered briefly in the Cabinet Room after a meeting to wish the Prime Minister a happy birthday. He was there for less than ten minutes.”
