Hugh Grant has criticised numerous cabinet members’ support of Boris Johnson after Sue Gray’s report revealed drunkenness, vomiting and damage at the illegal events and the abuse of cleaners who objected to them.
The Love Actually and A Very English Scandal star, who has long been a vocal critic of the Tory government, retweeted a post that said: “It’s amazing how many of the Cabinet support #JohnsonOut122 with similar words.”
The post included screenshots of comments by Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss and Sajid Javid.
Sharing the tweet, Grant quipped that the responses were “the mini-me’s chorus”.
On Wednesday (25 May), Grant also retweeted a post by Pointless host Richard Osman that said: “I think I just need one or two more cabinet ministers to tell me it’s time to move on.
“15 isn’t enough, but I think 17 would probably do it.”
The long-awaited report sparked fresh calls for the prime minister to quit, but senior cabinet ministers all defended the PM and only one further Tory MP, Julian Sturdy, broke ranks to call for his resignation.
Johnson said he was “humbled” by the findings, but defended his decision to attend leaving events for staff to “keep morale as high as possible”.
He argued that staff had only broken Covid rules after he left and emphasised that he believed they were “work events”.
Last year, Grant accused the government of using the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity to “enrich” its friends and donors.
And in January, the actor hit out at the government over plans to scrap the licence fee that funds the BBC, calling politicians “spittle-flecked nut jobs” who “want to destroy” the corporation.
In February, Grant showed his support for an anti-Johnson march. The protest was organised by the activist group Take Back Democracy, who describe themselves as “entirely fed up with the UK government of Boris Johnson and the Tory party”.
Grant hasn’t been the only celebrity in recent days to mock the government. David Baddiel joked on Twitter this week about a new picture that appeared to show Johnson drinking at a Downing Street party held during a coronavirus lockdown.
