A WIDOW who lost her husband to Covid has called for the Prime Minister to resign after he admitted to attending a drinks party when the country was in lockdown.

Canvey resident Jane Butler, once an ardent supporter of Boris Johnson, says she cannot bring herself to trust the PM anymore.

Ms Butler’s husband, Paul, aged 59, died at Basildon Hospital on December 6, 2020, after succumbing to Covid-19.

“It’s just utterly disgraceful and it’s just so heart-breaking for people, like myself, my daughter Nieve, and those that have lost someone and had our right to say goodbye properly taken away from us,” Jane said.

Read more: Jane's powerful letter following Paul's death

“Nieve and I were lucky enough that we were able to see Paul the day he died, but he was in a coma and we couldn’t see him prior to that due to the rules in place at the time." 

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Family - Paul with his wife Jane and daughter Nieve in 2018

She added: “When it got to a stage where they knew that Paul wasn’t going to make it we got to see him, but, I was robbed of the chance to tell him how much I love him when he was still lucid."

Yesterday, Mr Johnson apologised for attending the “bring your own booze” gathering in the garden of No 10 during England’s first lockdown.

The PM told MPs that he attended the May 20, 2020, gathering for around 25 minutes to “thank groups of staff”.

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Fury - Boris Johnson. Pic: PA

“I believed implicitly that this was a work event,” he said.

In the wake of the party being exposed via a leaked email, Ms Butler has called for the Prime Minister to resign.

“To hear that the Prime Minister was partying, it just makes me feel so angry. I have always been a huge supporter of Boris, but his total lack of sincerity, his lack of transparency, I’ve just lost all faith.

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Missed - dad Paul

“I think he should resign and all the other people that were involved in the parties.”

Ms Butler says she also fears this latest debacle will erode the nation’s willingness to accept the necessary sacrifices to defeat the deadly virus.

“I worry now, that because the Government have been shown up in the past few weeks, is this now going to push people into rebelling and not bothering to get the vaccine or their booster,” she said.

Addressing MPs yesterday, 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.”

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Sadly missed - Paul and Jane Butler

Yesterday, Labour leader Kier Starmer called for Mr Johnson’s resignation tweeting: “The party is over Boris Johnson. Resign.” Many Echo readers echoed these sentiments.

“It's beyond parody. He's laughing at us all. He must go,” said reader Justin Kelly.

Although, some readers disagreed. “How about letting him run the country without all the interference from other parties who are trying to stop him doing his job and not giving him a chance to prove he can run the country,” said Tony Coles.