Man forced to mourn dad alone as Downing Street partied calls for MPs who attended to resign

The touching moment James Nunnerley sang to his son from the care home door shortly before he contracted covid and passed away.

A man mourning the loss of his father alone because of Covid restrictions says he was on the phone to suicide prevention charity Samaritans as the Prime Minister partied with colleagues.

Carl Nunnerley, from Denton in Manchester, lost his beloved dad, James, in May 2020 to Covid-19.

During his father's final weeks Carl was only able to visit him from behind a window at St Mary's Nursing Home in Moston, due to restrictions.

But, thankfully, he says he was able to hold the 88-year-old's hand the day he passed away.

Now, as more revelations into alleged Downing Street parities come to light, Carls says on the same day the Prime Minister attended a 'bring your own booze' party - 20 May 2020, he'd decided to call Samaritans to help him cope with his loss.

James' funeral was socially distant, with family and friends not permitted to sit close to one another to offer support. The loss took a huge toll on Carl.

"It was just an awful experience" - Carl describes the moment he decided to call Samaritans.

Five days later, on 20 May, he reached out for help and picked the phone to the Samaritans.

He says he is 'beyond livid' after it emerged that on that very same day Boris Johnson attended a boozy party with dozens of Downing Street staff members. Carl, a carer for people with disabilities, described gathering as a 'big slap in the face'. "It says to me that it's a pretence that they really care," the 47-year-old said.

He said: "When you mourn somebody, you need people around you. I was on my own, but I thought I was doing the right thing.

"If I knew all this was going on, I would've made sure I gave my dad the biggest cuddle and the biggest love."

"It's a slap in the face", says Carl who lost his father to Covid-19.

He added: "It's [allegations of the party] dragged up all of these emotions from the time. I was scared and frightened.

"The day they had their party, I was sitting on the couch, looking out of the window, and contemplating my dad's life, thinking 'I hope I have not let him down'."After news of the No 10 party broke Carl shared a video of one of his visits on Twitter of his father singing to him through a doorway at the care home.

Addressing the House of Commons during PMQs earlier this week, Mr Johnson offered his 'heartfelt apologies' after finally admitting he attended the party.

Carl is calling for all Conservative MPs who attended parties at Downing Street during lockdown to resign.

But the PM said he believed the gathering - that 100 Downing Street staff were invited to by email - 'technically falls within the guidance'.

Mr Johnson told MPs he only attended for 25 minutes and 'believed implicitly that this was a work event'.

Amid a furore of national anger, senior Conservative MPs have publicly called for the PM to resign - with the latest alleged revelations only adding fuel to the fire.