Author in coma during lockdown-breaking party condemns Downing Street 'contempt'

I was in a coma while they were having their party," Mr Rosen told Charlene White.

A children's author who was in a coma during Downing Street's lockdown-busting 'bring your own booze' party has condemned Number 10 for treating the country with "contempt".

Michael Rosen said he was fighting for his life at The Whittington Hospital and because of Covid rules his family were not allowed to visit.

He was suffering low blood oxygen, had blood clots on the brain and before he was admitted couldn't even get tested.

 "I was in a coma while they [Downing Street] were having their party," Mr Rosen told ITV News London.

"My family could not come to see me if I’d died and 42% on my ward at Whittington Hospital were dying in that ward - they wouldn’t have seen me, they wouldn’t have been able to say goodbye to me.

"My first feeling was that they hold us in contempt. They say ‘bring your own booze’, it’s a laugh it's frivolous," he added.

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The coma affected Mr Rosen's sight and he said hearing about Downing Street's party left him and others feeling "enraged".

"People are upset, they’re enraged, they’re saddened, call it a trauma if you like," he said.

"You have the personal trauma of what happened to you or the fact you weren’t able to see people who were dying or very ill.

"And then this is across hundreds of thousands of people.

"That’s a whole society having a trauma and you expect and hope a government can help and support you.

"We see every year people stand at the Cenotaph and puts wreaths down because of the trauma of the Second World War.

"That’s what we hope governments will do. But if they do this sort of thing instead then people are furious," Mr Rosen added.

Shortly after ITV News broke the story of the leaked Number 10 email inviting more than 100 members of staff to the party, Michael Rosen tweeted:

His tweet prompted hundred of replies from people with similar heartbreaking stories."I’ve got a whole string of tragic stories following a tweet I sent," Mr Rosen said.

"People are upset, they’re enraged, they’re saddened. Call it a trauma if you like," he added.

When Mr Johnson was asked on Monday, before ITV News' story, if he and his wife attended the party on May 20, he replied: “All that, as you know, is the subject of a proper investigation by Sue Gray."

Downing Street told ITV News they would not comment on the story due to the Sue Gray inquiry.