NICE DAY FOR A WHITEWASH WEDDING
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BORIS Johnson married Carrie Symonds in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral yesterday.
As controversy swirled around the Government’s handling of the pandemic, the Prime Minister walked down the aisle with his Bank Holiday bride.
PRIME Minister Boris Johnson was accused of being involved in a cover-up yesterday – his own wedding.
He married Carrie Symonds, 33, in a secret ceremony they’re said to have been planning for six months.
The 56-year-old PM and his bride tied the knot at Westminster Cathedral after what has been a nightmare week for the Tories.
If anything was going to deflect attention from the Cummings and Hancock scandals, the timing of this hush-hush splicing was it.
Last night, Labour MP Jon Trickett said: “It’s a good way to try to bury bad news.”
Earlier this week, it was reported the couple were planning a lavish wedding in July next year and had sent out ‘save the date’ cards – but it appears to have been a ruse.
Only a handful of church officials were involved in the preparations, with top No10 aides kept in the dark.
At around 1.30pm, puzzled tourists had to be ushered from the cathedral – just 1.5 miles from the couple’s Downing Street flat – with staff telling them it was ‘in lockdown’.
CONFIDENTIAL
Around 30 minutes later, a limousine carrying the bride swept in to the piazza outside the main door.
Carrie reportedly stepped out in a long flowing white dress and no veil.
She and her twice-married fiancé walked down the aisle to classical music and kissed after their vows.
In line with Covid regulations, 30 guests were invited at the last minute to keep the ceremony under wraps. The couple’s year-old son Wilfred was among those attending.
Fr Daniel Humphreys, who gave the pair premarriage lessons and baptised Wilfred last year, conducted the ceremony as armed police stood by.
Last night, cathedral chaplain Fr Michael Donaghy admitted even he didn’t know the identity of the VIP bride and groom until it was all over.
He said: “It’s been kept very confidential.” One witness told how the party was “bundled into a car” after leaving the cathedral.
The drama comes after a difficult week for the PM who got a roasting from Dominic Cummings at a Commons hearing into handling of the pandemic. Mr Cummings also heavily criticised the PM’s partner.
Mr Johnson first met Carrie when she worked on his campaign to be re-elected as London Mayor in 2012.
The PM’s first marriage was to Allegra Mostyn-Owen in 1987 and was annulled in 1993 after it emerged he was having an affair with childhood pal Marina Wheeler.
They went on to wed and divorced in 2020 – the same month his engagement to Carrie was announced.
It’s a good way to bury bad news… LABOUR MP JON TRICKETT ON NUPTIALS