Boris Johnson and Carrie Symonds to spend New Year on private Caribbean island
24 December 2019, 10:17 | Updated: 28 December 2019, 12:28
Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his girlfriend Carrie Symonds will be flying out to the private island of Mustique in the Caribbean to see in the New Year.
The exclusive island is in the archipelago nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines and known for its white-sand beaches.
It is also a favourite of the rich and famous, with Mick Jagger and Tommy Hilfiger owning properties on the island.
Mustique is also popular with the royal family, with the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and Princess Margaret previously holidaying there.
The island was also the site of a major royal scandal, when Princess Margaret was famously photographed there with Roddy Llewellyn while still married to Lord Snowden.
It comes as a contrast to other Prime Ministers who over the last few years have chosen to take more low key holidays.
Theresa May took walking holidays in Wales, David Cameron would often holiday in Cornwall and Gordon Brown taking trips away in Southwold.
The announcement comes after both Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn paid tribute to NHS staff and public service workers working over Christmas.
Mr Johnson took a casual tone, starting the speech with: "Hi folks, Boris Johnson here, taking a moment to wish you all a merry little Christmas."
He continued: On behalf of the whole country I want to say a huge thank you to our amazing NHS staff, many of whom will be working throughout the holidays to take care of us.
"Thank you also to our police, and all those public servants working tirelessly this Christmas.
"I also want to express my personal gratitude to the wonderful members of our Armed Forces currently on deployment, and therefore to their friends, family and children back home who will have an empty chair at the table when they tuck in to their Christmas dinner."
He signed off: "Try not to have too many arguments with the in-laws, or anyone else.
"And whoever you are, wherever you are, and however you’re celebrating, have a very happy Christmas, and I’ll see you all again in the New Year."
Mr Corbyn used his speech to thank people working in food banks and emergency shelters over Christmas and said it was a time of year when "the scale of injustice and inequality" is in "plain sight".
