A video leaked to ITV News shows the group of staff members laughing and making references to “cheese and wine” at the “business meeting.”
Daisy was disgusted to watch the footage today.
Speaking to Manchester Evening News, the student said: “I don’t really have words for it. Just absolute fury. Our family and so many other families were suffering.
“I would like to see resignations but what I would also really like to see is accountability.”
Helen’s hospice in Glasgow, Scotland, was in lockdown last December so Daisy wasn’t allowed to visit her mum in person.
The mum was diagnosed with a grade four terminal brain tumour in 2016, and had defied doctors who gave her an 18-month life expectancy.
She was diagnosed with coronavirus on December 19.
Daisy, a drama student at University of Manchester, came back to her home city on December 18, and chatted to her mum on FaceTime. However, Daisy’s dad was woken up in the early hours of December 20 by the hospice, who informed the family that Helen wasn’t going to make it.
Her dad could have visited the hospice, but would have had to stand outside and say goodbye through the window.
The drive was also a good 40 minutes away from the family home and they feared they wouldn’t make it in time.
Instead they decided to go over to Daisy’s grandmother’s house where just 30 minutes later, they received a call with the news that Helen has sadly passed away.
Daisy added: “The government’s failure to lockdown early enough and the reopening in the summer before failing to lockdown early enough again was just shocking.
“Now finding out that they were breaking the rules themselves is heartbreaking. Seeing that video last night made me really upset.
“The staff at the hospice were so visibly moved by my mum when those in power were just joking around like it didn’t mean anything to them.
“It is coming up to a year since I lost my mum so I was already a bit fragile so this has really brought that home for me. It has really shaken me up.”
The student described her mother as a “wonderful” woman and the “most amazing person.
“She was just so kind and compassionate and clever and funny. She really understood me in a way nobody else has. She is the best mum I could have ever asked for,” Daisy added.
Downing Street and Boris Johnson continued to insist restrictions were observed last year.
In response to ITV’s report, a Downing Street spokesman said: “There was no Christmas party. Covid rules have been followed at all times.”
