BLACKBURN comedian Lee Mack has divided viewers after making a joke at Boris Johnson’s expense during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.

While performing at Platinum Party at the Palace, which was held in front of Buckingham Palace this weekend, Lee made a jibe about partygate - and all while Prime Minister Boris Johnson watched from the royal box.

In the opening joke, Lee Mack said: “We are here right outside the gates of Buckingham Palace for the party of a lifetime.

“And I tell you what, finally we can say the words ‘party’ and ‘gate’ and it’s a positive.”

Lancashire Telegraph: Lee Mack. (Photo: BBC)Lee Mack. (Photo: BBC)

The joke elicited laughter and cheers from the crowd of around 22,000 people.

Lee added: “That wasn’t in the autocue admittedly.”

Lee wasn’t the only comedian to critique the government, with Stephen Fry also making a comment on the show.

He said: “As a nation, we have been lucky, lucky, lucky above all others to have had our Queen to represent us over 70 years of Trooping the Colour, royal tours, Christmas Day at three in the afternoon.

"How many local sewage works has our Majesty opened with a bright smile? How many plaques unveiled? How many trees planted, ribbons cut, ships launched?

"How many prime ministers tolerated – for that alone, no admiration is high enough."

Almost 12 million viewers watched the show on BBC One, with many taking to Twitter after it aired to discuss Lee’s jibe.

Fellow comedian, Jason Manford, said:  “Lee Mack. Take a bow.”

 

 

Another viewer said: “If you are more offended by Lee Mack's partygate joke than the fact that Boris Johnson partied the night away until the early hours just before Prince Phillip's funeral while the Queen sat alone obeying Covid rules, then then problem is not Lee Mack, the problem is you.”

“Shout out to Lee Mack for almost immediately dropping partygate in. With Boris right there. Bloody superb,” said a third.

Another said: “You could actually see the moment he decided he was going to say the line... you love to see it!”

“Shots fired from Lee Mack,” said another. “Johnson is a national laughing stock.”

However, not every viewers was impressed with the joke.

One person said: “Keep politics out of it.”

“Lee Mack and Stephen Fry should be ashamed of themselves today,” said another. “The whole country and world coming together for our Queen and they had to spoil it.”

“Lee Mack’s cheap political jibe has spoilt the concert. To think I used to like him,” said another.

Boris Johnson will face a vote of confidence by Tory MPs this evening (6 June) as discontent over the lockdown-busting parties in No 10 and the direction of the Prime Minister’s leadership reached a tipping point.

The Prime Minister was informed on Sunday that he would face the vote after Sir Graham Brady, the chairman of the backbench 1922 Committee, confirmed he had received the 54 letters from Conservative MPs needed to trigger the ballot.