Boris Johnson has apologised for breaching Covid rules in Downing Street during the height of lockdown, as Speaker Lindsay Hoyle confirmed there would be a vote on whether the Prime Minister had misled Parliament.
Sir Lindsay said he had approved an application from Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and other opposition MPs allowing them to table a vote on Thursday. It comes after the Mr Johnson, along with his wife Carrie and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, were last week issued with fixed-penalty notices (FPN) by police investigating claims of coronavirus lockdown breaches in No 10.
Mr Johnson was fined for a birthday bash held in Number 10 in June 2020 and paid the fine despite telling the Commons previously that all Covid guidance was followed at the heart of Government.
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Speaking in the Commons this afternoon, he said: "Let me begin in all humility by saying that on April 12 I received a fixed penalty notice relating to an event in Downing Street on June 19 2020.
“I paid the fine immediately and I offered the British people a full apology, and I take this opportunity on the first available sitting day to repeat my wholehearted apology to the House.”
He added: "As soon as I received the notice, I acknowledged the hurt and anger and I said that people had a right to expect better of their Prime Minister – and I repeat that, Mr Speaker, again in the House now.
“Let me also say, not by way of mitigation or excuse but purely because it explains my previous words in this House, that it did not occur to me then or subsequently that a gathering in the Cabinet Room just before a vital meeting on Covid strategy could amount to a breach of the rules.
“I repeat that was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly. I respect the outcome of the police investigation, which is still under way, and I can only say that I will respect their decision-making and always take the appropriate steps.”
Mr Johnson, to laughs from the Opposition benches, said he now feels an "even greater obligation" to deliver on the priorities of the British people. Shouts of “resign” could be heard in the Commons as Mr Johnson spoke.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer responded to the statement saying: "What a joke."
He added: “Even now as the latest mealy-mouthed apology stumbles out of one side of his mouth, a new set of deflections and distortions pour from the other.
"The damage is already done. The public has made up their mind. They don't believe a word the PM says."
Sir Keir said if the Prime Minister had any respect for the millions who followed the Covid rules "he would resign", adding: "But he won't, because he's a man with no shame."
