Boris Johnson has faced a fresh volley of calls for his resignation in the wake of news he was one of a number of people fined over Partygate lockdown breaches. Opposition MPs from a number of parties have said it is time to go branding the breaches "deeply offensive".
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has renewed his calls for the Prime Minister and Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to resign saying the “trust in them that is so important in crises has gone” after both were fined. He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “This is a Government in crisis when our country is in crisis, particularly with a cost-of-living emergency, and I think the Prime Minister and the Chancellor should resign.
“They broke the law. They were dishonest. And I think the trust in them that is so important in crises has gone.”
Sir Ed added: “Let’s remember, during this period, millions of people were making huge sacrifices. If they would have had a party, they would have been fined, they would have broken the law, and the Prime Minister would have condemned them no doubt.
“And here was the Prime Minister and the Chancellor breaking the law, and the Met Police have found that. After a thorough investigation, they decided that a criminal offence was committed.
“I don’t think you can have a prime minister overseeing the country, overseeing the laws, passing laws which affect millions of people and cause huge distress, particularly to bereaved families, and then getting away with it. I think he has to be held to account. It is the duty of opposition parties like the Liberal Democrats to hold this Government to account both for the lawbreaking and their disastrous economic policy.”
Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak do not seem to understand how “deeply offensive” their lockdown breaches are. Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, the Labour MP said: “Fresh leadership would mean that we will have a government that could concentrate on the issues that we need to focus on as a country.”
Asked if Mr Johnson’s claim that he unknowingly broke the rules was a sufficient explanation, Ms Reeves said: “No, it would not do because the Prime Minister still at this stage, even after receiving this fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan Police, is still unable to say what people, especially those who have made huge sacrifices in the pandemic, want him to say – is that he was wrong, he did something that was wrong, he understands that, he understood that he has lied to Parliament and lied to the country.
“But he is still obfuscating and saying, oh he still didn’t really realise he was breaking the rules and he just happened to be in this room at the time… It’s just not good enough. People have never made, collectively or personally, the sacrifices that were made during the pandemic outside of wartime and the Prime Minister and the Chancellor still don’t seem to understand how deeply offensive it is, especially to those who lost loved ones, or who were not there for the birth of their child, or for the death of a loved one.”
Then speaking to Times Radio the shadow chancellor added has said the UK needs new leadership because Downing Street scandals regarding lockdown parties and Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s tax affairs are diverting the Government’s focus from Ukraine and the rising cost of living in Britain. Ms Reeves said: “The Government is struggling to focus on the issues of the day because they have become mired in this saga of lies and cover-up.
“Take, for example, the use of chemical weapons in Ukraine. Parliament should have been recalled this week so that we could debate and put questions to the Prime Minister on that issue. But the Prime Minister has decided not to recall Parliament – not because the issue doesn’t merit it, but because he doesn’t want to be challenged on parties.
“Take inflation – that’s risen to seven per cent today. The spring statement did nothing to help families and pensioners struggling with the rising cost of living, but the Government and the Chancellor are too distracted by problems of their own making around their tax affairs, around the parties, to be able to focus on the issues at hand.
“We need fresh leadership because this Government and this Chancellor have lost the moral authority, but also because this saga of lies and cover-up is making it impossible for them to focus with the laser focus that is needed on the key issues that are facing us as a country.”
Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross said the Prime Minister is a truthful man. On BBC Radio Scotland on Wednesday, when he was asked if he believed the Prime Minister was a truthful man, Mr Ross answered: “Yes, and he’s dealing with the situation in Ukraine and he’s dealing with the situation at home here.”
When asked if the Prime Minister’s protestations over Downing Street parties in recent months were true, Mr Ross added: “Clearly not, because the Met Police have decided that fixed penalty notices had to be issued. The Prime Minister has to explain why he said that and what he believed to be the case.
“Clearly he thought something different, but the Met Police have been very clear, they’ve issued these fixed penalty notices, they have been accepted by the Prime Minister, they have been paid by the Prime Minister, and I think that process is right. That the police were allowed time to investigate this, to come to a conclusion, and no-one is above the law and that has been proven by the issuing of these fines to the Prime Minister and others in Downing Street.”
He continued: “The Prime Minister has to explain why he said that to Keir Starmer and statements he’s made at the despatch box in the House of Commons, because it’s quite clear now – with the Met Police investigation, the issuing of the fine and the acceptance of that fine by the Prime Minister – that that statement is not correct.”
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said Mr Johnson had “clearly made a very serious and grave mistake”, but “we all make mistakes”. He told LBC Radio: “I think as with everything in life, the Prime Minister has apologised.
"Obviously, it’s a very, very serious issue. He has clearly made a very serious and grave mistake, but I’m a big believer in life, as we all should be, (that) we all make mistakes.
“We have all done things that we regret. We have all done things that we get wrong, but I’m a big believer of looking at people in the round and judging them in the context of all of their actions, and not just on a single action.”
Former Cabinet minister Lord David Frost has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson must “make clear” to MPs in Parliament his position over Downing Street parties. Speaking on LBC, he said: “I don’t think the one fixed penalty notice is in itself grounds for resignation.
“But I think it’s not possible just to say: ‘That was then and this is now, let’s move on, the world is different’, as the Government is trying to this morning. I don’t think that’s quite good enough.
“First of all, I think, you know, the Prime Minister is on record saying to Parliament that all the rules were observed and there were no parties. That’s obviously not the case.
“And I think it’s very important in our constitutional system that correct information is given to Parliament, so I hope the Prime Minister comes to the House on Tuesday and makes it clear what the actual position is.” Lord Frost said Sue Gray report into Downing Street parties should be published sooner, and warned that the scandal will “dog the Prime Minister” unless he can explain himself to MPs and to the public.
He said: “We don’t yet know what other penalties may be issued and to whom. I think if there’s some thoughts on bringing forward the Sue Gray report, I think that would be good idea.”
He added: “I think it will dog the party and it will dog the Prime Minister unless he can be clear and explain to people what happened and why.”
However he feels confident that Boris Johnson will lead the Conservatives into the next general election, despite partygate. When posed the question on LBC, he said: “I believe he will if he does the right things – if he makes his case, makes clear what goes on, regularises the position with with Parliament.
“We’ve got the energy crisis, we’ve got a lot of things going on. It’s going to be extremely difficult, I think people recognise that. But I think when it comes to making a choice between Conservatives and Labour, the record of this Government, Boris Johnson’s leadership capabilities, the fact that we will have delivered so much, will be important. So yes, I’m confident he will – but we must do the right things in these two years that remain to us.”
And DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson declined to join calls for the Prime Minister to resign over his fine for a breach of Covid-19 lockdown rules. Sir Jeffrey said he personally faced difficult times when his father died during the early stages of the pandemic in 2020.
He also welcomed the apology issued by Boris Johnson, which he said went further than former deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, who attended the funeral of senior republican Bobby Storey during lockdown. Northern Ireland’s Public Prosecution Service took the decision not to prosecute anyone over attending the Storey funeral.
Sir Jeffrey told media in Bangor, Co Down on Wednesday: “That was a very difficult time for all of us and when I think back to the restrictions that we faced at that time – couldn’t have a wake, only 10 people at the funeral and we obeyed all of the rules. Therefore, I understand the anger that people feel about this when those who make the rules are then seen to breach them.”
“I welcome the fact that the Prime Minister has apologised, which I have to say, he’s gone further than for example, our deputy first minister, who said she would not apologise for attending a funeral, which in our opinion, breached many of the rules around the Covid regulations.”
He added: “As to the Prime Minister’s future, that is a matter for him and the Conservative Party. I’m not going to join in a chorus, because I can’t in the end, influence the decision the Prime Minister has to take.
“He has to take that decision but what we need in the United Kingdom right now is stable government. We need leadership."
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