The prime minister and the chancellor broke the law. That is the finding of the Metropolitan police investigation, which will result in fixed-penalty notices for the two men. To be more precise: Boris Johnson broke the life-saving rules that he set, and which others made immeasurable sacrifices to follow, in the very place where they were formulated – then denied having done so. Through his actions and his subsequent remarks, he has treated the public with contempt.
While parties took place in Whitehall, hundreds of parents, spouses, siblings and friends were dying each day. Families were unable to see vulnerable relatives in care homes. Doctors and nurses on the frontline could not gather to comfort each other after gruelling shifts. The Met is investigating no fewer than 12 gatherings, and has handed out 50 fixed-penalty notices; with the prime minister alleged to have attended as many as six events, he could yet face more fines. The Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice group observed: “It is still unbelievably painful that Boris Johnson was partying and breaking his own lockdown rules, while we were unable to be at our loved ones’ sides in their dying moments, or in miserable funerals with only a handful of people.”
That Mr Johnson should have lied when challenged over his behaviour is hardly surprising, given his record. But the ministerial code of conduct is clear: “Ministers who knowingly mislead parliament will be expected to offer their resignation.” Mr Johnson told parliament that he had been repeatedly assured that there were no parties and that no Covid rules were broken. Asked about two events in late 2020, Rishi Sunak assured MPs: “I did not attend any parties.” The opposition is right to say that they should go. According to a snap YouGov poll, 57% of voters agree.
Each day that Mr Johnson remains in place, he diminishes the highest office in the land. Yet no one expects him to do the honourable thing and, conveniently for those concerned, the Met has issued these fines while parliament is in Easter recess. The integrity of British government is now in the hands of Conservative MPs. While cabinet ministers proved notably quiet on Tuesday, backbenchers who had previously demanded his resignation drew back from the brink, citing Ukraine – though Britain has previously changed prime ministers even when at war itself. Others point to the paucity of suitable replacements. Many are waiting for the judgment of the public in May’s local elections.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak, who looked like a rising star when handing out furlough cash, this week asked for an investigation into his own financial affairs after news of his wife’s non-dom tax status and the couple’s US green cards emerged. There could hardly be a more glaring contrast than the one between his treatment of the country’s poorest as the cost-of-living crisis takes hold – snatching back the £20 boost to universal credit – and his family’s gilded lifestyle.
The lockdown breaches will magnify growing public anger at the kind of country this government is creating: the sense that there is one set of rules for those in power and another for the rest of us; the feeling that it is their world, built by them and for them, in which the rest can only struggle by. It is hard to think of a conclusion more corrosive to democracy, and to a society already deeply riven. Tory MPs can choose to ignore the ministerial code of conduct, trashing the standards of government. They can choose to ignore Mr Johnson’s actions. But they should remember that the public will ultimately judge them as well as their boss if they give him a free pass – and rightly so. Treat voters with contempt and you should expect them to respond in kind.
