The Prime Minister is set to deliver a statement on partygate today (Tuesday April 19) for the first time since he was fined by the Metropolitan Police.
His wife, Carrie Johnson, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak were among the latest swathe of people to be hit by fixed penalty notices last week, for breaching Covid lockdown rules. The Prime Minister was handed a £100 fixed penalty notice (FPN) for attending a June 2020 party in honour of his 56th birthday.
Because he agreed to pay the penalty within 14 days, the amount he had to actually pay was halved to £50, reports the Mirror. It comes as a Cabinet minister appeared to compare Mr Johnson's Covid FPN to a speeding ticket during a Sky News interview earlier today.
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Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said other ministers, including former prime minister Tony Blair, had received FPNs and remained in office. Mr Lewis told Sky News: “I think we do see consistently, whether it is through parking fines or speeding fines, ministers of both parties over the years have been in that position.
“We’ve had prime ministers in the past who have received penalty notices, from what I can see, and also front bench ministers. I saw there was a parking notice that Tony Blair had once. We’ve seen front bench Labour ministers and, let’s be frank, government ministers as well.”
He added: “You’ve asked me, can someone who sets the laws and the rules, can they also be someone who breaks the rules? That clearly has happened with a number of ministers over the years.”
Last week, Mr Johnson said it “didn’t occur” to him that the gathering in the Cabinet Room was a violation of coronavirus rules. However, he said that after being issued with a fine as part of a Metropolitan Police investigation into alleged parties at the heart of the government during the pandemic he “now humbly accepts” he did breach Covid-19 laws.
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Speaking to broadcasters at Chequers, Mr Johnson said he “fully respects” the outcome of the police investigation and that he accepts “in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better” from him.
Meanwhile Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he expected Mr Johnson to “apologise and then excuse himself” over the partygate fine. Sir Keir told ITV’s Lorraine: “The Prime Minister makes the laws, tells the country to obey the laws, then breaks them and then – in my view – lies to Parliament about it.”
He added: “For millions of people, complying with the rules really, really hurt. This is why it has gone so deep – we’ve all heard of terrible cases of funerals that people couldn’t attend.” Sir Keir dismissed the argument put forward by some of the Prime Minister’s allies that Mr Johnson’s punishment was “like a speeding fine”.
There have been growing calls for the PM to resign over the partygate scandal, including from the Tory party. The Prime Minister is expected to make his statement at around 3.30pm today.
