MEPs for U Committee
Johnson faces Partygate probe
4/21/2022, 5:58 p.m
Things are getting uncomfortable for Boris Johnson. The British House of Commons is launching an investigation into the Prime Minister over the “Partygate” scandal. A committee is now to clarify whether Johnson lied in Parliament.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing an investigation by the House of Commons committee into alleged lies in connection with the “Partygate” scandal. A corresponding motion by the Labor opposition was waved through by MPs without a vote after several hours of debate.
For Johnson, the decision is a painful defeat. That morning he had expressed the hope that his group would postpone the decision. But apparently his own deputies thwarted his plans. Some of his party colleagues even called for his resignation.
The Prime Minister, who is currently visiting India, immediately rejected this. “I don’t think it’s the right thing to do,” he said in an interview with Sky News, in which he showed clear nervousness.
After reports of parties in London’s Downing Street during various corona lockdowns in Parliament, Johnson had repeatedly asserted that the rules had always been followed. It later emerged that the prime minister himself had attended several of the meetings in question. In the meantime, he even had to pay a fine imposed by the police. More could follow. Johnson now takes the position that he didn’t realize it was a party.
In the UK, lying to Parliament is considered a reason for members of the government to resign. If the committee finds that Johnson lied, it would be extremely sensitive. Before the investigation begins, however, the end of the police investigation should first be awaited.