Also targeted by a police investigation for multiple parties in Downing Street during confinement, Boris Johnson made his mea culpa in front of the deputies gathered in the House of Commons, ensuring “understanding the anger” of the British.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday apologized and vowed to learn from the mistakes made after he was seriously called to order in a report on multiple Downing Street parties during the lockdown that shocked public opinion. “I’m sorry for the things we just didn’t do well,” the Conservative prime minister said, trying to salvage the situation from the scandal.
Also targeted by a police investigation for these events, Boris Johnson, 57, made his mea culpa before the deputies gathered in the House of Commons, ensuring “understanding the anger” of the British. “I understand and I will fix it. I want to tell the people of this country that I know what the problem is,” the Prime Minister continued. “You !” retorted Labor MPs, in a stormy atmosphere.
A damning report
The head of government is struggling to keep his post. His popularity plummeted in the polls and Monday’s release of the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray saddened him further, as she denounced “errors of leadership and judgment” in Downing Street where “a many of these gatherings should not have been allowed”. At a time when the British were forced to drastically limit their social interactions in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, “some of the behavior linked to these gatherings is difficult to justify”, she pointed out.
Sue Gray notably deplores “excessive alcohol consumption” and points out that the garden of the Prime Minister’s residence was used for “gatherings without clear authorization or without supervision”, which “was not appropriate”. In addition to this report by the senior official, who looked into sixteen events – farewell drinks, garden parties, Christmas or birthday parties – organized in 2020 and 2021 at the Prime Minister’s residence, the police must report their conclusions. on several of these parties, potentially the most damaging.
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taken for fools
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The Metropolitan Police of London (the “Met”) are investigating events which allegedly took place on eight dates, between May 2020 and April 2021. These include a rally on May 20, 2020 in the gardens of the Prime Minister’s residence who admitted to having participated in it while claiming to believe that it was a work meeting and a surprise birthday party in his honor on June 19, 2020. The Met said in a press release that it had received more than 300 images and 500 pages of information. His investigations could last for months.
Sue Gray explained in this regard that she had only been able to make “minimal reference” to the rallies investigated by the police, the conclusions of which will be decisive for Boris Johnson. The opposition parties and some members of the Prime Minister’s conservative camp are already calling for the latter’s departure. In Parliament, Labor leader Keir Starmer paid tribute to Britons who observed the strict restrictions in place during the pandemic. “They saved lives by following the rules,” he said, contrasting them with Boris Johnson who “took us all for fools.”
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End this prank
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Criticizing the latter for his refusal to resign, Mr. Starmer called on members of the Conservative Party to “put an end to this farce” by triggering a vote of no confidence in the Prime Minister. Within the Conservative Party, deputies have already publicly called on their leader to resign, which he curtly refused to do. Others were waiting for the publication of Sue Gray’s report to decide whether or not to try to oust her. On Monday, former Conservative Prime Minister Theresa May herself openly criticized her successor, asking if he “didn’t read the rules, didn’t understand what they meant or he thought the rules didn’t apply to Downing Street.”
In a particularly tense atmosphere, the leader of the Scottish National Party in parliament, Ian Blackford, was asked to leave the House of Commons for refusing to withdraw accusations made against Boris Johnson. In an attempt to erase the scandals, the Prime Minister launched a counter-offensive, announcing on Monday a “Brexit freedoms” bill which aims to facilitate the process already underway to modify or abandon and replace the laws inherited from the European Union.
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