Former British Prime Minister John Major launched a virulent charge Thursday February 10 against Boris Johnson, whom he accuses of having acted illegally, while the police investigation tightens on the parties carried out in Downing Street during containment.
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Popularity at half mast, calls for resignation even in his Conservative camp and now this frontal attack by the former Tory head of government: the British Prime Minister sees his political survival threatened by the revelations about these repeated rallies, organized when the British were subject to strict restrictions. “The Prime Minister and officials broke the law. Shameless excuses were invented. Day after day, the public was asked to believe the implausible. Ministers have been sent to defend the indefensible, making them look credulous or foolishJohn Major said in a speech to the Institute for Government think tank.
Boris Johnson rules out resignation
“Too often ministers have been evasive and the truth has seemed optional“, added the former conservative leader, at the head of the government from 1990 to 1997. The consequences are harmful, well beyond “political unpopularity“. Britain’s international reputation has taken a hit, John Major said, even as Boris Johnson traveled to Brussels and Warsaw on Thursday to discuss the Ukraine crisis. John Major has always been very critical of Boris Johnson, first and foremost on Brexit. “Our reputation abroad has declined due to our conduct. We weaken our influence in the world“, also regretted John Major, warning that”international trust may not be easy to regain“.
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Excluding any resignation, as demanded by the opposition and certain Conservative MPs, Boris Johnson has been fighting for his post for several weeks, weakened by the succession of revelations about these sometimes festive gatherings in places of power during the pandemic. His mea culpa in Parliament and his promises of change in Downing Street did not calm the situation. The press published a new photo on Wednesday showing the Prime Minister at one of these rallies.
Scotland Yard is investigating
After the publication of an internal pre-report pinning down “leadership and judgment errors“, his fate remains dependent on the conclusions of the police investigation. If they overwhelm him, the threshold of 54 Conservative MPs required to trigger a vote of no confidence could quickly be reached. “It’s always been the casethat a Prime Minister must resign if it turns out that he deliberately lied to Parliament, launched John Major. Boris Johnson’s spokesman downplayed the remarks. “The public wants to judge governments on the basis of what they do for them, which changes and improves their lives. That’s what (Boris Johnson) is focusing on“, he said.
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First criticized for their wait-and-see attitude in this case, the London police announced that they were going to question by questionnaire, by the end of the week, more than fifty people who would have taken part in one of the twelve events, distributed on eight dates in 2020 and 2021, targeted by the police investigation. They are liable to a fine. In a statement, Scotland Yard stressed that the questionnaires had a “legal status“and had to be completed”trulywithin seven days. According to the Prime Minister’s spokesperson, he has not been contacted.at this stage“. Police also said they were considering whether to include another event on their list: an online quiz on December 15, 2020, after the new photo published by the Daily Mirror showed Boris Johnson flanked by two aides there. , one of whom has a garland around his neck, with an open bottle of sparkling wine on the table.
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