Secretary of State resigns: Johnson’s “Partygate” penalty calls for the first consequences

Secretary of State resigns
Johnson’s “Partygate” penalty demands the first consequences

Despite strict corona rules, British Prime Minister Johnson attended a private meeting at his official residence. He has to pay a fine for that. Despite massive criticism, Johnson does not want to resign. For that, someone else draws consequences.

The fine imposed on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the “Partygate” scandal is having initial consequences for the government. Justice Secretary David Wolfson handed in his resignation. You can only implement legal reforms if you stick to the laws yourself, Wolfson wrote in a letter to Johnson published on Twitter.

“It’s not just about what happened at Downing Street or your own behavior,” Wolfson said. It is about the official reaction to the events. “As we obviously do not agree on this, I must ask you to accept my resignation,” wrote Lord David.

Downing Street had announced the day before that Johnson had received and paid a fine for violating the Corona rules he had issued himself. This makes him the first prime minister to break the law while in office. The opposition accuses Johnson of lying to Parliament. The prime minister rejects this and rules out resignation. In the cabinet and in his Conservative Party, he received backing for it.

“People sometimes make mistakes”

The London police’s fines against Johnson and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak have revealed deep social and political rifts in Britain. “Ruled by liars and lawbreakers,” headlined the Daily Mirror newspaper, while the conservative press downplayed the reason for the £50 fine. On his birthday on June 19, 2020, Johnson only attended the surprise celebration in the cabinet room for a few minutes, the Daily Mail emphasized. Neither alcohol was drunk nor cake eaten. “Do you know that a war is raging?” the paper wrote, referring to Johnson’s Ukraine mission.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News: “Everyone is human, sometimes people make mistakes.” Johnson had a busy day. It was not an intentional violation of the law. Johnson’s wife has also paid a fine.

London police are investigating a total of 12 downing street lockdown parties. It cannot be ruled out that Johnson will receive further fines because he also attended other events. Lawyer Adam Wagner, an expert on breaches of the Corona rules, told Sky News that Johnson’s penalties could ultimately add up to more than £10,000 – doubling for each rule-break. The prime minister had always objected to the fact that the corona rules he had set himself were broken at the meetings.

Opposition accuses Johnson of lying

The opposition therefore accuses him of lying to parliament and is demanding that MPs be summoned to a discussion during the Easter break. “They broke the law. They were dishonest,” Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, told the BBC about Johnson and Sunak. The leaders of Scotland and Wales – Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Mark Drakeford of the Labor Party – are also calling for Johnson’s resignation.

Nevertheless, conservative politicians also backed Johnson, who had withdrawn their confidence in the 57-year-old just a few weeks ago. Johnson’s previous statements about the affair were not accurate, Douglas Ross, the head of the Scottish Tories, admitted to the BBC. But the prime minister is an honest man who cares about supporting Ukraine. With Nigel Mills, however, a Tory MP openly called for Johnson’s resignation.

Johnson made it clear on Tuesday evening that he would not resign. He regrets his behavior, said the head of government. “But I think the best thing I can do now after paying the penalty is to focus on the task at hand. I will do that,” said Johnson. He was “not (was) aware at the time that this could have been a breach of the rules. I humbly accept that it was one.” Now he looks ahead. Finance Minister Sunak, who is already under enormous pressure because of his wealthy wife’s legal but controversial tax tricks, apologized but wants to remain in office.

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