British Prime Minister Boris Johnson took “full responsibility” on Wednesday for parties held on Downing Street during the lockdowns that came into effect in the UK in 2020 and 2021 to contain Covid-19. Attendance at events “breaks the rules”.
“I take full responsibility for everything that happens in my presence,” Boris Johnson told the British Parliament. The statement was made after the publication of an internal report that political leaders and senior British officials were involved in the scandal.party door‘, ‘must take responsibility’.
The comments came after photos of him drinking with employees during the lockdown at parties held at Johnson’s official residence were broadcast by a British TV channel Monday (23).
“These things shouldn’t have been allowed to happen,” concludes senior official Sue Gray’s report, without referring directly to the British prime minister.
Johnson justified himself by saying his employees were working long hours amid the pandemic and that it was difficult to “define the boundary between work and socializing.” However, he acknowledged that “many of these meetings took longer than necessary, breaking the rules.” He also said he was “surprised” by Gray’s statements about the events, which he claimed were “not there”.
“My existence has not been determined to break the rules,” he stressed, emphasizing that when he reassured the rules a few months ago that this was “what he thought was right”. According to him, significant changes have been made in the management of his office since then.
But the prime minister’s arguments did not convince the opposition. Scottish nationalist Ian Blackford accused Johnson of “losing the little moral authority he had”. After the Labor Party, he again demanded his resignation.
Presence of senior positions
Considered to be meticulous and ruthless, Gray began investigating several parties in Dowing Street months ago where Covid-19 rules prevented Britons from gathering, including funerals. The epidemic has killed 178,000 people in the UK.
Gray finished his report in January, but police decided to open their own investigation and was forced to release an edited version of the findings, skipping the details so as not to interfere with the investigations.
Scotland Yard closed the investigation last week, fining 83 people 126 for eight parties. Shortly after, Gray published his full results.
“Some less experienced collaborators believed that the prime minister was allowed to attend events because high positions were also available,” he said. Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Finance Minister Rishi Sunak received a single sanction from the police for the most trivial of meetings: the prime minister’s 56th birthday party, celebrated in the ministerial assembly chamber on June 19, 2020.
The Conservative leader denied resigning at the time of the complaint, assuring that he “did not think then and later” that joining the party could constitute a “violation of the rules”. this is the “short event”.
Faced with an internal rebellion earlier in the year in his conservative party, which tried to impeach him due to scandal, Johnson managed to shift the focus of attention and lessen the threat posed by the outbreak of war in Ukraine.
Given the context of a crisis and the crucial role of the British in the international response to the Russian invasion, many members of the majority decided to await the outcome of the investigations before returning to consider a possible no-confidence vote that should be requested. By at least 15% of the 359 Conservative Party MPs.
(with information from AFP)
source: Noticias
