British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday fielded a fresh wave of calls for him to resign over lockdown-breaching gatherings as he faced Parliament for the first time after being fined by police.
Meanwhile, House of Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has given the green light to a debate on Thursday to examine Johnson’s statements in Parliament on the gatherings.
Apologising in Parliament on Tuesday, Johnson told MPs that he had paid the fine immediately and “acknowledged the hurt and the anger” in an apology to the British people and wanted to repeat his “wholehearted apology” to Parliament.
“Let me also say, not by way of mitigation or excuse but purely because it explains my previous words in this House, that it did not occur to me, then or subsequently, that a gathering in the Cabinet Room just before a vital meeting on COVID strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules,” he said.
“I repeat, that was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly,” he added.
Johnson said he had “taken significant steps to change the way things work” in his office, adding, “it is precisely because I know that so many people are angry and disappointed that I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people, and to respond in the best traditions of our country to Putin’s barbaric onslaught against Ukraine.”
Asked if he expects more fines “now it has occurred to him what a party actually is,” Johnson said he couldn’t comment further until the investigation is complete.
Johnson repeatedly apologised as opposition party MPs demanded him to resign while all but one Conservative MP spoke to defend the prime minister, asking MPs to forgive Johnson after his apology.
Conservative MP Mark Harper, a vocal critic of the lockdowns during the pandemic, said he no longer believes Johnson “is worthy of the great office that he holds.”
“I regret to say that we have a prime minister who broke the laws that he told the country they have to follow, hasn’t been straightforward about it, and he’s now going to ask the decent men and women on this these benches to defend what I think is indefensible,” he said.
Previously, 15 Conservative MPs have publicly called for Johnson to resign over Partygate, but the voices have quieted down following the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Sir Roger Gale, who previously submitted a letter of no confidence to the 1922 committee of all backbench Conservative MPs has said while he had not changed his mind on Johnson’s position, he believes a leadership contest is not appropriate in the current situation.
But Harper submitted his letter of no confidence on April 14, saying, “We now know that the Metropolitan Police has found that the prime minister broke those laws, and by paying the fine he has accepted their verdict.”
Harper told MPs that he strongly supports the government in helping Ukraine and defending “our values,” but believes “it’s exactly at times like this that our country needs a prime minister who exemplifies those values.”
Hoyle said he had received letters from a number of MPs, including Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, requesting he gives precedence to consider statements made by Johnson to Parliament on gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall during the lockdown.
The speaker said while it’s not for him to police the ministerial code or determine whether or not the prime minister has committed a contempt of Parliament, it is his role to “decide whether there is an arguable case to be examined.”
“Having considered the issue, having taken advice from the clerks of the House, I’ve decided that this is a matter that I should allow the precedence accorded to the issue of privilege,” Hoyle told MPs.
“Therefore, [Starmer] may table a motion for debate on Thursday,” he said.
The ministerial code states that ministers who “knowingly mislead Parliament” will be expected to offer their resignation.
Downing Street said the decision to allow the vote on Thursday was “a matter for the Speaker.”
