The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Boris Johnson, reiterated this Tuesday (19) in the British Parliament his apologies for the holding of parties in Downing Street, the seat of the government, which violated the rules against Covid-19, which is why he was fined by the police.
“On 12 April I received a fine in connection with an event in Downing Street that took place on 19 June 2020. I paid the fine immediately and offered the British a full apology. I take this opportunity at the first available (parliamentary) session to reiterate my sincere apology to the House of Commons,” Johnson said.
The opposition leader, Labor Keir Starmer, insisted on the “resignation” of the prime minister, who also had to listen to criticism from the Conservatives themselves.
Although Johnson’s speech was supposedly intended to address the situation in Ukraine, the opposition bench received his words amid cries of “resignation” and the prime minister opened his speech by repeating the apologies he had already apologized on video last week, when the fine was released.
After admitting that he is aware of “the pain and anger” that the parties have caused among the population, Johnson said he never thought that his presence at a celebration for his birthday in one of the Downing Street salons could be violating the social distancing that he himself had. government had imposed.
“It did not occur to me then or later that a meeting in the Cabinet Room, shortly before a vital meeting on Covid-19 strategy, could amount to a breach of the rules,” he declared. “It was my mistake and I apologize for that, without reservation.”
At the time, due to restrictions in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, the limit for social gatherings in the UK was for two people from different households, in an open place and keeping a distance of 2 meters.
Starmer considered the Prime Minister’s explanations “a joke”, which he accused of being “dishonest”, which is why he was reprimanded by the Speaker of the House of Commons.
For Labour, a “mea culpa” would never be enough to compensate those who were unable to say goodbye in person to their loved ones during the pandemic, and called on the Conservatives, who have a parliamentary majority, “to put the country and their consciences first. place and remove the prime minister from his post.”
One of the most prominent Conservative lawmakers, Mark Harper, has publicly announced that he has lost his trust in Johnson and that he has sent a letter asking the Tories to vote to remove the prime minister.
The London Metropolitan Police is investigating 12 events in which members of the British government allegedly flouted the lockdown, several of them involving Johnson.
If the prime minister is fined again, pressure on the Conservative party is likely to grow for a vote of no confidence that could remove the prime minister. In all, it takes 54 requests from lawmakers from Johnson’s party for this vote to take place.
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