UK political leaders and senior officials implicated in ‘partygate’ must ‘take responsibility’ of the culture that led to the many illegal parties in Downing Street during the lockdowns, a long-awaited report on this scandal said on Wednesday.
(You might be interested in: They reveal new photos of Boris Johnson during the ‘Partygate’ parties)
Scotland Yard closed its investigation last week, handing out 126 fines to 83 people for 8 parties.
“Many of these events should not have been allowed to take place,” senior official Sue Gray concluded after her investigation, considering, but without naming Prime Minister Boris Johnson, that “the senior officials involved, both politicians and officials, must assume the responsibility of this culture.
(You might be interested in: ‘Partygate’: London concludes the investigation with 126 people fined)
Considered rigorous and implacable, Gray delivered his long-awaited conclusions ahead of Johnson’s weekly appearance before parliament.which will be followed by a press conference in the afternoon.
The senior official began to investigate months ago the numerous social events held in government facilities when the rules against covid-19 prevented the British from meeting their loved ones and even saying goodbye to those who died from a disease that caused 178,000 deaths in the country.
He finished his report in January, but the police then decided to open their own investigation and Gray was forced to publish a heavily redacted version of his findings, omitting all the details, so as not to interfere with the investigation.
Scotland Yard closed its investigation last week, handing out 126 fines to 83 people for 8 parties.
The prime minister and his wife Carrie Johnson, as well as Finance Minister Rishi Sunak, received a single penalty of 50 pounds (about $65) for what appears to be the least important of the meetings, a party for his 56th birthday held on June 19, 2020 in the room of the council of ministers.
The Conservative leader apologized “unreservedly” to Parliamentbut ruled out resigning, assuring that it had not “occurred to him at that time, nor later” that his participation in the brief meeting “could constitute a violation of the rules.”
Did Boris Johnson lie?
Faced earlier this year with an internal rebellion in his conservative ranks that sought to remove him from office as a result of this scandal, Johnson later saw how the war in Ukraine changed the focus of attention at the end of February, reducing the threat that hung over his head.
In the context of the war crisis, and given the important role that the British have played in the international response to the Russian invasion, many members of their majority asked to wait for the results of the investigations before contemplating a possible vote of no confidence, which it must be requested by at least 15% of the 359 deputies of the Conservative Party.
If the investigation of the London police left the prime minister not too badly off, Gray’s was not as harsh as some expected.
In his first version he had seemed ruthless, denouncing Serious “errors of leadership and judgement” at Downing Street and criticizing “excessive and inappropriate consumption” of alcohol in the workplace.
But his full conclusions did not add the evidence, including photographs, that many Conservative MPs were waiting impatiently to decide whether the prime minister was sincere when he said he did not feel he was breaking the rules.
Johnson also denied in December before the House of Commons that the rules against the coronavirus imposed by himself had been violated in his offices.
But the opposition, and some of the deputies of the conservative majority, denounce that he knowingly lied. And they approved that after the publication of Gray’s report the work of a parliamentary commission to determine whether Johnson misled Parliamentwhich according to the code of conduct should imply his resignation.
Adding pressure, the leader of the opposition, Labor Keir Starmer, also investigated for a possible breach of anticovid regulations, announced that if fined he and his number two, Angela Rayner, would resign from their positions.
As if all this were not enough, In recent days, new photos have been leaked to the press that cast doubt on Johnson’s innocence.
ITV News released footage taken at Downing Street communications chief Lee Cain’s farewell party on November 13, 2020, just days after the announcement of a second lockdown in England. In them, Johnson is seen raising a glass and chatting with various people around a table with bottles of wine and food.
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from AFP
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