The report on the Downing Street parties published on Monday by the civil servant Sue Gray has turned out to be a minefield that bursts with every step that Boris Johnson tries to take to escape this political imbroglio. Although it was a very reduced document in its accusations, to respect the express request of the Metropolitan Police not to make more than “minimal references” to the parties that it was still investigating, the dates and meetings that it indicates have given the media multiple compromising clues for the prime minister. Of the 16 events that Gray collected information about, marked with date and location in her text, 12 are being analyzed by Scotland Yard. That is, they present evidence of a criminal offense. And of all of them, at least two have been detected, through witnesses, the presence of Johnson. The newspaper Guardian places the prime minister at a farewell party for a political adviser who currently works at the Ministry of Culture and then worked for Johnson’s Cabinet. It was on January 14, 2021, when the United Kingdom was barely coming out of another canceled Christmas and subjected to harsh social restriction measures, which were still in force on that date. ran the prosecco (wine very popular Italian sparkling wine in England) among the staff who attended the farewell, and the president was seen there for at least five minutes to deliver a farewell speech.
But the party that is most serious and potentially threatening to the conservative politician is that of November 13, 2020. That day his then-star adviser and Brexit ideologue, Dominic Cummings, was seen leaving Downing Street. He was the image of defeat, carrying a cardboard box with his personal belongings. Caught himself at the time skipping confinement to take his wife and child to a country residence outside of London, the real reason for his fall from grace was that he lost the confrontation with Johnson’s wife , Carrie Symmonds. That night there was a commotion at 11 Downing Street. There was a desire to party and Abba’s music was playing: The winner takes it all (The winner takes it all).
The Prime Minister’s team has been unable to deny the information from the The Daily Telegraph, who point out that Johnson was seen going up to the apartment when the music was still playing. “I have spoken to people who were there that night and heard the party as I was leaving. The press office is just below the private apartment [de los Johnson]Cummings said in an open chat Tuesday on his personal blog to answer questions from readers. The former adviser claims there are photos of the prime minister at banned events. “This could be a deathblow for him if he lies to the police, but he will end up saying that he doesn’t remember anything, which is his usual response when he smells danger,” Cummings accused his former boss.
More resignation requests
The aggressiveness with which Johnson is defending himself against the accusations, which he repeated this Wednesday during the control session in the House of Commons, has caused the displeasure of many conservative deputies. Especially the alleged slander that he has not hesitated to launch up to twice, and that he refuses to rectify, against the leader of the Labor opposition, Keir Starmer. In his desperation, the Prime Minister has accused his rival of refusing to open a criminal investigation, during his time as Attorney General of the State (2008-2013), against the BBC pedophile presenter, Jimmy Savile, who died in 2011 without justice for the more than 500 sexual abuses against minors and women that he committed. Troll comments circulating on social media falsely attributing to Starmer a passive attitude towards the savile case. “The Conservative Party was Winston Churchill’s party. Now their leader is parroting violent fascist conspiracy theories,” Starmer said in the House of Commons. Shortly after, conservative deputies Anthony Mangnall and Gary Streeter joined the list of members of their party – there are already twelve – in calling for Johnson’s resignation. Before it had been done by someone even more relevant: Tobias Ellwood, the chairman of Parliament’s Defense Committee. Hours after the prime minister’s lightning visit to Ukraine, Ellwood announced that he had also sent his “letter of withdrawal of confidence” to the leadership of the parliamentary group. “Attacking Starmer with Jimmy Savile. Who has advised the prime minister to do this? We are better than all that,” Ellwood told SkyNews.
“After much reflection, I have come to the conclusion that the Prime Minister should resign,” Conservative MP Peter Aldous wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday. He was the first voice to call for Johnson to leave after hearing Sue Gray’s report. The merit or importance of his request lay in the fact that Aldous was until now a complete unknown who had no need to make himself known with a frontal attack on the boss. “I am aware that other colleagues will not agree with me, but I think it is in the best interests of the country, the government and the Conservative Party,” Aldous said.
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After a great deal of soul-searching, I have reached the conclusion that the Prime Minister should resign. (1/3)
—Peter Aldous (@peter_aldous) February 1, 2022
Johnson’s hesitant, ambiguous, aggressive, defiant and elusive response in the House of Commons on Monday only added to the irritation of many Conservative MPs. Starting with her predecessor in office, Theresa May, who attacked the conservative politician for skipping the strict rules that her government had imposed on other citizens. More than 40 times, during her appearance, she shielded herself from the prime minister in a police investigation that has not yet concluded and must be respected not to answer the questions of the deputies. He refused to confirm whether or not he would publish the full report on the parties, when he was ready, or even inform citizens in case he was fined by the police for attending the parties.
Hours later, faced with the outrage of politicians and the media, Johnson’s communication team was forced to rectify and promise greater transparency. Some 63% of Britons still think Johnson should resign, once Gray’s report is published.
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