British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized in Parliament for the so-called "party gate": the scandal linked to a meeting organized in the garden of Downing Street in May 2020 when the UK was still in full lockdown. Prime Minister Tory, however, denied having "technically" violated the rules.
It is true that he participated in the “offending” drink and stayed for about 25 minutes, to "thank the staff", then officials and collaborators present. "I implicitly believed it was a business event," he added.
But "in hindsight I should have sent everyone back in, I should have found another way to thank them, and I should have recognized that there would be millions and millions of people who just wouldn't see it that way." The prime minister recalled that 10 Downing Street with its garden is used as a sort of extension of the workspace, especially in a period in which the spread of the coronavirus must be countered and therefore it is recommended to be outdoors.
The opposition obviously has no intention of letting them get away with it: Labor leader Keir Starmer challenged Johnson to step down in Parliament calling the apology "worthless" and accusing him of lying to the House and to the British people. The resignation, said the number one of Labor, would be "the only decent thing" to do for a "shameless" prime minister who "violated the rules and the law".
The request for resignation also came from the leader of the Scottish independence activists of the SNP, Ian Blackford, and other opposition party deputies. Blackford accused the premier of showing "contempt" towards the people, even before Parliament, and urged the Tory majority to revoke him as leader of the ruling party if he insists on staying in Downing Street and "do it now. ".
(Unioneonline / D)