Johnson has been fined £50 (AU$87) for attending his surprise birthday party on June 19, 2020 at the cabinet room of 10 Downing Street between 2pm and 3pm. His defenders, such as Conservative MP Conor Burns, say the event was not premeditated and he had been “ambushed with a cake”.
But ultimately, it came at a time when Johnson had plunged Britons into a strict lockdown and banned anyone participating in a gathering of two or more people indoors. It was a law he repeatedly urged the public to abide by.
Loading
Police are investigating 12 events that took place between May 2020 and April 2021, and have now handed out more than 50 fines as part of the probe. Johnson is understood to have been present at six of the events being probed as part of the “partygate” inquiry. He could still face more fines.
Johnson had attempted to tough out the scandal during the past few months, citing an internal investigation and then a police inquiry as the reason why he could not comment or not preempt their outcomes.
In fact, a significant number of his Tory MPs also held off from submitting letters of no confidence in him because they did not want to prejudge the police investigation.
A form of protection: Johnson’s most likely rival for the job, British finance minister Rishi Sunak, has also been fined for attending a party during lockdown in breach of COVID restrictions. Credit:Getty Images
Some of them say the Ukraine war is now a reason to hold back from changing prime minister but others are likely step forward the days ahead to again call for his departure.
They may well be emboldened by a snap poll from YouGov which found 57 per cent of Britain believe he should now step down after being issued with a fixed penalty notice.
The poll, of 2464 adults in Britain, also found 75 per cent of respondents said they thought Johnson knowingly lied to parliament about whether he broke lockdown rules, with just 12 per cent saying he did not.
It may be almost more problematic than the fine itself.
Last December Johnson told the House of Commons that “all guidance was followed completely in No 10” and “I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no COVID rules were broken”.
Now the police have concluded that Johnson did indeed break those rules. It is hard to see — having called for disciplinary action against those found guilty of breaking the rules — how Johnson can exonerate himself.
But perhaps complicating matters is the fact that Johnson’s biggest rival for the job – Sunak – was fined himself and has endured a fortnight of personal scandal over the personal finances and tax situation of he and his wife. If he was the man most likely, he is that no longer.
So – without a clear rival and seemingly with the support of those who matter – Johnson is begging for forgiveness and asking for a final chance to deliver the mandate he has and “tackle the problems that the country must face”.
His colleagues, who fear they might be wiped out at the next ballot if they don’t dump him, are now asking themselves a tough question: How many chances does someone deserve?
There’s little doubt Johnson is running out of lives.
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for the weekly What in the World newsletter here.
Partygate: War in Ukraine can’t save Boris Johnson from ‘ambush by cake’
Source: Philippines Alive
