*I’m paying fine for attending my birthday that lasted less than 10 minutes in 10 Downing Street – UK PM
United Kingdom Prime Minister, Mr Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, have rejected calls from opposition parties to leave 10, Downing Street.
Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have pledged to stay in their posts despite being fined by police for breaking COVID-19 lockdown rules in Downing Street in June 2020.
The UK Prime Minister and Chancellor were slammed with fines, following their attendance of Boris Johnson’s birthday ceremony at the Cabinet Room in No 10 , Downing Street, the official residence and the office of the British Prime Minister.
It is instructive to note that No 11, Downing Street, is the official residence of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The Chancellor Exchequer is the government’s chief financial minister who is responsible for raising revenue through taxation or burrowing and for controlling public spending just as he has overall responsibility for the work of the Treasury.
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) also reports that the prime minister, the chancellor and the PM’s wife all received fixed penalty notices for attending a birthday gathering for the PM in No 10, Downing Street.
As a result, Boris Johnson became the UK’s first serving prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law.
All the three apologised, but both Boris Johnson and Sunak rejected calls to resign.
Boris Johnson said he felt “an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people”, while the chancellor said he was “focused on delivering for the British people”.
But bereaved families said there was “simply no way either the prime minister or chancellor can continue” in their jobs, calling their actions “truly shameless”.
Amanda McEgan, whose daughter Isabel died during the pandemic, said the prime minister’s conduct during the lockdowns made restrictions on the 19-year-old’s funeral “more hurtful”.
Opposition parties also accused Johnson and Sunak of lying to the public about their attendance at the Downing Street gathering, with Labour leader, Sir Keir Starter and the first ministers of Scotland and Wales demanding they step down.
The SNP and the Liberal Democrats also led calls for Parliament to return from its Easter break so the PM and chancellor could face questions from MPs.
But a raft of cabinet ministers publicly back Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak – including Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, who said they were “delivering for Britain on many fronts”.
The fines come as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into illegal parties held in Downing Street and across Whitehall during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.
The force is looking into 12 parties overall, and has already issued more than 50 fines, with more expected to come.
Speaking on Tuesday, Boris Johnson said he accepted “in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better” from him.
He claimed the event he was fined for attending – a gathering in the Cabinet Room to mark his birthday – was “brief” and lasted “less than 10 minutes”.
He added: “In all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules.
“But, of course, the police have found otherwise and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation.”
Sunak later released a statement, saying: “I understand that for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence.
“I respect the decision that has been made and have paid the fine.”
But the “full” and “unreserved” apologies from the PM and chancellor did not silence their critics.
Johnson: I fell short in observing the rules.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, tweeted: “You made the rules. You broke your own law. Just go.”
Earlier, the SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said the two leading Tories had “insulted the millions of people who faithfully followed the rules”.
Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, said: “This is a government in crisis neglecting a country in crisis.”
Plaid Cymru’s leader in the Commons, Liz Saville Roberts, accused Johnson and Sunak of having an “arrogant sense of exceptionalism and a belief in their own entitlement”.
“If they have any honour they will resign,” she said.
The Green Party co-leader, Adrian Ramsay, also said that the duo had broken “the very laws they made to try and keep this country safe in a pandemic and must now resign”.
But Work and Pensions Secretary, Therese Coffey, said it was “important for the country that (the PM) and the chancellor get on with the job the country elected them to do.”
Veteran Conservative MP, Sir Roger Gale, who had previously called for Johnson to resign, said the situation was “serious” and that the PM had “effectively misled the House of Commons”.
But, he said, now was not the time to “unseat” Johnson amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Writing in The Telegraph, former Conservative Party leader, Iain Duncan Smith, said the revelation of rule-breaking had been “astonishing and angering”, but added: “We are facing two national calamities, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.
“The sheer scale and urgency of these issues place a premium on leadership, which is why… this country’s leadership must be allowed to get on with the job.”
Reports of parties being held in 10 Downing Street during lockdowns first emerged in December last year, with Johnson initially insisting that “guidelines were followed at all times”.
Sunak also told the Commons: “I did not attend any parties.”
The UK PM then ordered an inquiry into the allegations of rule-breaking, led by senior civil servant, Sue Gray.
The Metropolitan Police initially said it would not retrospectively investigate the allegations unless “significant evidence” of a regulation breach came forward.
But after Ms Gray passed information to officers, they launched their own inquiry.
But Gray’s full report will not be released until the Metropolitan Police have concluded their investigation.
