UK Politics

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has refused to resign after being fined for breaking his government’s pandemic lockdown rules, saying he would instead redouble efforts to strengthen the economy and combat Russian aggression in Ukraine. London police fined Johnson and other people Tuesday for attending a birthday party thrown for the prime minister at his Downing Street offices on June 19, 2020. The penalty made Johnson the first British prime minister ever found to have broken the law while in office.Gatherings of more than two people were banned in Britain at the time of the birthday party to curb the spread of the coronavirus. “I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public, and I accept in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better,” Johnson said late Tuesday. “And now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people.”The fine followed a police investigation and months of questions about lockdown-breaking parties at government offices, which Johnson had tried to bat away by saying there were no parties and that he believed no rules were broken.Opposition lawmakers demanded Johnson’s resignation, arguing the fines given to him and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak were evidence of “criminality” at the heart of government. The opposition argued that the Downing Street gathering demonstrated that Johnson and his supporters believe the rules don’t apply to them. While the “partygate” scandal ooses a threat to Johnson’s government, the world has changed tremendously since the first reports of the parties surfaced late last year.Johnson has been a leading figure in marshaling international opposition to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Britain is facing its worst cost-of-living crisis since the 1950s.His supporters are already arguing that whatever the prime minister may have done wrong, now is not time for a leadership contest.That his Treasury chief also received an undermining fine helps Johnson since Sunak had been seen as the leading candidate to succeed Johnson.But Johnson still faces the possibility of additional fines; he is reported to have attended three other gatherings that the Metropolitan Police Service is still investigating. He will also have to answer questions about whether he knowingly misled Parliament with his previous statements about the parties, Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government in London, said.“Governments have to realize that they can’t just make laws and then skirt around them and rationalize themselves that it’s all OK because they’re very important people working at the center of government,” Rutter said. More

Rishi Sunak is said to have been “talked out” of resigning as chancellor after he was fined by the Metropolitan Police for breaking Covid-19 lockdown laws.He reportedly discussed with his aides whether he should step down over the fixed penalty notice (FPN) given for going to Boris Johnson’s birthday party in July 2020. He previously denied attending any parties.But Mr Sunak was warned that his resignation may mean that Mr Johnson would have to do the same, as well as damaging his own career, according to a report in The Times.“He is a very honourable man and feels very badly let down by being dragged into this,” one ally told the newspaper. “It is only natural for him to be considering what this means for him.”Mr Sunak issued an apology some seven hours after Scotland Yard announced its second round of fines over government gatherings on Tuesday.“I know people sacrificed a great deal during Covid, and they will find this situation upsetting. I deeply regret the frustration and anger caused and I am sorry,” the chancellor said.Mr Sunak added that he “respected” the Metropolitan Police’s decision to fine him, though appeared to signal that he felt its application of the law had been “stringent” because he was a high-profile figure.The PM, his wife and Mr Sunak have paid fines imposed by police over a party held on 19 June 2020 to mark Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday.Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak did not seem to understand how “deeply offensive” their lockdown breaches are, as she repeated Labour calls for them both to step down.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Reeves said: “Fresh leadership would mean that we will have a government that could concentrate on the issues that we need to focus on as a country.”Partygate: Clip resurfaces of Rishi Sunak denying he attended lockdown partiesMr Sunak has been under pressure since The Independent first revealed his wife Akshata Murty’s non-domicile tax status, which allowed her to avoid paying UK tax on her overseas income.Ms Murty has since announced that she will pay UK tax on her overseas income. And Mr Johnson had asked Lord Geidt – at Mr Sunak’s request – to conduct an inquiry into whether the chancellor’s interests have been properly declared.Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, backed both Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak to stay in their jobs on Wednesday. Asked about the chancellor’s tax arrangements on LBC, the influential Tory peer said: “I don’t think he did anything wrong.” More

Boris Johnson is “incredibly embarrassed” to have been fined by the police but did not mean to break his own Covid laws, a cabinet minister has claimed.Grant Shapps defended the prime minister, saying he had been taken “by surprise” by the June 2020 birthday party for which he received his fixed penalty notice (FPN).“He is completely mortified by this happening … he’s incredibly embarrassed – he knows it was stupid, indefensible,” the transport secretary told Sky News.Mr Shapps added: “The question is, did he set out to do this? Was it something that was done with malice, with intent? The answer of course is no – it’s something that happened in error.”He said the PM attended a “surprise event for nine minutes”, and claimed: “He didn’t knowingly break the law. He didn’t do it deliberately. He thought the people wishing him happy birthday was not breaking the law.”However, Mr Johnson may yet face further sanctions relating to other Downing Street gatherings. As well as the birthday party, he attended a “bring your own booze” gathering in the garden of No 10 on 20 May 2020 and took part in a Christmas Zoom quiz on 15 December 2020, when he was photographed alongside two staff members.It is also thought he may have been present at an “Abba party” held by wife Carrie in their flat above 11 Downing Street to celebrate the departure of former aide Dominic Cummings on 13 November 2020.On Wednesday Mr Shapps further insisted that the prime minister should not have to resign for breaking the law he imposed on the rest of the country. “Anybody who broke the [Covid] rules wouldn’t be in a job, would they?”Asked if he thought Mr Johnson was an honourable man, Mr Shapps said: “I do. I judge people in the round. I’m not saying the prime minister isn’t a flawed man, we’re all flawed … He’s human, and humans err.”Mr Johnson looked set to avoid an initial fallout from becoming the first prime minister to be hit with criminal sanctions while in office.The PM, his wife and the chancellor Rishi Sunak all apologised on Tuesday and confirmed they had paid fines imposed by the Metropolitan Police over a party held on 19 June 2020 to mark Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday.Cabinet ministers including Liz Truss, Dominic Raab, Michael Gove and Sajid Javid, tweeted in support of Mr Johnson, praising his leadership and pointing to the ongoing challenge of the Ukraine war.Culture secretary Nadine Dorries claimed the Tory leader had “been clear about what happened on” in June 2020 and had “offered a full apology”, despite the shifting nature of Mr Johnson’s denials and defences.Tory MP Michael Fabricant defended the PM for breaking his own lockdown laws by suggesting “many teachers and nurses” also broke the rules.Veteran Tory MP Sir Roger Gale, a vocal critic of Mr Johnson, said now was not the time to unseat him during the Ukraine war. He said “history would not forgive us” if the PM was replaced during an international crisis. Boris Johnson claims ‘it did not occur’ to him that he was breaking rulesBut Sir Roger said that while he thought Johnson had “effectively misled the House of Commons” and “is clearly going to have to be held to account”.Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross echoed his colleagues’ sentiments, saying it “wouldn’t be right” to remove the PM “at this time” during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.Tory MP Andrew Bridgen, who recently withdrew his letter of no-confidence on Mr Johnson, said it was not the time for a leadership challenge. But he added: “This is not the end of this matter.”But Tory peer Baroness Ruth Davidson spoke out against Mr Johnson, saying he “broke the rules he imposed on the country and lost the moral authority to lead. He should go”.Ministers and allies of Mr Johnson are reportedly worried about the possibility the prime minister could still receive more fines for attending other gatherings.Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak do not seem to understand how “deeply offensive” their lockdown breaches are, as she repeated calls for them to step down.Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Ms Reeves said: “Fresh leadership would mean that we will have a government that could concentrate on the issues that we need to focus on as a country.”Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey renewed his calls for the PM and chancellor to resign as the “trust in them that is so important in crises has gone”.Lord Frost, the former Brexit minister, told LBC: “I don’t think the one fixed penalty notice is itself grounds for resignation” – backing Mr Johnson to lead the Tory party into the next election.But the Tory peer said the PM had to come to Commons to correct his comments. “The prime minister is on record saying to parliament that all the rules were observed and there were no parties – that’s obviously not the case.”A YouGov poll found that 57 per cent of voters thought Mr Johnson should resign, while 75 per cent said he had knowingly lied. More

When the news broke shortly before 1:45pm on Tuesday that Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak had received Partygate fines from the police, many were waiting for their response – including cabinet ministers. Some four hours later, at around 6:05pm, Boris Johnson released a video in which he offered a “full apology” for breaking Covid laws at his own birthday party in Downing Street. He told the public that it “did not occur to me” at the time that he had broken the rules. However even before the prime minister had responded to the Met’s decision, culture secretary Nadine Dorries had offered him her support publicly. In a tweet made at 5:20pm, she said that Mr Johnson had “been clear about what happened on 19th June 2020 and offered a full apology.”She continued: “It was brief gathering in the Cabinet Room, less than 10 minutes during a busy working day. PM is at his best when delivering on the priorities of the British people which he will continue to do.”She was however the only cabinet minister to respond to the news publicly before the prime minister had given his own statement. After Mr Johnson’s apology video was released, ministers started coming to his aid – starting first with chief secretary to the treasury Simon Clarke. More

Most Britons believe Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak should resign after being handed fines for breaking Covid laws, according to a new poll. YouGov found 57 per cent of respondents thought both the UK prime minister and his chancellor should quit after being handed a penalty as part of a police investigation into parties in Downing Street and Whitehall during Covid restrictions.The Metropolitan Police said on Tuesday it would be handing out 30 more fines in connection with Operation Hillman, bringing the total number issued to more than 50.On the same day, Mr Johnson, his wife Carrie Johnson and Mr Sunak were confirmed as having been contacted by police and told to expect a fine. The move prompted calls for the prime minister and chancellor to resign, with the Labour leader saying they had both “repeatedly lied to the British public” as well as breaking the law. According to a snap YouGov poll, more than half of the British public believe the pair should leave government too.Thirty per cent said they thought MrJohnson should stay in his role, while 29 per cent said the same for Mr Sunak. The poll found 13 per cent of respondents said they were not sure what the prime minister should do, compared to 14 per cent for the chancellor. Out of the Tory voters who were polled, more than half thought the men should not resign. The vast majority of Labour-voting participants – more than 80 per cent – thought they should go over the Covid fines. The prime minister, his wife and Mr Sunak all apologised on Tuesday as they confirmed they had paid police fines over a party held in June 2020 to mark Mr Johnson’s 56th birthday.Speaking to broadcasters at Chequers, Mr Johnson said it “did not occur” to him the gathering might be breaching Covid rules and offered a “full apology”. Scotland Yard, according to a statement published by No 10, said Mr Johnson had been fined due to taking part of “a gathering of two or more people indoors”, which was banned at the time.Also on Tuesday, Rishi Sunak – also fined over the same event – said: “I deeply regret the frustration and anger caused and I am sorry.” More

The first Partygate fines at the top of government have landed. No one has resigned. Yet questions are building over how the cumulative effect of more fixed penalty notices might be managed by senior figures in government, and the wider Conservative Party.Boris Johnson plans to blame his Partygate mishaps on misguided assurances from his erstwhile team in Downing Street that he had been acting in accordance with Covid laws, The Independent has learnt. He does so as the first sitting prime minister to break his own laws. Expectations are set for the public to hear – repeatedly – how focused and busy the prime minister was at a time of crisis. He barely had time to think, will become a familiar refrain. See also: he was focused, he is looking forward. The first signs of this strategy appeared in his statement on Tuesday evening. As the prime minister outlined how sorry he was, he was also clear just how busy he was.“And amongst all these engagements, on a day that happened to be my birthday, there was a brief gathering in the cabinet room shortly after 2pm, lasting for less than 10 minutes, during which people I work with kindly passed on their good wishes,” the prime minister said. The PR effort will not seek to suggest that fines are trivial – should they start to mount up, but it will try to place the Partygate scandal against a backdrop of the threat posed to liberal democracy in the west by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sources familiar with Downing Street operations said. The social media posting, ahead of an apology, of a call regarding the war in Ukraine with Joe Biden, was no accident. The language of Jacob Rees-Mogg was direct, simple and clear in its message: “There is a war on,” he said. “This ought to close the matter.”But it is hard to see how it will achieve this, as both the fines themselves mount up, but also as the ground is laid for a public inquiry into how the government handled the Covid-19 crisis. This is a major fear ahead of the next election for No 10 insiders. If the fines, followed by the horrified reaction of families of those who lost loved ones to Covid, seem uncomfortable now, imagine how it might appear if anyone at No 10 made a poor decision regarding the pandemic response, and, on the same day, tapped up the office wine fridge. The departure of key aides, including the head of communications, Jack Doyle, and chief of staff, Dan Rosenfield, will be used to underline the shift in operations at No 10. The prime minister’s new team had planned to indicate that those who offered him assurances that behaviour was appropriate have now moved on. Communications will also note the seriousness of the decisions Mr Johnson faced throughout the Covid-19 pandemic and link them to the tough decisions the country faces in its support of Ukraine’s resistance against Russia. These will serve to show that his judgement “on the big stuff” is sound, one source said. There was surprise among some No 10 and Treasury officials that the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, was also issued with a fixed penalty notice. It’s fair to say the chancellor felt hard done by. The tone of his apology was that of a head boy drawn into an accidental break of rules.“I understand that for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence,” the chancellor said in a statement.For others who received similar fines during lockdowns, they might regard the rules as having been just as strictly applied to them – no matter their office in life.Mr Johnson’s team had hoped to avoid a running commentary on the number of fines the prime minister will receive, though they now believe the approach by the Metropolitan Police of issuing the penalties in tranches may make this impossible. They had also believed that the event, referred to as “ambush by cake”, would be among the least serious of potential breaches. The prime minister and the chancellor can expect lingering questions over how truthful they have been about parties in Downing Street, given their initial denials of rulebreaking have now been contradicted by the police.This is just the latest round of a scandal that still carries a great deal of political sting in its tail with the risk of more fines and a potentially damning, full civil service report still to come. But, so far, the two most senior politicians in the country are holding onto their jobs. More

More than one in eight privately rented homes in England pose a “serious threat” to the health and safety of their occupants, a damning report has revealed.The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee found fast-rising rents and low standards in the private sector mean that “safe, suitable housing is too often out of reach for renters”.And they said that illness and injuries resulting from category one-rated health hazards – which could include risks such as electric faults, dangerous stairways, carbon monoxide leaks or structural weaknesses – were costing the NHS £340m a year.A “postcode lottery” in standards saw as many as 21 per cent – more than one in five – of private rented homes in Yorkshire and the Humber presenting a serious threat to health, compared to 9 per cent in London.As escalating house prices have taken home ownership out of the reach of many Britons, the private rental sector has doubled in size over the past 20 years and now houses 11m people, said the report.Private tenants spend an average 32 per cent of their income on their accommodation, compared to 18 per cent for owner-occupiers and 27 per cent for those in social housing. More