London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in his Cabinet, have apologised after London’s Metropolitan Police announced they will fine the duo for attending rule-breaking gatherings during the UK’s Covid-19 lockdown, in an episode which has been dubbed as the ‘partygate’ by the British press.
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.
As a result, Johnson became the UK’s first serving prime minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law.
All three apologised, but both the PM and Mr Sunak rejected calls to resign.
Johnson, who initially denied he was in breach of any law, now acknowledged that he indeed was, but refused to step down. “It didn’t occur to me that, as I say, that I was in breach of the rules. I now humbly accept that I was. I think the best thing I can do now is, having settled the fine, is focus on the job, and that’s what I am going to do,” the premier said.
Police have been investigating as many as 12 parties at Johnson’s Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office, including a gathering on the occasion of his 56th birthday on June 19, 2020.
Sunak, meanwhile, issued an ‘unreserved apology’ for attending the same birthday party. “I deeply regret the frustration and anger that I caused, and I’m sorry. 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,” said the 41-year-old leader in a televised interview.
