London: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday apologised to MPs after he became the first British leader fined for breaking the law, but faced opposition calls to quit for the sake of integrity in politics.
Addressing parliament for the first time since the April 12 fine, he reiterated that he did not think he had done anything wrong when he attended an office gathering for his birthday in June 2020, when Britain was under a pandemic lockdown.
“That was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly,” he said
The British public “had a right to expect better of their prime minister”, Johnson added, while insisting he would get on with the job including to defend Ukraine against Russia’s “barbaric” invasion.
The conflation of issues led to charges that Johnson was seeking to bury the controversy over “partygate” fines — which have also embroiled his finance minister and wife.
