Boris Johnson's future on a knife edge after No 10 party apology

[brooklynite]

Source: The Guardian

Boris Johnson’s premiership was hanging in the balance as Conservative MPs began openly calling for his resignation after he admitted attending a garden party in lockdown, claiming he thought it was a “work event”.

Johnson delivered a carefully worded apology for attending the alcohol-fuelled gathering of up to 40 officials in May 2020, which was described in an email invitation as “socially distanced drinks” to enjoy the warm weather.

Some cabinet ministers later tweeted their qualified support for the prime minister. The culture secretary, Nadine Dorries, said Johnson had been “right to personally apologise” because people were “hurt and angry at what happened”. She said it was now right to await the findings of senior civil servant Sue Gray’s inquiry into Downing Street gatherings. The findings could come as soon as the end of next week but more likely the week after, a cabinet source suggested.

One former minister was less convinced, saying Johnson “didn’t apologise for what he did but for things that may or may not have happened which he officially knows nothing about until Sue Gray tells him about it”.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/jan/12/boris-johnson-no-10-party-admission-lockdown

[Polybius]

1. That's all it takes to get calls for resignation over there?

A party during Covid is dumb, but Trump and Bush did 1,000 times worse and their Party was silent.

[muriel_volestrangler]

2. It wasn't just dumb, it was unlawful

The laws during lockdown said you could only meet one other person, not 30 (and 100 were invited). Johnson also lied to parliament about this (he assured the Commons there were no more parties that could come to light, last month), and that is, traditionally, a resignation offence. When he was partying while people died alone, yes, that gets calls for resignation.