London: Thanasis Gavos
Public criticism of the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ‘partygateHis fellow Conservative MPs are reiterating, following the publication of photos Monday night showing him at a party on Downing Street amid a lockdown.
Photographs leaked by ITV show Mr Johnson raising a glass of drink in the same room with employees in the prime minister’s office during the farewell party for No. 10 communications officer Lee Kane.
The rally took place on November 13, 2020, while the second lockdown due to a pandemic was in force. Mr Johnson was asked months ago in the House of Commons if a party had been held on Downing Street that day and had answered in the negative.
Nearly 40-year-old Tory MP Roger Gale, who has made no secret of his letter of no confidence in the prime minister to the party, said this morning that the photographs showed Mr Johnson’s response in Parliament was not sincere. “It has an eccentric connection to the truth,” Sir Roger said of the British leader, stressing that the deception of parliament “is a matter of resignation”.
It is noted that the parliamentary immunity committee investigates whether the Prime Minister deliberately misled the parliament regarding the partygate.
Reacting to Transport Secretary Grand Saps’s defense statement that the rally was not an organized party, but a farewell event that should not have taken place, Sir Roger commented: “If it looks like a party, if it smells like a party and if it sounds as a party, then it is probably a party “.
Mr Saps said the prime minister had stepped down in the assembly hall at the end of the day before continuing his work in his apartment to raise a glass in honor of a retiring colleague. “Did he attend a party?” “No, definitely not,” he added.
Conservative Foreign Affairs Committee Conservative Chairman Tom Taggedhat said the photos “do not show the level of seriousness we really need in government”.
Ruling party MP Peter Aldous said the reasons why he had also submitted a letter of no confidence were still valid, while David Simmons said it would be “difficult” for Boris Johnson to explain the photos. The leader of the Conservative Party in Scotland, Douglas Ross, stated that “to most of these images seem unjustified and wrong.”
The Metropolitan Police of London investigated this rally, as well as another one on the same day, but while imposing fines to some of those present considered that the presence of the Prime Minister was not something reprehensible.
The revelation of the photos, however, provoked the reaction of the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to whom the administration of the Metropolitan Police is responsible. “I think it’s important, when we talk about trust, when we talk about policing with consent, when we talk about the integrity of an investigation, for the police to explain why they came to that conclusion,” Mr Kahn told BBC radio.
The pressure on the Prime Minister is increasing again while the publication of the full report of the state official Sue Gray is imminent, following her own big investigation for the ‘partygate’. Reports have suggested that Ms. Gray is not shying away from criticizing Mr. Johnson. The report is expected on Wednesday as well.
Additional criticism of the Prime Minister is caused by the Times article, which cites two sources who claim that during his revealed secret meeting with Mrs. Gray a few days ago, Boris Johnson hinted that perhaps the experienced state official should not disclose the its report.
“He asked her, ‘Does it make much sense to do it now that everything has been revealed?’ “He implied that he did not need to publish the report,” a Times source said.
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