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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologizes for anger during locked drinks party


Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Uxbridge, west London January 10, 2022.

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UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized on Wednesday after admitting he attended a “bring your own booze” party in Downing Street in May 2020.

Addressing lawmakers in the House of Commons, Johnson said he wanted to apologize for his actions and said he knew there were people who felt angry with him and his government over the so-called scandal. party”.

“There were things we didn’t do right and I have to take responsibility,” Johnson said.

The bombshell revelation sparked a public backlash and destabilized Johnson’s position as prime minister once again.

Multiple reports cite witnesses claiming that both he and his wife, Carrie Johnson, were seen at the event and lawmakers from across the political spectrum are demanding answers to his questions. Prime Minister on Wednesday.

Angela Rayner, deputy leader of the opposition Labor Party, has suggested that if Johnson was at the party and he lied about it, his position would be “indisputable”. Rayner has also called on the Metropolitan Police to investigate the claims. The Met said it was in talks with the Cabinet Office.

Some members of Parliament in the ruling Conservative Party have called for Johnson to step down if he is found to have broken the strict laws his government put in place to control the spread of Covid.

Johnson previously said he could not comment on the allegations until a senior government official, Sue Grey, concluded an internal investigation.

Details of the party first emerged on Monday, when British broadcaster ITV published a leaked email from Johnson’s chief personal secretary, Martin Reynolds.

The email invited over 100 Downing Street employees to “make the most of this beautiful weather and enjoy some sumptuous social drinks in the 10th garden” from 6pm on May 20, 2020. The notice was sent at a time when lockdown rules in the UK forbade large outdoor gatherings.

Reynolds signed the email by inviting employees to “bring your own booze!”

Less than an hour before the Downing Street garden party was scheduled, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden held a daily Covid press conference to remind the public that they were only allowed to meet in pairs outdoors. .

Sky News report The Prime Minister and Carrie Johnson were both seen with about 40 staff members in the garden on Downing Street on May 20. A spokesman for Johnson declined to comment on details.

It follows a series of other allegations related to rule-breaking parties at Downing Street by Johnson and his officials and a series of other separate scandals, including the government handing over lucrative Covid contract and refurbishing Johnson’s Downing Street apartment.

The beginning of the end for Johnson?

“It’s important to note that this is not the only source of frustration within the Conservative Party over Boris Johnson’s leadership,” Matthew Goodwin, a professor of politics at the University of Kent, told CNBC. Street Signs Europe” on Wednesday.

Goodwin cites the dissatisfaction of Conservative supporters over what they see as a failure to get the most out of Brexit, dissatisfaction with the move to raise taxes and a lack of strategy when it comes to “leveling up”. – Johnson’s frequently used political slogan refers to his efforts to improve infrastructure in the north of England.

Furthermore, rising wholesale gas prices globally and soaring inflation are issues that add to the pressure on Johnson’s government.

“This isn’t necessarily the end, but it’s starting to look like the beginning of the end for Boris Johnson,” Goodwin said.

“There’s always been a question mark for Boris Johnson as prime minister as to whether he really has a vision first for his prime ministership but secondly. [whether he] have the leadership caliber required to be prime minister. And if really those two things collide, he will probably step down in a few weeks,” he added.

“That, of course, would push British politics back into the chaos we were used to thinking we had left behind.”

Screenshot of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Secretary Oliver Dowden during a Covid media press conference in Downing Street, London, on 20 May 2020.

PA Video – PA Image | PA images | beautiful pictures

Not everyone believes, however, that the latest revelation could mean that Johnson’s days in office are numbered.

Mujtaba Rahman, chief executive officer at Eurasia Group, said that while “partisanship” had put Johnson under enormous pressure and raised the possibility that he would be replaced in the second half of the year, the prime minister was still more likely than not. do not recover and suffer until 2022.

“The consequences of this latest scandal will reverberate for some time, and surviving the various parties reporting being held at Number 10 will be a priority for Johnson for now,” said Rahman. ,” Rahman said.

He added.

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