The prime minister apologized earlier this week after being fined 50 50 for attending a birthday party on Downing Street last June for violating his government’s COVID-19 rules. He resisted calls from the opposition to step down, with high-ranking cabinet ministers rallying and even some lawmakers who previously wanted him out of the scandal saying he should stay, at least for the time being, as the war in Ukraine rages. Image: Boris Johnson, Carrie Johnson and Risi Sunak received fines However, few Tories have now made public their view that he should resign – with Tobias Ellwood and Gary Streeter confirming their positions on Thursday. On Wednesday, Justice Secretary Lord Wolfson resigned over the “scale, context and nature” of the breach, saying “it would be incompatible with the rule of law for this behavior to go unpunished.” Met Police have been investigating 12 incidents on Downing Street and Whitehall in 2020 and 2021 and have so far announced more than 50 fines, with more likely as they continue to look for evidence. The sentences imposed so far include Prime Minister and his wife Carrie, as well as Richie Sunak, the chancellor, and former head of government Elen McNamara. The number 10 is considered to be preparing for further fines as the Met, Operation Hillman investigation progresses. Johnson has faced allegations that he violated the ministerial code after initially telling parliament that no party rules had been violated. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:58 “MM we have to go back” He said during an event on Thursday – where he launched a plan to send migrants arriving illegally to Rwanda – that he would say more to the partygate when he briefed parliament next week. The prime minister said: “You will have to wait until I come to Parliament, when of course I will clear the record in any way I can.” The MPs will return to Westminster on Tuesday after the Easter holidays. Tobias Ellwood told Sky News on Thursday: “I think the prime minister has to back down.” Gary Streeter, who has previously written a letter of no confidence to the prime minister, confirmed to voters that his position remains unchanged. Follow the Daily Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Spreaker Former Cabinet Secretary Karen Bradley said the breach of the law on Downing Street was “unforgivable”, but the war in Ukraine meant there was a need to “act responsibly to prevent the situation from deteriorating”. “But I want to make it clear that if I were a minister found guilty of violating the laws I passed, I would resign now,” he added. Conservative MPs Nigel Mills, Anthony Mangnall and Craig Whittaker also called for Johnson to resign. Others have suggested that while they believe the prime minister will leave, it would not be the right time.
