The PM apologised to the house at PMQs
Keir Starmer has delivered a brutal, short and concise takedown of Boris Johnson after he admitted to attending a Downing Street party in May 2020 that broke lockdown restrictions.
After the PM was forced to apologise to the House of Commons at Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir took to Twitter to make his views on the scandal crystal clear, simpy tweeting: “The party is over @BorisJohnson.
“Resign.”
The party is over @BorisJohnson.
Resign.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) January 12, 2022
It comes after the Labour leader described the Prime Minister as “pathetic”, labelling his apology as the “spectacle of a man who has run out of road.”
Sir Keir called for the Prime Minister’s resignation during PMQs, describing Johnson’s defence as “offensive” to the country, and asking whether the PM would “do the decent thing and resign.”
The Prime Minister reaffirmed his belief that the party was a “work event” and asked that the Labour leader not “preempt the outcome” of the inquiry into illegal Downing Street parties.
Keir Starmer calls for Boris Johnson to resign at #PMQs:
"After months of deceit and deception, we have the pathetic spectacle of a man who has run out of road."
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) January 12, 2022
At the start of PMQs, Johnson admitted he had attended the garden party in May 2020 that more than 100 members of Downing Street staff had been invited to.
But he claimed that he did not realise that at the time this was in breach of the lockdown restrictions, and insisted that if he had known this he would have told everyone to go home.
He also argued that the garden at Number 10 is “an extension of the office” and that when he went to the party to thank groups of staff he “believed implicitly that this was a work event.”
You can watch his full opening statement to the house below.
Boris Johnson says Downing Street party was ‘technically within the rules’ then expects you to buy his apology #PMQs pic.twitter.com/Y3zG9m2xYW
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) January 12, 2022
Related links:
- Boris Johnson finally admits he attended No 10 garden party
- Government use of VIP lanes to award PPE contracts unlawful, court rules
- Partygate won’t finish Boris Johnson but his own party might
Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and leader of the SNP Ian Blackford joined Starmer’s calls for Johnson to resign.
In what was a heated PMQs, Labour’s Toby Perkins told the House that the Prime Minister has “debased” the office of Prime Minister in a way that no one else ever has, whilst Labour MP for Kingston upon Hull East Karl Turner said that the Prime Minister was only sorry “because he got caught.”
