Prime Minister Boris Johnson was bracing himself for the findings of a probe into accusations of lockdown-breaching parties, a document that may either help him end weeks of scandal and anger, or signal the end of his term in government.
Sue Gray, a senior civil servant, could submit her report to the government as early as Wednesday. Johnson previously stated that he would publish the report in its entirety and address the findings in front of the House of Commons.
During a tense Prime Minister’s Questions session in the House of Commons, Johnson remarked, “Of course, when I receive it, I will do precisely what I said.”
He shrugged off queries about the scandal and his future, claiming he had “absolutely no intention” of stepping down.
Gray’s office declined to comment on the timing, and Foreign Secretary Liz Truss claimed the report had not yet been received by the Conservative administration on Wednesday morning.
“I don’t think we’ll have to wait long,” she told the BBC.
Truss said she couldn’t guarantee the government would release the entire report, citing “security concerns” that make some parts of it difficult to release. However, the report’s results will undoubtedly be made public.”
Allegations that the prime minister and his staff disobeyed countrywide limits aimed at preventing the spread of the coronavirus have sparked public outrage, prompted some Conservative lawmakers to call for Johnson’s resignation, and sparked fierce infighting within the ruling party.
Johnson’s popularity has plummeted in opinion surveys as a result of the scandal, and Wednesday’s stories added to his woes. “PM’s jeopardy” was the front-page headline in the Guardian, while the left-leaning Daily Mirror boldly stated, “Number’s up, PM.” The right-wing Daily Mail, on the other hand, called the United Kingdom “a nation that has lost all sense of proportion.”
Johnson has urged his detractors to wait for Gray’s findings, but his “wait and see” position was undercut Tuesday when police said that some of the gatherings had been subjected to a criminal investigation.
The Metropolitan Police Service in London said that “a number of occurrences” at Johnson’s Downing Street office and other government facilities fulfilled the force’s requirements for pursuing the “most serious and flagrant” violations of coronavirus guidelines.
Both the criminal and civil service investigations derive from allegations that government employees held late-night parties, alcoholic parties, and “wine time Fridays” in 2020 and 2021 when the UK was under coronavirus restrictions.
Many in Britain have been enraged by the “partygate” charges, as they were prohibited from socializing with friends and family for months in 2020 and 2021 in order to stop the spread of COVID-19. Police punished tens of thousands of people for disobeying the regulations.
If Johnson is questioned by investigators about his role, it will be the first time a prime minister has been questioned by cops since Tony Blair was questioned as a witness in the “cash for honors” controversy in 2007. In the case, no one was charged.
Conservative legislator Andrew Rosindell dismissed the prime minister’s involvement in any wrongdoing.
“I’m sure ministers get parking tickets and speeding penalties as well,” he continued. “A lot of people, sometimes unknowingly, disobey the law in little ways. He hasn’t committed a bank robbery.”
Johnson and his allies have attempted, but failed, to quiet a scandal that is draining government resources that could be better spent dealing with the international crises over Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine and a still-unfinished coronavirus epidemic.
Johnson has apologized for attending one event, a “bring your own booze” get-together in the courtyard of his Downing Street offices in May 2020, but claims he regarded it a professional function that was legal.
Johnson’s backers have also backed a surprise birthday celebration for the prime leader inside Downing Street in June 2020.
Conor Burns, a loyal lawmaker, claimed Johnson was unaware of the gathering beforehand.
“It wasn’t a planned, coordinated gathering… “In a sense, he was ambushed with a cake,” Burns explained to Channel 4 News.
