Boris Johnson FINALLY admits he broke the law

Boris Johnson FINALLY admits he broke the law: PM tells MPs he accepts that Partygate birthday bash that landed him with £50 police fine WAS illegal but accuses Keir Starmer of living in a ‘Dr Who timewarp’ after grilling at Prime Minister’s Questions

• Boris Johnson admits his law-breaking in a Commons clash with Sir Keir Starmer
• The PM vows to make public any other Fixed Penalty Notices he might receive
• He claims Labour are stuck in a ‘Dr Who time warp’ by obsessing over Partygate

Boris Johnson has finally admitted he did break the law after being slapped with a police fine over a lockdown-busting 56th birthday bash in Number 10.

The Prime Minister has repeatedly apologised after he was forced to pay a £50 Fixed Penalty Notice (FPN) over the event on 19th June 2020

He has insisted it did not occur to him – at the time or later – that the gathering in Downing Street’s Cabinet Room would have been a breach of Covid rules.

But, while Mr Johnson previously said he ‘respected’ the Metropolitan Police’s decision to fine him, he has now acknowledged the 19th June gathering was illegal.

He also vowed to make public any other FPNs he might recieve as part of Scotland Yard’s Operation Hillman investigation.

The PM recognised his law-breaking in a House of Commons clash with Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer today – who Mr Johnson accused of being locked in ‘some kind of Doctor Who time warp’ by obsessing over the Partygate scandal.

Asked by Sir Keir at Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) whether he actually accepted he broke the law, Mr Johnson replied: ‘Yes… I’ve been absolutely clear that I humbly accept what the police have said.’ 

Boris Johnson vowed to make public any other Fixed Penalty Notices he might recieve as part of Scotland Yard’s Operation Hillman investigation

Sir Keir Starmer was accused by the PM of being locked in ‘some kind of Doctor Who time warp’ by obsessing over the Partygate scandal

The PM also went on the attack as the Partygate scandal continues to dog his premiership.

He accused Labour of ‘intellectual bankruptcy’ for focussing on Downing Street Covid rule breaches while he attempts to ‘deliver on our promises to the British people’.

Mr Johnson claimed the Opposition ‘have no plans for energy, they have no plans for social care and they have no plans to fix the economy’.

Sir Keir had attempted to rile the PM by listing those who had resigned over the past two years as part of Covid rule controversies.

He told the Commons: ‘Allegra Stratton laughed at breaking the rules. She resigned. 

‘The PM then claimed he was furious at her behaviour and accepted her resignation.

‘Professor Neil Ferguson broke the rules. He also resigned. The PM said that was the right thing to do.

‘The former health secretary (Matt Hancock) broke the rules. He too resigned.

‘The PM tried to claim he sacked him. Why does the PM think everybody else’s actions have consequences except his own?’

Mr Johnson, who has been accused of misleading Parliament over his previous denials of Covid rule-breaking in Downing Street, later told the Commons that MPs ‘try’ to tell the truth.

Plaid Cymru’s Westminster leader Liz Saville Roberts had asked the PM if he would support a ‘lying in politics bill’, which would see politicians banned from being ‘wilfully misleading’.

Mr Johnson replied: ‘It is well known that the rules of this House demand that we tell the truth in this House and that’s what we try to do.’

The SNP’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, called on Mr Johnson to offer his resignation to the Queen ahead of Her Majesty’s 96th birthday tomorrow.

He claimed the PM was ‘on borrowed time’ and also took a swipe at the recent scrutiny of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s family finances. 

‘The UK Government is now led by a tag-team of scandal, a PM who can’t be trusted with the truth, and a Chancellor who can’t be trusted with his taxes,’ Mr Blackford said.

In response, Mr Johnson urged Mr Blackford to explain why SNP policy was still to get rid of Britain’s nuclear weapons ‘at a time when we need to stand up to aggression from Vladimir Putin’.

Later during PMQs, SNP MP Richard Thomson was told to withdraw claims that Mr Johnson was a ‘Pinocchio Prime Minister’.

The PM began to respond to the Gordon MP, but Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle called on Mr Thomson to withdraw the remark and ‘be more moderate’ in his language.

Source: Read Full Article