British PM, exchequer chancellor rebuff calls to quit over COVID lockdown violations

The UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak have dismissed demands for their resignation after being fined by police for breaking lockdown rules in Downing Street in June 2020.

Reacting to the calls to resign, Johnson boasted that he felt “an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people,” while Sunak claimed he was “focused on delivering for the British people,” local media outlets reported Wednesday as many newspapers described the two top officials as “liars” and “lawbreakers.”

Speaking on Tuesday, Johnson claimed the event he had been fined for attending was a “brief” gathering in the Cabinet Room to mark his birthday that lasted “less than 10 minutes.”

“In all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules,” he further asserted. “But, of course, the police have found otherwise and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation.”

Sunak also released a statement, saying, “I understand that for figures in public office, the rules must be applied stringently in order to maintain public confidence. I respect the decision that has been made and have paid the fine.”

A spokesperson for the prime minister’s wife, Carrie Johnson, also declared that she had accepted the police’s findings and “apologizes unreservedly.”

Renewed calls demanding PM’s resignation

The “full” and “unreserved” apologies, however, did not silence many critics of the British premier and the chancellor of the exchequer.

Reacting to the two men’s refusal to step down, the Labour Party’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner emphasized in a Twitter post, “You made the rules. You broke your own law. Just go.”

Labour leader Keir Starmer further added that the fines showed that Johnson and Sunak had lied repeatedly about the Partygate scandal, dishonoring both their offices and the sacrifices of the British people, saying, “They have to go.”

The Scottish National Party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, said that the two leading Tories had “insulted the millions of people who faithfully followed the rules.”

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also stated, “This is a government in crisis neglecting a country in crisis.”

Representative of bereaved families of those who lost relatives as the result of the pandemic said there was “simply no way either the prime minister or chancellor can continue” in their jobs, calling their actions “truly shameless.”

Plaid Cymru’s Commons leader Liz Saville Roberts accused Johnson and Sunak of having an “arrogant sense of exceptionalism and a belief in their own entitlement.”

“If they have any honor, they will resign,” she said.

Moreover, Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay said that both men had broken “the very laws they made to try and keep this country safe in a pandemic and must now resign.”

The British prime minister, his wife, and the chancellor all received fixed penalty notices for attending Johnson’s birthday party at his official residence at the height of COVID-19 lockdown measures across the UK.

As a result, Johnson became Britain’s first serving prime minister to be fined for breaking the law.

The fines came as part of an investigation by the Metropolitan Police into illegal parties held in Downing Street and across Whitehall during the lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. Police authorities are looking into 12 parties overall, and have already issued more than 50 fines, with more expected to come, according to local news reports.

Meanwhile, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats also led calls for parliament to return from its Easter break so the UK’s prime minister and chancellor could face questions from lawmakers.

‘Humans make mistakes,’ Johnson’s backers say

A raft of Johnson’s cabinet ministers, however, have publicly backed him and the chancellor. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss claimed the two men were “delivering for Britain on many fronts.”

The prime minister is “human” and humans “sometimes make mistakes,” said his Transport Secretary Grant Shapps as he defended Johnson against calls for his resignation.

When asked on a televised interview how the prime minister can “possibly remain in office,” Shapps added, “Everyone is human, people sometimes make mistakes.

Work and Pensions Secretary Therese Coffey also asserted it was “important for the country that [the PM] and the chancellor get on with the job the country elected them to do.”

Veteran Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, who had previously called for Johnson to resign, emphasized that now was not the time to “unseat” the prime minister amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Writing in the Telegraph daily, former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith said the revelation of the rule breaking had been “astonishing and angering,” but added, “We are facing two national calamities, the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.”