Raab, who oversees the legal system as justice minister, suggested in an interview with the BBC on Wednesday that the Met’s decision to issue 20 sentencing warnings to those who attended Downing Street rallies showed that the law had been violated. However, when questioned by members of the lower house of parliament, the prime minister repeatedly insisted that he would not make a “permanent comment”, adding: “I just think it would be wrong for me to deviate from that.” Pressed again by SNP MP Pete Wissart, Johnson insisted: “I will camp quite firmly in my place.” “There will come a point where I can talk about the research and the conclusions of the research and then the research will be completed,” he added. Boris Johnson refuses to discuss the MP’s claim that he will be “toasted” if he is fined for Partygate – video Johnson also sought to suggest that he had addressed some of the issues raised in the report by senior civil servant Sue Gray, changing the leadership structure to No. 10. “I’ve been home several times to talk about it and to explain and apologize and mention the things we did to change the way things were going at No. 10, and we did that,” he said. . Johnson declined to say whether it would have been a matter of resignation if he had been notified of a fixed sentence. Downing Street said it would announce whether the prime minister would receive such a warning and whether Secretary of State Simon Case would do so – but would not disclose which other officials had received it. Earlier, Labor leader Kerr Starmer claimed that Johnson had misled the House of Commons when he claimed in December that stories of parties violating the rules had surfaced for the first time, that “all instructions were followed”. “He [Johnson] “He said at home that no rules were violated on Downing Street during the lockdown,” Starmer said. “The police have now come to the conclusion that there was widespread crime. The Ministerial Code states that ministers who knowingly mislead the House must resign. Why is he still here? “ Johnson avoided the question, saying: “Of course, researchers must continue their work, but in the meantime, we will continue our work.” Starmer responded by criticizing Johnson for repeatedly insisting he knew nothing about an alleged breach of Covid rules in Downing Street, as Metropolitan Police announced the fines and others may follow. “Look, there are only two possible explanations: he either overturns the ministerial code or claims that he was repeatedly lied to by his own advisers and did not know what was going on in his home and office,” Starmer said. asking: “When will the British public stop fooling themselves?” A spokesman for Starmer later suggested that Johnson’s claim that he could not comment as the police investigation continued was “obviously unfounded.” Labor also suggested that Case, the highest-ranking civil servant at No. 10, should resign if fined. However, Conservative MPs seem to have accepted the argument at the moment that it would be premature to take action against the prime minister when it remains unclear whether he will receive a firm sentence – and before Gray’s full report is published. Several Tory lawmakers have previously said publicly that they had sent letters to 1922 Commission President Graham Brady asking for a vote of no confidence in the prime minister, but some, including Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross, have since withdrawn. If 54 such letters were received, a vote of no confidence would be sought and if Johnson lost it, his prime ministership would end. Despite the narrowing of national polls since the war in Ukraine pushed Partygate to the news agenda, some supporters insist that if the prime minister receives notice of fixed sanctions, it should still be a matter of resignation. The Met has not given any estimate of how long its investigations may take and has suggested that these first 20 announcements are easy cases, or “low fruits”. Dozens of Conservative MPs met with Johnson for a dinner Tuesday afternoon to strengthen ties with the ruling party. Starmer used most of his questions to the prime minister to address Johnson’s growing tax burden in the wake of last week’s spring statement, saying: “The prime minister still believes he and the chancellor are reducing ; » “Yes, I do,” Johnson replied, citing the fuel tax cut in the statement and the promise of a 1 a.m. tax cut. in 2024, saying this would mitigate the impact of increased national insurance on NHS funding and welfare. “Cut the nonsense and treat the British people with a little respect,” Starmer said, adding to Labor MPs’ laughter: “I can only hope that his police questionnaire was a little more convincing than that.”
