Four of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s senior aides resigned Thursday amid fallout from the so-called “Partygate” scandal rocking his administration.
Chief of staff Dan Rosenfield, private secretary Martin Reynolds, Director of Communications Jack Doyle, and Head of Policy Munira Mirza tendered their resignations, Johnson’s office said, according to the Associated Press.
The resignations follow the release of the Sue Gray report that came from an investigation into 16 alleged parties finding “failures of leadership and judgment” in Johnson’s administration dating as far back as May 2020 during the height of the coronavirus pandemic. The report found the prime minister and other members of his administration broke COVID-19 restrictions during lockdown protocols. The Metropolitan Police is also investigating 12 alleged violations.
ANTICIPATED ‘PARTYGATE’ REPORT FINDS ‘FAILURE OF LEADERSHIP’ IN BRITISH GOVERNMENT
Reynolds was found to have emailed more than 100 employees to invite them to an outdoor “bring your own booze” garden party in May 2020 despite rules that social gatherings must be limited to being outdoors with one other person outside of their household if socially distanced.
Members of Parliament have expressed anger over the alleged parties at Downing Street. Members of Johnson’s Conservative Party have called for his resignation and have considered a vote of no-confidence, which would remove him from power.
Johnson received even more backlash after he verbally attacked opposition leader Keir Starmer, the Labor Party leader in the House of Commons, whom he accused of failing to prosecute TV personality Jimmy Savile while serving as the United Kingdom’s director of prosecutions. Savile was outed to be one of the worst serial sexual abusers in Britain after his death in 2011.
Mirza said Johnson’s accusation was why she resigned from her post as his head of policy.
“There was no fair or reasonable basis for that assertion. This was not the normal cut-and-thrust of politics; it was an inappropriate and partisan reference to a horrendous case of child sex abuse,” Mirza said in her letter, shared by the Guardian. “You are a better man than many of your detractors will ever understand, which is why it is so desperately sad that you let yourself down by making a scurrilous accusation against the leader of the opposition.”
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Johnson apologized on behalf of his administration for its role in “Partygate” but has avoided admitting personal mistakes. However, he has promised to fix the problems in his administration.
“I want to say sorry,” Johnson said. “I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right. This pandemic was hard for everyone … I understand the anger that people feel.”
