British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told members of Parliament Tuesday night that he would not be resigning despite mounting pressure after he was fined for violating the COVID-19 guidelines his administration put in place.
Johnson argued he needed to remain in office to redouble efforts to combat Russian aggression in Ukraine and fix an economy rocked by the yearslong pandemic, rebuffing calls for him to step down amid the fallout for violating his own protocols.
“I understand the anger that many will feel that I, myself, fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public, and I accept in all sincerity that people had the right to expect better,” Johnson told Parliament on Tuesday. “Now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people.”
BORIS JOHNSON AND CHANCELLOR RISHI SUNAK FINED OVER ‘PARTYGATE’ SCANDAL
Party leaders from the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Scottish National Party, and the Liberal Democrats all called for his resignation in the aftermath of the scandal dubbed “partygate.” However, some of Johnson’s critics, including those in his own party, have said that resigning should not be the government’s focus while a war rages in Ukraine.
The scandal surfaced last December when emails, including from the prime minister, showed employees were breaking protocols when the rest of the country was in lockdown. An internal investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray found a lack of leadership at No. 10 Downing St., which led to an investigation by British police. At least 50 people have been fined for violating guidelines at 12 different parties.
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Johnson is the first British prime minister to be fined for breaking the law while in office. His refusal to resign from his position means members of Parliament would have to conduct a vote of no confidence to remove him from office.
Johnson’s wife, Carrie Johnson, and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak were also fined Tuesday.
