[Text/Observer Network Ju Feng]
The 55th Prime Minister in British history Boris Johnson is now officially fined by the Metropolitan Police for violating the COVID-19 lockdown regulations previously issued by his government. The 50 pounds made him make history and became the first British prime minister to be sentenced to illegal fines during his tenure. Johnson , who is deeply involved in the "party gate", apologized to the public again, but refused to resign.
Also punished were Johnson's wife Kellie (Carrie Johnson), and British Chancellor Rishi Sunak.
Johnson (first from left) and his wife and the British Chancellor of the Exchequer were fined. Photo production: British media
According to the British Sky News Network on April 12, Johnson attended his birthday party at Downing Street in June 2020, at the peak of the epidemic. At that time, the Johnson government promulgated the blockade and prohibition of gatherings. The Metropolitan Police now imposes penalties on Johnson. Amid the opposition’s call for resignation, the Prime Minister publicly apologized but refused to resign again.
Johnson said: "I have paid the fine. Once again, I sincerely apologize...but I hope to continue and complete my term, and I hope to solve the problems that this country must face now."
reporter asked sharply, since Johnson himself is also breaking the law, does it mean that he cannot solve the problem? The Prime Minister responded: "I believe my job is to provide achievements to the people of this country, and that's what I'm going to do."
mentioned that birthday party, one of the "number of" parties Johnson attended during the epidemic, and argued: "To be honest, at that time, I didn't realize that this might violate the law." But Johnson said that after accepting the fine, he "now humbly accepted" the fact that he violated the laws related to COVID-19 .
was asked whether he would be fined more in the future - after all, Johnson had long been deeply trapped in the "party gate" and could not extricate himself. He said that if he was fined, the media would definitely be the first to know.
Johnson's wife Kelly and British Chancellor Rich Sunak were also fined the same. The three of them were fined 50 pounds each, and there was some exemption as the fine was paid within 14 days.
Sunak also publicly "sincerely apologizes", but said he would not resign.
The opposition party responded fiercely. The British Labor Party immediately called for the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer to resign, while Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, called for a re-recalling to launch a vote of confidence in Johnson.
Johnson's trust has been hovering at the freezing point for a long time. A new poll by YouGov shows that 57% believe Mr. Johnson should resign after being fined, while 30% think he should stay. After
was fined, No. 10 Downing Street was officially confirmed that the Prime Minister attended his own birthday party the year before yesterday. Northern Ireland Minister Connor Burns previously said that Johnson was "ambushed by cake" at the party, and as many as 30 people gathered to sing a happy birthday song.
More than this party, Johnson was already deeply involved in the "party gate" scandal before the situation in Russia and Ukraine touched the world.
On January 7, 2022, as a "Christmas Party" held by the Prime Minister's Office violated epidemic prevention regulations during the "lockdown" year before was exposed by the British media, the Johnson government ignored the epidemic prevention rules he had formulated throughout the epidemic, and the "party door" of drinking and having fun gradually emerged.
The first "party" dates back to May 20, 2020. At that time, a party of "bringing your own drinks" was held at the British Prime Minister's House at 10 Downing Street, and about 40 people attended the party, including Johnson and his wife. The incidents investigated by British police include a birthday party for Johnson in Downing Street in June 2020, and two parties held on the eve of the funeral of Prince Philip in April 2021.
In addition, on November 27, 2020, the Prime Minister's Office was accused of holding a farewell party for a resigned staff member. At that time, the whole country was under lockdown. Except for work, any indoor gatherings with other families were strictly prohibited.
Media also revealed that on December 15, 2020, the Prime Minister's Office held a "price-related Q&A party".At that time, London was in the second stage of anti-epidemic measures. Unless there were necessary work reasons, more than two people living in different places were prohibited from meeting indoors.
On December 18, 2020, a video of government staff "rehearsal" how to deal with public opinion leaked, which also exposed a Christmas party in the Prime Minister's Office. According to the regulations at that time, any Christmas dinner was not allowed.
htmlOn January 31, Sue Grey, the second permanent secretary of the British Cabinet Office, released the latest investigation report on the "Party Gate", accusing the British government of poor leadership, resulting in an incident that "that shouldn't have happened". The report pointed out that in the context of the epidemic, the gatherings organized by the British government while requiring the public to accept strict epidemic prevention measures "is difficult to prove justified." There are more unknowns – the report's conclusions are only four of the 16 incidents she investigated. On the same day, British Prime Minister Johnson publicly apologized in parliament, saying, "I understand, I will change it", but once again said that he would not resign because of this.Faced with the outside world's calls for his resignation, Johnson responded to the opposition's calls on the grounds that "the government is focusing on promoting economic growth and leading Western countries to deal with the Ukrainian crisis." He also gave various contradictory explanations for the previous party scandal: he said at first that he did not violate any regulations, but later apologized to the British people for these parties. He also previously denied allegations against the May 20, 2020 party, saying he believed it was a "work activity."
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