After more than a month of the media and political focus on Ukraine, Partygate once again dominates the Westminster agenda. Yesterday Scotland Yard issued the first twenty fines to parties being held in Downing Street full confinement. This is unambiguous proof that the law was broken.
Information on sanctions is currently limited. According to the Police, they won’t identify anyone who has been fined. It seems unlikely that any disciplinary action is being considered by the Government, but it was not mentioned. As of press time, there were no resignations or rumors.
Number 10 said it will not provide details on the suspects unless Boris Johnson is involved or Simon Case, head of the public administration. The police investigation is continuing so it could take weeks, if not months to complete. So far, the only known fact is that at least three of 12 events were investigated by police agents involved the prime minister.
The Tory leader would have not only broken the laws during the pandemic, but would have also misled the House of Commons repeatedly when he claimed and perjured that the rules had been followed. Indisputable grounds to resign are misleading Westminster.
Johnson responded with his typical sneer. “Wait a minute, at least we’re expecting some consistency from this human weather vane; Just a week ago I was saying I shouldn’t resign. Where are you at the moment?
Starmer spoke to Sky News earlier this month. He said that he still believed the PM had “lost moral high ground to lead the UK”, but emphasized that now the focus should be on the war in Ukraine. . Yesterday, the opposition made it clear that he never changed his mind regarding Johnson.
Starmer made a series of accusations against the prime minister. He claimed that he was either ripping up the ministerial codes or that his advisers had repeatedly lied to his, and that he didn’t know what was happening in his home or office. “He really believes that there is a rule for him and another rule for everyone else, that he can overlook crime in his office and ask others to follow the law,” he clarified.
Before the tense session in the House of Commons, the deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, himself admitted in comments to Sky News that “clearly there were things that were wrong”, describing what happened as “deeply regrettable”. He defended the “dedication” of Downing Street staff during pandemics, saying that he was still under great pressure. While he acknowledged that illegal entities must be held accountable for their actions, he stressed that it would be wrong to generalize. “I’ve seen loads of people working incredibly long hours under incredible pressure to do their best,” he said.
Johnson also appeared yesterday before the so-called Liaison Committee -which brings together all the committees of the House of Commons- and when they asked him again if he had lied to the Lower House, he limited himself to saying that he would not comment anything about it “until the police investigation has concluded.”
Due to the response of the premier to the war in Ukraine, tensions between Tory ranks have cooled down in recent weeks. Many believe that Partygate has lost its significance and that forcing President Putin out would be a gift to Vladimir Putin. Others think it would be wrong to assume that a challenger to the leadership is impossible. There are still many ways to do damage in May’s local elections. Scotland Yard could even issue additional fines.