Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Oct 06, 2025

UK PM Johnson “apologises” to parliament over lockdown breaches but not for lying to them

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologised to parliament on Tuesday after he was fined by police for breaking lockdown laws, saying “he did not know” a birthday gathering at the height of the pandemic was in breach of the rules he had set. He did not apologize for lying to the parliament members.

Opposition lawmakers argue that the prime minister must go, saying he set stringent rules during COVID-19, broke those rules in Downing Street and then repeatedly lied to parliament when he said all guidelines had been met.

Johnson told the House of Commons he had not deliberately mislead parliament but said it had never occurred to him that he was in breach of the rules. He acknowledged that the public had a right to expect better.

His apology came as the Speaker of the House said a vote could be held on Thursday into whether Johnson should be investigated over claims he misled parliament.

Under the ministerial code, knowingly misleading parliament is an offence that should result in resignation.

"As soon as I received the notice (from the police), I acknowledged the hurt and the anger, and I said that people had a right to expect better of their prime minister," Johnson told parliament.

Labour leader Keir Starmer accused Johnson of failing to respect the sacrifices made by the British public during lockdowns, and of demeaning his office.

Urging him to resign, he said the prime minister had the chance to: "bring decency, honesty and integrity back into our politics and stop the denigration of everything that this country stands for".

Johnson told parliament in December that "all guidance was followed completely" over the lockdown restrictions. He was fined by the police last week after an internal inquiry found Downing Street held alcohol-fuelled parties at a time when people were not allowed to attend funerals or visit the sick.

Initial reports of the parties caused a furore in Britain, but pressure from Johnson's own lawmakers has abated since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in which he has sought to play a leading role in the West's response. While a handful have repeated calls for him to go, most say now is not the time.

However Mark Harper, a former Conservative chief whip who once helped maintain party discipline, used the occasion to tell Johnson in the chamber that he needed to quit, saying he did not believe "he is worthy of the great office that he holds".

FULL INQUIRY


Lawmakers will now vote on Thursday on whether Johnson should be referred to parliament's privileges committee for an inquiry.

However, the motion is unlikely to pass because Johnson retains the support of most lawmakers in his Conservative Party and can still command a majority in parliament.

In his first statement to parliament since being handed the fine, Johnson attempted to deflect some of the criticism by talking about other issues he is dealing with, including the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and immigration.

But the police have investigated 12 gatherings in Downing Street and the prime minister could yet be fined again.

The pressure will also build, with other Conservative lawmakers expected to take the party's performance in local elections on May 5 into account, along with voter perceptions of the prime minister.

A poll by J L Partners for The Times newspaper, which asked almost 2,000 people to give their view of the prime minister in a few words, found comments from 72% of respondents were negative, compared with 16% that were positive. The most common word used was "liar", it reported. "Buffoon" featured highly.

John Whittingdale, a former Conservative minister, said that while many of his constituents were angry, now was not the time to replace the prime minister because of the war in Ukraine.

"We currently face the gravest crisis in our global security for a long time and it is essential that we remain focused on beating Putin and stopping the aggression against Ukraine," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
×