The sanction of a prime minister in office is unpublished in the political history of the United Kingdom. But the Conservative does not intend to resign, and his party does not want to constrain it, fault, in particular, of a potential successor.
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For the first time in the political history of the United Kingdom, a prime minister in office is convinced that he has violated the law – a law that his government has defined himself. Tuesday 12 April, Scotland Yard (the Metropolitan Police of London) sent a fine to Boris Johnson for breaking the health rules during the pandemic – and participated in one of the many feasts that took place at Downing Street when the British were confined – probably That of June 19, 2020, marking his birthday.
Fifty other policies and officials were sanctioned on Tuesday, whose head of the head of government, Carrie Johnson, and his Chancellor of the Echiquier (Minister of Finance), Rishi Sunak.
This very significant rebound in the “PartyGate” saga will probably not result in Mr. Johnson’s resignation, which repeats he wanting to cling to his post, whatever the revelations. But it abyes a little more the figure of the leader, whose sincerity was already called into question, and it falls very badly for the Conservative Party, three weeks of municipal elections in England and Scotland.
The contrite mine, Boris Johnson reiterated his “apologies” for the “mistakes” committed, assured that “of course, I paid the fine” but he recalled that he wanted to “continue” his mandate. From Checkers, the weekend residence of the prime ministers, where he took refuge a few days, the leader also tried to justify his behavior, explaining that he had “attended less than ten minutes” at the party given for his Anniversary at Downing Street, “and, frankly, at that time, I did not think I got violared the rules.” Rishi Sunak also presented “unreserved excuses”, Tuesday, without announcing his departure.
The calendar plays in favor of Boris Johnson
From the first revelations of the “PartyGate”, in the fall of 2021, Mr. Johnson had several times in the House of Commons, that “all the rules were followed” at Downing Street. Difficult yet not to give reason to those who accuse him of lying after the fine of Scotland Yard – the leader has also indicated that he does not dispute it before the courts. However, lying to members of Parliament is to violate the code committed by the ministers and constrained Mr. Johnson to resign, if he followed the rules of good British governance.
The opposition again claimed his departure. For Keir Starmer, the leader of Labor, “Prime Minister and Chancellor have violated the law, they must resign”. At the head of the Liberal Democrats, Ed Davey judges that MM. Johnson and Sunak “are not able to occupy their positions”. “We could not hold the hand of our loved ones when they died (…) because we respected the rules”, bitterly reacted the influential association of the families of victims of the coronavirus, Bereaved Families for Justice. And to add in a statement: “If a new variant appears, what will your moral authority will impose new sanitary constraints?”
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