By Tony O’Reilly-
A Uk government minister has stated that now is not the time for a self-indulgent leadership contest if Boris Johnson is fined over the partygate scandal, a minister has said. The war in Ukraine has taken the focus off the issue of lockdown breaches in Downing Street, but it was back in the headlines last week after the Metropolitan Police began issuing fixed penalty notices.
The comment comes after ITV reporter, Mr Peston suggested that the chances of the prime minister being fined was high. Peston said that the only officials being interviewed are ‘witnesses’, whose role is to help the police interpret questionnaires submitted by other people.
Peston revealed that the force will not be interviewing those who have received the form as part of the inquiries, and could potentially be fined, increasing the likelihood of the prime minister being fined. Mr Peston said the only officials being interviewed are ‘witnesses’, whose role is to help the police interpret questionnaires submitted by other people.
‘Paradoxically that means the prime minister is more likely to be fined’, the ITV reporter said.
‘The Met are not interviewing those who received questionnaires and are in the frame to be fined’.
Welsh Secretary Simon Hart was vocal about his objection to the idea that Boris Johnson should resign in the event he gets fined. He expressed strong views that “the world has moved on a considerable distance” and that most of his constituents “want an apology, but they don’t want a resignation”.
”I have 65,000 constituents in West Wales, where I represent and they are not shy in coming forward and throughout all this saga with Downing Street parties they have said one thing very clearly, and the vast majority, they say they want contrition and they want an apology but they don’t want a resignation. I think, at the moment, the idea that it might be appropriate to have a six week, self-indulgent leadership contest, frankly, I don’t think that’s very sensible either.
“We all make judgements which we have time to reflect on and wish we’d made differently. I think, for me, personally speaking, the world has moved on a considerable distance. I trust the views of the people who elected me who say put this problem right, you acted inappropriately at the time, but the idea that every politician or every journalist for that matter who makes a misjudgement at the time should automatically be sacked is not something I subscribe to.”
Responding to Mr Hart’s comments, Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine MP said: “These comments are an insult to every family that suffered in lockdown while Downing Street partied. Boris Johnson’s Conservatives have got something else coming if they think the public has moved on from this shameful scandal. Boris Johnson broke the rules he asked us all to obey then repeatedly lied about it. Conservative MPs must rediscover their moral compass and get rid of him.”
The war in Ukraine has been described by one member of The Eye Of Media’s thintank as ‘manna from heaven’ to Boris Johnson.
Respected teacher , researcher and analyst, Joshua Hoploop, said by some to have a slight resemblance to the prime minister said : The war in Ukraine was like manna from heaven to Boris Johnson. It kicked the partygate scandal to the shade because the seriousness of the war immediately took over.
It is importance for a country’s leader in times like this t be focused. He or her representative role should not be too divided and frustrated by domestic issues. It could undermine the collective power and integrity of the country. The partygate scandal was absolutely terrible and embarrassing for the government, but there is actually a case for saying it’s a bad time to conduct a leadership contest. If the war were to end tomorrow, it will change the context of Simon Hart’s comments. I think despite the wide anger and calls for the prime minister’s resignation, the Welsh Minister may in fact have a point here”.
Johnson has had a significant role to play in the Ukraine war, including attending the G7 summit two weeks ago to discuss the Russian invasion.
Joshua Hoploop agrees with Simon Hart Image: Lee Martin
War Crimes
Today Mr Johnson accused Vladimir Putin and his army of committing war crimes in Ukraine by carrying out ‘despicable attacks against innocent civilians’.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned Russia’s actions, and accused Vladimir Putin and his army of committing war crimes in Ukraine by carrying out ‘despicable attacks against innocent civilians’.
The UK, France and Germany, along with the NATO Secretary General, on Sunday night called for an international probe to be opened into allegations of Russian ‘war crimes’. Meanwhile, Estonian prime minister Kaja Kallas declared: ‘It’s not a battlefield, it’s a crime scene’ in reference to the horrific images.
He tweeted: “Putin will never break the spirit of Ukraine’s people or conquer their homeland.
“Ukraine will rise again and take her place among free and sovereign nations once more.”
Peston revealed that the force will not be interviewing those who have received the form as part of the inquiries, and could potentially be fined, increasing the likelihood of the prime minister being fined. Mr Peston said the only officials being interviewed are ‘witnesses’, whose role is to help the police interpret questionnaires submitted by other people.
‘Paradoxically that means the prime minister is more likely to be fined’, the ITV reporter said.
‘The Met are not interviewing those who received questionnaires and are in the frame to be fined’.
There have been repeated calls for the Prime Minister to resign in the wake of the partygate scandal, and those calls will become louder if should Mr. Johnson be fined, since the prime minister would be seen as having broken his own laws.
His comments came as it emerged that the Met have issued fines relating to Downing Street events held the night before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral last year.
It has been reported that respected senior servant, Helen MacNamara received a £50 fine on Friday in connection with a leaving do held in the Cabinet Office on 18 June 2020 to mark the departure of a private secretary.
MacNamara was the director general of propriety and ethics in the Cabinet Office from 2018 to 2020, and her role was to ensure the highest standards of propriety, integrity and governance within Government.
The leaving do in 70 Whitehall on June 18, 2020, was reportedly held for Hannah Young, a former home affairs policy adviser who was taking up the post of deputy consul general in New York.
There were said to be about 20 people present, with alcohol consumed, which was in stark contrast to government regulations.