OT POLL: BORIS JOHNSON

So, Boris 'I wasn't there, so I broke no rules' Johnson is to be 'fined' for breaking Covid Law...


Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to be fined over lockdown parties
By Jennifer Scott

Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak are expecting fines from the Metropolitan Police

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be fined by the police for attending a birthday party thrown for him during a Covid lockdown.

No 10 confirmed he would receive the fixed penalty notice for going to the hour-long gathering in the Cabinet Room on 19 June 2020.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak and the PM's wife, Carrie Johnson, have also been notified they will get fines.

It comes as part of a Met investigation into illegal parties in Downing Street.

Spokespeople for Mrs Johnson and Mr Sunak said they had not been told which event the fines were linked to.

However, they were reported to be at the same gathering for the PM's birthday - which was said to have been attended by 30 people.

Mr Johnson is the first serving prime minister of the UK to be sanctioned for breaking the law.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the PM and Mr Sunak must resign.

And the Covid 19 Bereaved Families for Justice group said there was "simply no way either the prime minister or chancellor can continue".

But Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross - who at one stage had called for the PM's resignation over the parties - said "it wouldn't be right" for Mr Johnson to go while there was war in Ukraine.

The Met is investigating alleged Covid law-breaking at 12 gatherings in Whitehall and Downing Street.

So far, more than 50 fines have been handed out, with more expected.

A spokeswoman for the Covid Bereaved Families, Lobby Akinnola, said it was "unbelievably painful" to know such senior members of government attended parties while they were unable to be with their dying loved ones.

He added: "The fact that the prime minister and his chancellor then lied about it, and would have continued to do so if the police hadn't intervened, is truly shameless.

"They broke the law. But even worse, they took us all for mugs."

Labour's Sir Keir said the fines for the PM and chancellor showed the Conservatives were "totally unfit to govern", adding: "Britain deserves better.

"Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak have broken the law and repeatedly lied to the British public. They must both resign."



A spokesperson for Carrie Johnson,
confirmed she had also been notified she would be fined

The Green Party echoed the call, with co-leader Adrian Ramsay saying the fines were "a damning indictment of the reckless culture of a Conservative Party and prime minister that consider themselves untouchable".

And Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for Parliament - which is currently on its Easter recess - to be recalled to hold a no confidence vote in the prime minister.

A handful of Tory MPs have also reacted to the news, with backbencher Darren Henry calling for a "public apology" from Mr Johnson and Mr Sunak.

But Mr Ross said: "The public are rightly furious at what happened in Downing Street during the pandemic. I understand why they are angry and share their fury. The behaviour was unacceptable. "[But removing the PM] would destabilise the UK government when we need to be united in the face of Russian aggression and the murdering of innocent Ukrainians."


Allegations

Reports of parties being held in Downing Street during Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 first emerged in December last year.

Mr Johnson initially insisted that "guidelines were followed at all times".

As more gatherings were revealed, the prime minister apologised for attending a drinks party in the Downing Street garden, but told Parliament he believed he had been attending a work event.

Mr Sunak was also asked in the Commons, in December 2021, if he had attended Christmas parties said to have taken place the previous year.

He replied: "No, I did not attend any parties[/u]."


Mr Johnson ordered an inquiry into the allegations of rule-breaking, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray.

The Met initially said it would not retrospectively investigate the allegations unless "[i]significant evidence" of a regulation breach came forward.

But after Ms Gray passed information to officers, they launched their own inquiry.

Ms Gray released an interim report, stating there had been a "failure of leadership" in Downing Street.

But her full report will not be released until the Met have concluded their investigation.


Will the PM and chancellor resign?

Will Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak resign over breaking the law or will they able to ride the controversy out?

If their instinct is to find a way through, they'll be helped by the fact that Parliament isn't sitting and Conservative MPs are less likely to get together and decide it's time for change at the top.

Both may choose to wait for Sue Gray to publish the findings of her report in full for the final word on the "partygate" saga.

They may also appeal against their fines or simply calculate that they can take the political hit and survive.

It's a time for cool heads and calculations in No 10 and 11 Downing Street - a day when reputations, already damaged, may be defined.

Sources have told the BBC that some fines had been given to people who attended a leaving party in Downing Street on 16 April 2021 - the eve of Prince Philip's funeral.

Those who receive fines can either pay within 28 days or contest the police decision.

If they contest the fine, police will review the case and then either withdraw the penalty or take the matter to court. Fixed penalty notices for breaking Covid laws do not result in a criminal record.

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I've a feeling Sunak will resign which will force Boris to do the same. Like they are saying on the tele the silence is deafening from the Cabinate at the moment. I Think his position is untenable. Theresa May's former aid has already said he should go and I dare say John Major won't be far behind with his own verbal lashing. Some minor Tories are trying the "now is not the time" excuse but just like Nixon the question most people are asking is "Would you buy a used car off this man "You can't do business with a liar.

I want Boris to go, But who is better??


Personally I can’t stand him.

I want Boris to go, But who is better??

Personally I can’t stand him.

Exactly better the devil you know and labour are just a joke of a party full of weird woke hypocrites.

Given the suffering that many people had to endure - that was entirely due to the rules imposed upon them by politicians like Boris, I think we have every right to expect them to abide by these rules and face the consequences of failing to do so. We have all been touched by this. My father in law could not have a visit when close to death and we were forced into a 'Zoom' funeral. Some people wore masks at my own father's funeral last August - even though he thought masks and lockdowns were BS. If we fail to hold them to account now, then it will become acceptable for our rulers to say 'do as I say not as I do' (OK so that's already happening anyway). If we accept that, then we might as well go back a century or more in terms of class struggle and fundamental liberal rights. Apart from that - it would give me such joy to see one of these ba...rds humbled.

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

I want Boris to go, But who is better??


Personally I can’t stand him.

It's not about who can do better. This man is in charge of our country and hes repeatedly lied and broke the law. What example does this set our society and our children? He has to go for decency of democracy and our society. It's not about labour replacing him either. Conservatives are in power they just need a new leader.

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

He will say he was advised that it was a work event and so repeated what he was told. When he learned it was not classed as a work event or allegedly classed as a work event he apologised in Parliament, the subsequent fine is a result of him being there.

The thing is people on the red side will be getting all worked up insisting he should go and how enraged they are. The people on the blue side will say - you dont get rid of your leader because of something like this. If it was Watergate - then fair enough.

Ever since the start of his Govt - he must have been the most unfortunate - Covid - Interest rates - cost of living - global shortages of food and just about everything else - now we have Ukraine - Putin - Genocide and as of now we are going to see massive hikes in Oil / Wheat etc.

For me - at the moment now is not the time - but you cant blame his opponents for demanding it - as if they have the right to demand it.

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

He will say he was advised that it was a work event and so repeated what he was told. When he learned it was not classed as a work event or allegedly classed as a work event he apologised in Parliament, the subsequent fine is a result of him being there.

The thing is people on the red side will be getting all worked up insisting he should go and how enraged they are. The people on the blue side will say - you dont get rid of your leader because of something like this. If it was Watergate - then fair enough.

Ever since the start of his Govt - he must have been the most unfortunate - Covid - Interest rates - cost of living - global shortages of food and just about everything else - now we have Ukraine - Putin - Genocide and as of now we are going to see massive hikes in Oil / Wheat etc.

For me - at the moment now is not the time - but you cant blame his opponents for demanding it - as if they have the right to demand it.

Top post and sums it up ,I don't think there's anyone else that could of handle all of these problems better .the man should stay for now .

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

He will say he was advised that it was a work event and so repeated what he was told. When he learned it was not classed as a work event or allegedly classed as a work event he apologised in Parliament, the subsequent fine is a result of him being there.

The thing is people on the red side will be getting all worked up insisting he should go and how enraged they are. The people on the blue side will say - you dont get rid of your leader because of something like this. If it was Watergate - then fair enough.

Ever since the start of his Govt - he must have been the most unfortunate - Covid - Interest rates - cost of living - global shortages of food and just about everything else - now we have Ukraine - Putin - Genocide and as of now we are going to see massive hikes in Oil / Wheat etc.

For me - at the moment now is not the time - but you cant blame his opponents for demanding it - as if they have the right to demand it.

Top post and sums it up ,I don't think there's anyone else that could of handle all of these problems better .the man should stay for now .

Really? no one better? God we set a low bar in this country! Why shouldn't we expect more? I expect more than a total lier in charge. Any other public servant teacher, doctor, local council would have been sacked. I admit the Tory party is poor for alternatives but it has to happen for the decency of society. To quote the Manics, 'If you tolerate this...'

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

He will say he was advised that it was a work event and so repeated what he was told. When he learned it was not classed as a work event or allegedly classed as a work event he apologised in Parliament, the subsequent fine is a result of him being there.

The thing is people on the red side will be getting all worked up insisting he should go and how enraged they are. The people on the blue side will say - you dont get rid of your leader because of something like this. If it was Watergate - then fair enough.

Ever since the start of his Govt - he must have been the most unfortunate - Covid - Interest rates - cost of living - global shortages of food and just about everything else - now we have Ukraine - Putin - Genocide and as of now we are going to see massive hikes in Oil / Wheat etc.

For me - at the moment now is not the time - but you cant blame his opponents for demanding it - as if they have the right to demand it.

Top post and sums it up ,I don't think there's anyone else that could of handle all of these problems better .the man should stay for now .

The question was whether he should resign for lying - I think he should.
Trouble is that as Pipster says, what he's had to cope with as PM is unprecedented. What we don't know is who all of the 50 fines have been issued to. If some of those fined are also senior Tories that reduces the list of possible replacements.
Should he go? I think he should. Will he go? I doubt it.
Rishi might go though.

He should resign for lying to parliament about it, not for attending the party(s) per se.

He will say he was advised that it was a work event and so repeated what he was told. When he learned it was not classed as a work event or allegedly classed as a work event he apologised in Parliament, the subsequent fine is a result of him being there.

The thing is people on the red side will be getting all worked up insisting he should go and how enraged they are. The people on the blue side will say - you dont get rid of your leader because of something like this. If it was Watergate - then fair enough.

Ever since the start of his Govt - he must have been the most unfortunate - Covid - Interest rates - cost of living - global shortages of food and just about everything else - now we have Ukraine - Putin - Genocide and as of now we are going to see massive hikes in Oil / Wheat etc.

For me - at the moment now is not the time - but you cant blame his opponents for demanding it - as if they have the right to demand it.

Top post and sums it up ,I don't think there's anyone else that could of handle all of these problems better .the man should stay for now .

Why? In his ~3 years in power and after dealing with various situations, what abilities has he shown or policies has he enacted that show he’s a cut above the rest?

Boris is hopeless. He got in as he was the best of a bad bunch.and who would replace him? I simply don't trust the UK government anymore, whatever the party. I don't believe what we're told and I also don't trust the MSM.

Unfortunately these Old Etonian Bullingdon boys ego will not resign, toffs and deemed above all else.

He should, but he won't.

If this was Drakeford, there would be a much bigger uproar on here than there is because it's Johnson.

of all the things to resign for a glorified parking ticket


Yes, he is a useless lying toe rag and i can't believe the lame excuses these ridiculously expensive educated come out with but come on.....

The voters and his peers should be the only ones who decide not the media, and we don't have another election for two to three years. If he is so unelectable the tories will bin him.

of all the things to resign for a glorified parking ticket


Yes, he is a useless lying toe rag and i can't believe the lame excuses these ridiculously expensive educated come out with but come on.....

The voters and his peers should be the only ones who decide not the media, and we don't have another election for two to three years. If he is so unelectable the tories will bin him.

Sorry, but he's blatantly lied, misled Parliament, his Party, HM the Queen (on the night before her late husband's funeral) and continues to use his usual 'bullshit baffles brains' rhetoric to do anything bar accept it and 'do the decent thing'

And here's an honestvquestion: has Boris hung anyone out tobdry for less during his tenure?

I can think of a few, the main one being Dominic Cummings; ironically sacked for, uhm, breaking Covid Rules

Pot, kettle, black, standards, double, integrity and lacking are words well worthy of Boris Johnson; a man pulling the wool over UK citizens eyes and stealing their pocket money at the same time!

Just in case anyone is in doubt, the man is a fraud and not fit for the Office he spent his life manipulating others to get...

Go now, Boris; there's been an irretrievable breakdown in trust...!

of all the things to resign for a glorified parking ticket


Yes, he is a useless lying toe rag and i can't believe the lame excuses these ridiculously expensive educated come out with but come on.....

The voters and his peers should be the only ones who decide not the media, and we don't have another election for two to three years. If he is so unelectable the tories will bin him.

Sorry, but he's blatantly lied, misled Parliament, his Party, HM the Queen (on the night before her late husband's funeral) and continues to use his usual 'bullshit baffles brains' rhetoric to do anything bar accept it and 'do the decent thing'

And here's an honestvquestion: has Boris hung anyone out tobdry for less during his tenure?

I can think of a few, the main one being Dominic Cummings; ironically sacked for, uhm, breaking Covid Rules

Pot, kettle, black, standards, double, integrity and lacking are words well worthy of Boris Johnson; a man pulling the wool over UK citizens eyes and stealing their pocket money at the same time!

Just in case anyone is in doubt, the man is a fraud and not fit for the Office he spent his life manipulating others to get...

Go now, Boris; there's been an irretrievable breakdown in trust...!

Sounds like you vote Labour?

of all the things to resign for a glorified parking ticket


Yes, he is a useless lying toe rag and i can't believe the lame excuses these ridiculously expensive educated come out with but come on.....

The voters and his peers should be the only ones who decide not the media, and we don't have another election for two to three years. If he is so unelectable the tories will bin him.

Sorry, but he's blatantly lied, misled Parliament, his Party, HM the Queen (on the night before her late husband's funeral) and continues to use his usual 'bullshit baffles brains' rhetoric to do anything bar accept it and 'do the decent thing'

And here's an honestvquestion: has Boris hung anyone out tobdry for less during his tenure?

I can think of a few, the main one being Dominic Cummings; ironically sacked for, uhm, breaking Covid Rules

Pot, kettle, black, standards, double, integrity and lacking are words well worthy of Boris Johnson; a man pulling the wool over UK citizens eyes and stealing their pocket money at the same time!

Just in case anyone is in doubt, the man is a fraud and not fit for the Office he spent his life manipulating others to get...

Go now, Boris; there's been an irretrievable breakdown in trust...!

Sounds like you vote Labour?

No, Wez; unlike many, I vote by person not Party; I just believe the man is morally corrupt

Let's not forget this would be his third 'sacking' for lying

I thought he should have went when the video footage of the “parties” came to light but with everything that’s going on at the moment the last thing we need now is more political upheaval. Boris is like a British Berlusconi by rights he should be long gone, he portrays this likeable scamp persona however in reality he’s a ruthless calculating political operator.

Never met anyone who hasnt told a lie...

Right about Drakeford.. Boris is a clown, but gets things done. The Drip is a hopeless non-achiever.

If the man had an ounce of integrity he would have resigned yesterday BUT we are dealing with Boris Johnson here who most people recognise is a sociopath or a person who lacks any sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

Like many sociopaths their behaviour can border on the criminal and this is where his behaviour has fallen WELL short of what we should expect as a minimum from our Prime Minister. If you overlook the FACT that the man who set the rules had a moral responsibility to follow them but as any self serving sociopath he ONLY regrets being found out.

But for me far and away the WORST thing he has done is to blatantly mislead Parliament, on a number of occasions, that anything ever happened. He even set up a so called "Independent" investigation which was to be carried out by someone who actually attended more than one of the gatherings. In my book that clearly indicates a conspiracy to cover up the truth. And like any self respecting sociopath there comes the criminal behaviour.

But make no mistake Boris Johnson won't give a toss talk about thick skin he has the thickest and he WILL attempt to brazen this out BUT he is finished and the Conservative Party WILL remove him, maybe not today or tomorrow but WELL before the next General Election.

After yesterday the UK now has a lame duck Prime Minister and this morning in the offices of the Conservative Party people are planning on who WILL succeed him.

For me it cannot happen quickly enough.

Never met anyone who hasnt told a lie...

Right about Drakeford.. Boris is a clown, but gets things done. The Drip is a hopeless non-achiever.

What has Drakeford got to do with whether or not Boris should resign for lying in Parliament?

He should but I don't want him too as a) only end up with someone worse and b) no way he can ever implement restrictions again now

If the man had an ounce of integrity he would have resigned yesterday BUT we are dealing with Boris Johnson here who most people recognise is a sociopath or a person who lacks any sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

Like many sociopaths their behaviour can border on the criminal and this is where his behaviour has fallen WELL short of what we should expect as a minimum from our Prime Minister. If you overlook the FACT that the man who set the rules had a moral responsibility to follow them but as any self serving sociopath he ONLY regrets being found out.

But for me far and away the WORST thing he has done is to blatantly mislead Parliament, on a number of occasions, that anything ever happened. He even set up a so called "Independent" investigation which was to be carried out by someone who actually attended more than one of the gatherings. In my book that clearly indicates a conspiracy to cover up the truth. And like any self respecting sociopath there comes the criminal behaviour.

But make no mistake Boris Johnson won't give a toss talk about thick skin he has the thickest and he WILL attempt to brazen this out BUT he is finished and the Conservative Party WILL remove him, maybe not today or tomorrow but WELL before the next General Election.

After yesterday the UK now has a lame duck Prime Minister and this morning in the offices of the Conservative Party people are planning on who WILL succeed him.

For me it cannot happen quickly enough.

Spot on, Gary...

"Really? no one better? God we set a low bar in this country! Why shouldn't we expect more? I expect more than a total lier in charge. Any other public servant teacher, doctor, local council would have been sacked. I admit the Tory party is poor for alternatives but it has to happen for the decency of society. To quote the Manics, 'If you tolerate this...'"

This made me fall off my seat - call me old fashioned but I dont think quoting a Manics song title is an effective way to work out your political strategy.

Maybe the Minister for LGBT should start quoting the Village people, the minister for Education maybe a few lines from another brick in the wall - and then using this to form next years GCSE gradings.

I heard someone on the radio this morning being outraged at the danger he could have posed re Covid - until the host reminded her - Johnson has had Covid , been in hospital and was in intensive care with covid - she then shut up.

You dont get rid of your Prime Minister over something the equivalent of a parking fine - if it was a hit and run, over the limit - no tax / insurance and he had done a runner - then fair enough.

ps - there is nothing better than answering the question - so if it is not Rishi Sunak - then they usually go for an unknown - so my hunch would be Penny Mordent. Whoever it is though they are probably on safe ground if the only opposition is Sir Keir and Angie Raynor (she is the one whose usual response is to call people scum) , Raynor left school with no qualifications - other than in how to get pregnant (not an official GCSE if I recall correctly) she did apparently get an NVQ in social care. I cant think of anyone on the Labour front bench who would be any good. There are a few decent back bench Labour MPs who could probably do a decent job - but Labour (Corbyn apart) dont seem to appoint back benchers.

I think at the moment though - we have more important fish to fry, rather than this Monty Python debate of how long the cake was out the box for.

If the man had an ounce of integrity he would have resigned yesterday BUT we are dealing with Boris Johnson here who most people recognise is a sociopath or a person who lacks any sense of moral responsibility or social conscience.

Like many sociopaths their behaviour can border on the criminal and this is where his behaviour has fallen WELL short of what we should expect as a minimum from our Prime Minister. If you overlook the FACT that the man who set the rules had a moral responsibility to follow them but as any self serving sociopath he ONLY regrets being found out.

But for me far and away the WORST thing he has done is to blatantly mislead Parliament, on a number of occasions, that anything ever happened. He even set up a so called "Independent" investigation which was to be carried out by someone who actually attended more than one of the gatherings. In my book that clearly indicates a conspiracy to cover up the truth. And like any self respecting sociopath there comes the criminal behaviour.

But make no mistake Boris Johnson won't give a toss talk about thick skin he has the thickest and he WILL attempt to brazen this out BUT he is finished and the Conservative Party WILL remove him, maybe not today or tomorrow but WELL before the next General Election.

After yesterday the UK now has a lame duck Prime Minister and this morning in the offices of the Conservative Party people are planning on who WILL succeed him.

For me it cannot happen quickly enough.

On top of this a lot of people do not agree with him effectively dropping all Covid rules just like that. Going for herd immunity could put the NHS back where it was at the height of the pandemic.

He certainly won't be in that job for much longer.

I didn't realise that there were so many rich tory supporters on this forum.how would you feel if you lost 3 members of your family to covid and couldn't say your goodbyes.

I am not defending him and as PM he should know better. But if he has been fined for the birthday cake incident and not for some of the more serious breaches that occurred that he apparently did not attend, then it's really is at the bottom range of the breaches.

How many on this forum can honestly say they didn't do something similar? Particularly as at the time of the incident half the country seemed to be down the beach having a wonderful time on furlough.

I am not defending him and as PM he should know better. But if he has been fined for the birthday cake incident and not for some of the more serious breaches that occurred that he apparently did not attend, then it's really is at the bottom range of the breaches.

How many on this forum can honestly say they didn't do something similar? Particularly as at the time of the incident half the country seemed to be down the beach having a wonderful time on furlough.

What relevance do other people's actions have on whether or not Boris should be fined for breaking the law?
Also we don't know yet if this will be his only fine or not. Will those defending him now change their thoughts if more fines follow?