EFE.- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday rejected opposition calls for him to resign and refused to answer questions about the Downing Street party scandal during the pandemic, saying police were already conducting an investigation.
At a tense government scrutiny in the House of Commons, Labor leader Keir Starmer He asked him if he intended to leave office, given that contrary to what the prime minister had argued for months, it turned out that there were parties at his residence The official dispatch is in possible violation of health restrictions.
Johnson responded “no” and accused his rival of trying to force him to comment on something he said he “cannot talk about yet”.
Starmer reprimanded him for putting the UK in a “shameful” position, after London Metropolitan Police (MET, or Scotland Yard) confirmed yesterday that they would investigate meetings in Downing Street that may violate regulations.
Parallel, It is also expected that Sue Gray will publish in the next few hours her report on what happened at the government headquarters during closures.
Johnson indicated today in the House of Commons that he will reveal the document in full, amid fears from MPs that he will only release an abridged version.
Encouraged by his fellow Conservatives, who fear electoral advances by the opposition, Prime Minister Startermer, the former attorney general, was accused of being an “opportunist” and “more of a lawyer than a leader”.
Johnson answered in the affirmative, however, at Labour He was asked whether he would step down if it was proven, in violation of Parliamentary code of conduct, that he “knowingly misled” Parliament, By emphasizing a few months ago that there were no social events in Downing Street and no violating health regulations.
Arguing that citizens want him to focus on big issues, such as the energy crisis or rising inflation, the prime minister has been able to sidestep questions about his future and officials’ celebrations during the pandemic.
He said Labor and others want him to “get out of their way”, because he has made great achievements for the UK such as implementing Brexit, a vaccination program, or “unifying the West to prepare a tough package of sanctions” that deter Russia from doing so. Invasion of Ukraine, he said.
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Based on the conclusions of the Gray report – and above all police investigations – Conservative MPs could decide to organize a vote of internal confidence against Johnson, who would have to resign as party leader. The Prime Minister, if he loses it, will be replaced by a candidate emerging from internal elections.
It seems unlikely that Johnson would leave office on his own initiative, if his colleagues or circumstances did not force him to do so.
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