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Partygate: The highest spheres of power are blamed for the scandal

Crucial to Boris Johnson’s political future, the Partygate administrative inquiry blames the Downing Street leadership for the series of parties at the prime minister’s office and residence during the pandemics to deal with the pandemic.

Although in recent weeks he has shown that he has overcome a scandal that threatened to deprive him of the post of Prime Minister, the British Prime Minister was forced to once again express his remorse, saying that he takes full responsibility, but wants to “move forward”.

This time he responds to the findings of senior public official Sue Gray. Her report details each of the incidents, accompanied by emails and photos, and describes what happened in the corridors of power when the British lived in conditions of severe lockdown: excessive alcohol consumption – up to anesthesia in some cases – quarrels, music , exit through secret doors and lack of respect and offensive behavior towards security guards and cleaning staff.

Without naming those responsible and without proposing sanctions, Sue Gray blames events in the highest echelons of power and says these events “should not have been allowed to take place.”

“Some of the less experienced officials believed that their participation in some of these events was permissible given the presence of high-ranking officials. High-ranking officials, whether politicians or public officials, should take responsibility for this culture,” he said. the head of research.

Before the deputies, Boris Johnson stated that “he takes full responsibility for what happened”, apologizing again. However, he appeared determined to remain in his position “to focus on British priorities”, such as the war in Ukraine and galloping inflation.

Opposition leader Kir Starmer has called for the beleagured PM to step down in order to “restore order”.

“We can not pass laws on the one hand and violate them on the other,” said the Labor leader, who is facing a police investigation into the beers and curries he and his group consumed during his tenure. lockdown.

With no elections on the horizon, the question now is whether the new data is enough to bring back the anger in the Tories parliamentary group, which had retreated recently. It must also be proven whether the Prime Minister lied to Parliament when he claimed that no rules had been violated. And if confirmed, this could hasten his departure.

After seeing his popularity plummet over the winter because of Partygate, Boris Johnson managed to quell the anger of Tory lawmakers by being at the forefront of Western support for Ukraine after the Russian invasion.

However, the Conservative Party suffered heavy losses in the local elections in early May, tarnishing the image of the victorious machine that has protected the former mayor of London until today, while galloping inflation fuels discontent.

Parliamentary inquiry

The government intends to announce a new plan to support households facing an energy price explosion, which the opposition has linked to trying to forget the Partygate scandal.

Sue Gray’s preliminary report was released in January, but the publication of the final report was postponed until the completion of the police investigation, which ended last week with the imposition of 126 fines, revealing the dimensions of the violations of the restrictive measures imposed by to tackle the pandemic that left 180,000 dead in the UK.

The imposition of a fine on Boris Johnson for attending his 56th birthday party was considered a lenient measure for the prime minister, who took part in much more serious celebrations.

Boris Johnson insists he will resign. But if the leaked figures persuade more than 50 Conservative MPs to drop their support for him, he faces a motion of censure almost three years after his triumphant arrival on Downing Street amid the Brexit psychodrama .

Sue Gray’s finding could also fuel allegations of deliberate misrepresentation of Parliament, which will be considered in a parliamentary inquiry. If the investigation concludes that Boris Johnson misled the House of Commons by stating that he did not violate the rules, he is considered to have to resign.

Source: ΑΠΕ-ΜΠΕ

Source: Capital

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