PM Boris Johnson lied about industrial scale partying in Downing Street: Labour Party leader

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PM Boris Johnson lied about industrial scale partying in Downing Street: Labour Party leader

Last Updated : 17 Jan 2022 07:14:45 AM IST

Prime Minister Boris Johnson

UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has accused Prime Minister Boris Johnson of breaking Covid laws with parties held in Downing Street during lockdown, the BBC reported.

The Labour leader said the UK prime minister had "lied" about "industrial scale partying" in No 10.

Six Tory MPs have now called on the Prime Minister to resign over gatherings held during restrictions.

But Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden said the Prime Minister would take action over the "underlying culture" in Downing Street, the report said.

Dowden told the BBC the Prime Minister was "committed" to doing this when he responds to an official inquiry on events in government buildings.

The internal investigation, led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, is expected to be published as soon as next week

However, Starmer told the BBC's Sunday Morning programme he did not need to wait for the report to conclude that Johnson broke the rules.

"The facts speak for themselves, and the country has made up its mind," he said, adding it was "blindingly obvious what's happened".

"I think he broke the law, I think he's as good as admitted that he broke the law," he added, the report said.

Pressure on Johnson has been growing since he admitted he attended a gathering in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020, during the first Covid lockdown.

As many as 100 people were invited to "socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden" in an email on behalf of the prime minister's principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, the report said.

On Wednesday, Johnson told MPs he had "believed implicitly" it was a work event, but admitted: "With hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside".