Boris Johnson bats away calls to resign as Westminster waits for Sue Gray report
Boris Johnson rebuffed calls to resign today over the Downing Street parties saga, with the Prime Minister stonewalling a barrage of questions about the Sue Gray report in the House of Commons.
Johnson admitted during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that he would have to resign if he is proven to have misled parliament over the saga, but continued to insist that this was not the case.
The Gray report into the scandal engulfing Johnson’s government has still not been given to Number 10 by the senior civil servant, after rumours it could be published as early as today.
Johnson’s spokesman today committed Number 10 to publishing the entire report, after suggestions they may only release a summary.
Thursday is now the earliest a statement can be made in parliament about the findings of the report, which are expected to influence whether a no-confidence vote of Johnson’s leadership of the Tory party is triggered.
The Prime Minister said he could not answer questions about the ongoing investigation in PMQs, telling Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer that “as a lawyer [you] will know that”.
Going on the attack, Johnson added: “The problem with the Labour Party today is that [Starmer is] a lawyer, not a leader.
“We’ve taken the tough decisions, we’ve got the big calls right, and we’re – and in particular I – are getting on with the job.”
It comes after the Metropolitan Police on Tuesday announced it would launch its own investigation into Covid rule-breaking in Number 10 and Whitehall.
The probe will only look at the several alleged lockdown-busting parties the Met has deemed to have broken the “threshold” for a criminal investigation to be launched.
Starmer renewed calls for Johnson to resign in light of the fresh investigation.
“The police say the evidence meets the test, frankly the public have made up their minds, they know he’s not fit for the job, and that’s what really matters here,” he said.
He added that Johnson was “unable to lead the country, incapable of doing the right thing and every day his cabinet fail to speak out, they become more and more complicit”