Boris Johnson has issued a 'wholehearted apology' to MPs over his Partygate fine - but insisted he did not know he was breaking his own coronavirus rules. The Prime Minister repeated an apology in the House of Commons on Tuesday, after Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle approved a vote on whether he lied to MPs with his earlier denials.
Mr Johnson said he paid his Fixed Penalty Notice immediately, issued by police for attending his own surprise birthday party in Downing Street in breach of Covid laws. The PM, along with his wife Carrie Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak, were fined by the Metropolitan Police for attending the bash thrown in his honour in the Cabinet room in June 2020, while coronavirus restrictions were in place.
He has already apologised and confirmed payment had been made, despite telling the Commons previously that all Covid guidance was followed. This afternoon, Mr Johnson addressed MPs for the first time since the news broke.
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He said: "Let me begin in all humility by saying that on April 12, I received a Fixed Penalty Notice relating to an event in Downing Street on June 19, 2020. I paid the fine immediately, and I offered the British people a full apology and I take this opportunity to repeat my wholehearted apology.
"As soon as I received the notice I acknowledged the hurt and the anger and I said that people had a right to expect better of their PM. And I repeat that again in the House now.
"Let me also say not by way of mitigation or excuse but purely because it explains my previous words in this house that it did not occur to me then, or subsequently, that a gathering in the Cabinet room could amount to a breach of the rules. That was my mistake and I apologise for it unreservedly."
He continued: "I respect the outcome of the police investigation which is still underway, and I can only say that I will respect their decision-making and always take the appropriate steps." Mr Johnson said he has taken 'significant steps' to change No 10.
"It is precisely because I know that so many people are angry and disappointed that I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people and to respond in the best traditions of our country to Putin's barbaric onslaught against Ukraine," he said. "Our Ukrainian friends are fighting for the future of their nation and they achieved the feat of arms in the 21st century by repelling the Russian assault on Kyiv and the whole House will share my admiration for their courage."
Shouts of 'resign' could be heard in the Commons as Mr Johnson spoke. Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer, said: "As the mealy-mouthed apology stumbles from one side of his mouth, more deflections and distortions pour from the other but the damage is already done, the public have made up their minds. They don't believe a word the PM says.
"They know what he is. As ever with this PM those close to him find themselves ruined and the institutions he vows to protect damaged. Good ministers forced to walk away from public service, the chancellor's career up in flames, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives rendered pathetic."
Sir Keir continued by saying the Prime Minister 'knows he's dishonest' and 'knows what he is so he drags everyone else down with him'. He said plenty of people didn't agree with the government's rules - but followed them anyway.
