Keir Starmer today effectively accused Boris Johnson of lying to Parliament over Partygate, declaring: "Why is he still here?"
The Labour leader lashed out at a fractious PMQs after Mr Johnson told MPs on December 1 that "all guidance was followed completely in No10" - only for police to issue 20 fines for lockdown breaches yesterday.
Labour's leader could not directly accuse the Prime Minister of lying - something Mr Johnson has denied - under Commons rules, but effectively did so by careful wording.
Sir Keir said: "He told the House no rules were broken in Downing Street during lockdown. The police have now concluded there was widespread criminality.
"The Ministerial Code says that ministers who knowingly mislead the House should resign.
"Why is he still here?"
Boris Johnson scoffed "hang on a minute!" and accused Keir Starmer of being a "human weather vane" after the Labour leader stopped short of repeating his call for the PM's resignation last week.
The PM said the Met Police - who've warned they could issue more fines beyond the 20 anonymous ones so far - must “get on with their job” adding: "We are going to get on with our job."
But Keir Starmer said: "There are only two possible explanations.
“Either he’s trashing the Ministerial Code, or he’s claiming he was repeatedly lied to by his own advisors and that he didn’t know what was going on in his own house and his own office.
“Come off it!
“He really does think it’s one rule for him and another rule for everyone else - that he can pass off criminality in his own office and ask others to follow the law.”
Labour's leader added: "When is he going to stop taking the British public for fools?"
It came after Boris Johnson's deputy today finally admitted 20 staff broke the law over Covid lockdown parties - after No10 bizarrely tried to avoid saying they did.
Dominic Raab also confirmed ministers like Rishi Sunak will "inevitably" disclose if they get fined. So far, No10 has only pledged to name Boris Johnson and Cabinet Secretary Simon Case.
Scotland Yard yesterday said it would hand out 20 fines to people over parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.
Yet the PM still appeared to be in denial. Pressed over Mr Johnson’s view, his spokesman said: “It’s for the Met to make that judgment, rather than the Prime Minister.”
Today Mr Raab, who is the Justice Secretary and once prosecuted war crimes, accepted the 20 fined people broke the law saying: "Clearly there were breaches of the regulations - that’s the only thing that could warrant the 20 fixed penalty notices”.
Last night Boris Johnson threw a glitzy bash for Tory MPs, hours after the Met confirmed Downing Street lockdown parties had broken the law.
The PM hosted around 200 MPs for dinner at a central London hotel as he attempted to bolster his leadership and draw a line under the Partygate scandal.
Politicians were set to dine on salmon tart, chicken thighs and a chocolate praline dessert, washed down with fine wines.
Top Tories walked past families who lost loved ones to Covid, who held a candlelit vigil in protest outside London's Park Plaza hotel and shouted at MPs: "Off to another party, are we?"
One Tory MP, Michael Fabricant, told the waiting media the party would be "a lot of fun" adding: "It's great, we had a photo taken, it was absolutely super".
SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford blasted: "Last night millions of families will have been desperately trying to figure out how they will possibly afford the £700 energy price hike that will hit them this Friday.
"At the very same time, Tory MPs were gathering across the street for a champagne bash in the Park Plaza.
"We all know the Tories partied during lockdown and now they’re partying through this cost-of-living emergency."
Earlier Keir Starmer blasted the PM and “cynical” Chancellor Rishi Sunak for putting the 2024 Tory re-election campaign "over and above" helping people pay their bills by promising a 1p income tax cut.
The PM insisted he was still a “tax-cutting Conservative” - but Keir Starmer told Mr Johnson to “cut the nonsense and treat the British people with a bit of respect”.
He said the Tories were imposing 15 tax rises, bringing the tax burden to its highest for 70 years and for every £6 taken in tax rises, £1 is given back.
“Is that cutting taxes or is it raising taxes?” he mocked.
Boris Johnson fumed: “I don’t know where he’s been the last two years….
“Even for Captain Hindsight, to obliterate the biggest pandemic for the last century from his memory, to obliterate the £408bn we’ve had to spend… is quite extraordinary.”
But Keir Starmer said: “I can only hope that his police questionnaire was bit more convincing than that.
"This year British people face the worst fall in living standards on record. While they are counting every penny, the Prime Minister is hitting them with higher taxes.
“But in 2024 when there just so happens to be a general election, they will introduce a small tax cut. That is not taking difficult decisions, it's putting the Tory re-election campaign over and above helping people pay their bills. How did he find a Chancellor as utterly cynical as he is?"
Prime Minister Boris Johnson replied: "What we have is a Chancellor who took the tough decisions to look after the UK economy throughout the pandemic, who protected people up and down the land with £408 billion worth of support.
"And by the way, if we had listened to them, if we had listened to Captain Hindsight, we would not have come out of lockdown in July last year. We would have stayed in lockdown over Christmas and New Year, with the result that the UK economy would not be growing in the way that it is.
"And so we would not be able to make the investments that we now are and under Labour we would have to tax more and borrow more and they cannot be trusted with the economy."
