Boris Johnson’s apology to the House of Commons for violating the Covid-19 blockade failed to reassure conservative critics calling for his head, as a former Tory chief whip publicly denounced him as “unworthy” of a ministerial post. chairman.
Prominent back judge Mark Harper sent a letter of no confidence to the prime minister, accusing him of asking Tory lawmakers to “defend the defenseless” as crucial to the upcoming local elections.
And a former minister who has not yet written a letter of no confidence told The Independent after the prime minister’s apology that “we will never enjoy a confident morning again” for Mr Johnson.
“It may be unfair, but it’s time to say ‘thank you and goodbye,'” the former minister said.
Mr Johnson’s apology was dismissed as a “joke” by Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer, as the prime minister again denied that he had deliberately misled parliament – something that the ministerial code clearly shows is a matter of resignation.
Mr Starmer reiterated his call for the Prime Minister to resign and called on Tory MPs to “end this shameful chapter” by joining Labor in Thursday’s vote on a formal parliamentary inquiry into his actions.
He told the house that the prime minister’s comments were an “insult” to ordinary Britons who had been killed during the pandemic, citing a man named John Robinson who had not visited his wife in hospital since she died of Covid. because he had followed the rules that Mr. Johnson had made, but “carelessly, repeatedly, and deliberately ignored.”
Boris Johnson apologized to the House of Commons
(Jessica Taylor / Parliament of the United Kingdom)
In his first comments to the Commons, after being fined £ 50 by police for attending a cabinet birthday party in June 2020, when social gatherings were banned by law, the prime minister reiterated what he said was “Wholehearted apology” to voters.
But when asked if he deliberately misled the house by telling lawmakers in December that Covid’s rules were followed at number 10, he said firmly, “No.”
He faced problems with “resignation” and “criminal” when he told MPs: “Let me tell her, not as a mitigation or an apology, but simply because he explains my previous words in this room that it did not occur to me, then or subsequently, a cabinet meeting just before a vital meeting on the Covid strategy could be a breach of the rules. That was my mistake and I unreservedly apologize for it. “
The prime minister made his first statement in front of the house after being fined for violating the blockade
(Jessica Taylor / Parliament of the United Kingdom)
However, he could be accused of violating the code’s requirement that ministers always abide by the law after admitting for the first time that he had violated it. Asked if he thought he had broken the law, Mr Johnson replied: “I fully accept that the police are right, so I paid the fine.”
Mr Harper, who opposed Mr Johnson in the 2019 leadership election, said he had sent a letter of no confidence to the committee’s 1922 chairman, Sir Graham Brady, who was to vote in favor. prime minister if 54 Tory MPs request it.
“We have a prime minister who broke the rules he told society to follow, was not outspoken on the issue – and will now ask worthy men and women on these benches to defend the defenseless,” said Mr Harper, who won followers among critics of Mr. Johnson as chairman of the Covid Recovery Group.
Boris Johnson “no longer deserves” to be prime minister, said a senior Tory MP
“I am very sorry to have to say this, but I no longer think he is worthy of the great position he holds.
Cabinet Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg later attacked Mr Harper for his statement. “Mark has been preparing for this for a while… It was pretty funny when he said how much it hurts when he was obviously enjoying the moment to the fullest,” he told LBC Radio.
But backbanking veteran Sir Roger Gale, who was the first to urge Johnson to leave, told The Independent that “many” unhappy people remained on the Tories after the prime minister’s statement.
“As an apology, it was quite disgusting, but I don’t think it clears the air,” said Sir Roger, who called on Johnson to hand over his deputy, Dominic Raab, as interim prime minister in a “military cabinet” to avoid devastating leadership elections. the crisis in Ukraine.
“If it was a one-off, he could get away with it. But if, as I suppose, there are still fines and then the Sue Gray report and the poor results of the local elections on May 5, he is in serious trouble.
Although Mr Harper was the only Tory MP to call for Mr Johnson’s resignation in the 90-minute debate following his statement, only a handful showed up in the Municipalities to speak in his support.
And some of those who supported the prime minister have made it clear that they expect a change of approach, with Steve Baker asking for assurances that “nothing of the sort will ever happen again,” and David Simmonds asked what he would do. Mr. Johnson, “to restore the moral authority of this government.”
Few in Westminster expect a serious Tory revolt in Thursday’s vote in an inquiry by the Privileges Committee into whether Johnson had disrespected Parliament.
A Tory told The Independent that colleagues believe Labor is calling the department just to be able to tell voters during the local election campaign that their MP has supported cover-ups.
Johnson himself will miss the vote as he is in India for a two-day trade visit. Of course, in issue 10 there were brief discussions on whether the trip should be canceled or shortened in order to avoid the inconvenience of imposing a three-line whip on MPs for voting, which the Prime Minister himself did not attend. But a senior source insisted that the long-planned trip would “definitely” continue as planned.
In a harsh statement, received in almost silence by Tory MPs, Sir Keir called on them to “put their conscience first, put their country first, put John Robinson first and remove the Prime Minister.”
“Restore integrity, honesty and integrity to our policy. And stop denigrating everything this country stands for. ”
A senior Tory figure said the apology would not change his mind, but that circumstances may have saved Mr Johnson from a concerted challenge to his position before the autumn.
“A sense of insecurity is building up around his leadership – it will lead to a crisis at some point this year,” the former minister told The Independent.
“The combination of many fines, Sue Gray’s report, the results of the local elections will crystallize more views. But it will probably be autumn before something happens. “
Mr Johnson received a round of applause and a bang on the tables from largely Tory MPs at a rear court meeting on Tuesday night, speaking for about 40 minutes.
A rebel MP challenged him to agree to an investigation by the Privileges Committee into whether he had deceived parliament if he had “nothing to hide”. But the prime minister has repeatedly challenged lawmakers to consider “whether they would rather have Labor.”
Mr Johnson also attacked “senior clergy” and the BBC for criticizing the plan to send migrants to Rwanda, following condemnation by the Archbishop of Canterbury and other bishops.
The prime minister said they were “less noisy” about Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to people in the hall.
A Tory MP told The Independent that the prime minister “was not brilliantly remorseful” but seemed to have done enough to keep existing supporters at bay.
The back bench added: “The mood at the party is not great. I think everyone expects more fines and that will make things harder. If the local elections are really bad, some will change their minds about the idea that he is the winner in the vote. “
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