UK’s Johnson To Apologise To Parliament Over Lockdown Fine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was to apologise to parliament on Tuesday for breaking lockdown rules as opposition parties push for an investigation into whether he misled lawmakers by repeatedly insisting that he did not breach the COVID-19 regulations.

Johnson was fined by the police last week for attending a birthday party thrown in his honour in June 2020 when people from different households were not allowed to meet indoors.

Opponents have called for Johnson to resign, accusing him of misleading parliament after he told lawmakers last year that all rules were followed in Downing Street – the prime minister’s official residence and workplace – during the pandemic.

Opposition lawmakers are in talks about how best to seek to censure Johnson, either by pushing for a vote on whether he is in contempt of parliament, or to refer him to a parliamentary committee to investigate whether he deliberately misled lawmakers.

The speaker will decide whether to grant a vote on whether to investigate if Johnson misled parliament, and if the house votes in favour then a parliamentary committee which will investigate.

Johnson, who was to address parliament at around 1530 GMT, will attempt to deflect some of the criticism by talking about other issues he is dealing with, including the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and immigration.

Britain’s Northern Ireland minister Brandon Lewis played down claims that the prime minister had misled parliament and suggested that the fine he paid was similar to ministers who have previously received parking fines.

Johnson has said it hadn’t occurred to him he was in breach of the rules but he now “humbly” accepted he was.