Under Pressure UK´s Johnson Dodges Calls To Resign Over Birth-day Parties: Update

London, Jan 26 : UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday once again dodged calls to resign over a string of parties held at his official residence during the Covid-19 lockdown, telling Parliament that they must wait for the conclusions of an internal investigation on alleged breaches of coronavirus rules at Downing Street.

“I have no intention of doing what he suggests,” Johnson told lawmakers when the parliamentary leader of the Scottish National Party, Ian Blackford, asked him “when he will “cop on and go?” Earlier, Labour leader Keir Starmer had asked Johnson whether he understand the damage that the so-called partygate is doing to the United Kingdom, but the prime minister replied that he could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

According to local media reports, the results of the inquiry carried out by senior civil servant Sue Gray might be released later on Wednesday. Johnson has been grappling with calls to resign after a series of revelations showed that several social gatherings were held at his offices throughout 2020 and 2021, flouting Covid-19 social distancing rules. On Monday, Johnson faced another wave of criticism over a birthday party held inside his official residence on Downing Street on June 19, 2020.

According to reports, the event was attended by over 30 people. Johnson argued that staff only gathered briefly to wish him a happy birthday and that he had remained in the room for less than 10 minutes. On Tuesday, the London Metropolitan Police announced that they have launched their own probe into the social events held at the prime minister’s residence during the Covid-19 lockdown.