The day after the revelations of the ITV television channel on a party organized in Downing Street in full confinement on the occasion of the British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, the British police announced on Tuesday that they had opened an investigation. During a hearing before elected officials in the capital, the head of the Metropolitan Police of London (“Met”), Cressida Dick, announced that the Met was indeed investigating a number of events “in Downing Street, residence of the Prime Minister and Whitehall”, about “potential breaches of rules related to Covid-19”.
It must be said that in recent weeks, revelations about “garden parties”, farewell parties or birthday parties held at the height of British power in full confinement have followed one another. This scandal is at the origin of a serious political crisis which greatly weakens BoJo. 20 minutes make the point.
Partygate, what is it?
This Monday, the ITV channel revealed that a party had been thrown in Downing Street by his future wife Carrie in the Cabinet room, on the occasion of the birthday of Boris Johnson, on June 19, 2020 afternoon , during the first confinement. Reporters say up to 30 people took part, including interior designer Lulu Lytle, who was tasked with carrying out the costly renovation of Boris Johnson’s controversially funded Downing Street flat. In a statement, Downing Street admitted to a “brief gathering”, with a spokeswoman saying Boris Johnson attended for “less than ten minutes”.
The Prime Minister is also singled out for a garden party, which took place on May 20, 2020 in the gardens of his official residence. The small celebration was held when in the midst of the first wave of Covid-19, only two Britons were allowed to meet outside and many of them were unable to say goodbye to their dying loved ones. On January 12, the Prime Minister made his mea culpa, he apologized, assuring that he thought he was respecting the rules. During his hearing, Bojo also apologized to Queen Elisabeth II for a party he did not attend but which took place on April 17, 2021 at his home, the day before Prince Philip’s funeral. .
Why do these revelations weaken Boris Johnson?
The 57-year-old leader is going through his worst crisis since his triumphant accession to power in the summer of 2019, with popularity plummeting and MPs from his majority who openly say they want to dislodge him. Criticized for this scandal and for his management of the health crisis, the Prime Minister is clinging to his post for the moment. Faced with the continuous stream of accusations, the British opposition, but also several members of its majority, have renewed their calls for the resignation. Labor leader Keir Starmer lambasted “a prime minister who believes the rules he makes don’t apply to him”.
On Wednesday, the Conservative heavyweight, David Davis, called Boris Johnson initially “in the name of God”, a famous formula in British parliamentary history which made the front page of several daily newspapers last Thursday.
What exit door for him?
Boris Johnson announced the lifting of the last restrictions linked to Covid-19 last Thursday, hoping to regain popularity in a country subjected to long confinements and greatly bereaved by the pandemic which has killed nearly 154,000 people there. Still, young Tory MPs, from constituencies snatched from the Labor Party in the 2019 legislative elections, plan to unite to overthrow it, in what the press dubs the “pork pie plot”. [soit « pâté en croûte » en français, qui fait référence à la spécialité de la circonscription de l’une de ces élus].
For the moment, the strong man of Downing Street is trying to buy time and suspend the controversy until the publication of an internal investigation led by senior civil servant Sue Gray, expected in the coming days. This investigation “is continuing” and contacts have taken place with the police, indicated the Cabinet Office, the interministerial agency supervising these investigations. In front of the deputies, Boris Johnson welcomed it, believing that “it will give the public the clarity it needs and help put these questions behind us”. And in the meantime, Bojo assured that he would “cooperate fully” with the police. “And this, however it is requested,” said a spokesman for the Conservative leader on Tuesday.