UK PM Johnson says he was 'very, very surprised' to get fine for attending lockdown party

UK PM Boris Johnson claimed he was "very, very surprised" to receive a fine for attending a lockdown-breaking party in Downing Street during COVID-19 lockdown. Speaking to Mumsnet, an online parenting group, the British Prime Minister characterised the birthday party for which he was fined as a "miserable event" and stated that he did not eat any of the cake on offer.

When asked why he did not lose his job for violating lockdown regulations, Johnson replied, "I really apologise for what happened. I think if people look at the event in question it felt to me like a work event, I was there for a very short period of time in the cabinet office, at my desk, and I was very, very surprised and taken aback to get a fixed penalty notice."

The British PM went on to add, "If you're talking satirically about that miserable event, whose picture appeared on the front pages, then no cake was consumed by me I can tell you, I can tell you that much."

Johnson took "full responsibility for everything" that took place under his watch

Following the release of the Sue Gray report last Wednesday, which highlighted boisterous lockdown-breaking parties in 2020 and 2021, Johnson told parliament that he accepted "full responsibility for everything that took place under my watch" and that the government was "humbled" and had "learned a lesson." 

After reports of lockdown-breaking parties in Downing Street and Whitehall surfaced close to the end of 2021, the Metropolitan Police launched an inquiry. As a result of the force's investigation into 12 instances during the pandemic, a total of 126 fines were issued to 83 people. A broader investigation by senior civil servant Sue Gray exposed a drunken party culture within No 10 while the rest of the country was ordered to stay at home.

The Met issued a fixed penalty notice to Johnson, his wife Carrie, and Chancellor Rishi Sunak for attending a birthday party in his honour in June 2020. Following Gray's report last week, Johnson apologised to the Commons, but pressure has mounted, with at least 12 MPs demanding for his resignation since the report's publication.

Image: AP