Prime minister Boris Johnson will address Parliament on Tuesday afternoon and is expected to issue an apology for his receipt of a fine for breaking Covid lockdown rules in Downing Street.
It will be the first time that the prime minister has faced MPs since receiving the fine, with the Commons having now returned following the Easter recess.
The PM’s wife, Carrie Johnson, and chancellor Rishi Sunak were also fined for having attended the same gathering, which took place in the Cabinet Room in June 2020 in celebration of the prime minister’s birthday.
Although the fine sees Johnson become the first serving UK prime minister to be sanctioned for breach of law, he is not expected to show any intent to resign and will argue that the government must prioritise addressing key issues such as the war in Ukraine and the cost-of-living crisis.
Longstanding government rules state that ministers are expected to resign for knowingly misleading the Commons, and ought to set the record straight as promptly as possible if they inform Parliament of falsehoods accidentally.
However, since receiving the fine, Johnson has said that he feels “an even greater sense of obligation to deliver” for the British people, and would “set the record straight” in “any way” he could; comments indicative of his intent to stay on.
The PM has also received the backing of his fellow ministers, with transport secretary Grant Shapps suggesting that he did not mislead Parliament deliberately.
Shapps said: “When the PM spoke in Parliament [previously], he didn't knowingly appreciate that stepping into the room there was going to be something which breached the rules.
“It was wrong, he's apologised, he's accepted the fixed penalty notice and we move on.”
Yet, Commons speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has allowed MPs a vote on whether the Commons privileges committee should investigate the matter. Any resulting inquiry would seek to determine whether or not Johnson deliberately misled Parliament in his previous statements to the House. The vote will take place on Thursday [April 21].
Senior Tory backbencher and 1922 Committee treasurer, Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, has separately suggested that after the upcoming local council elections on May 5, many Conservatives will have made up their minds on whether to back the PM or opt for a change of direction, and a no confidence vote could be called if enough decide to turn against Johnson.
However, Sir Geoffrey suggested that pushing for any removal of the prime minister at the present time would be premature.
Sir Geoffrey said: “For me personally I would like to see all the evidence, whether there are more fines issued, what [senior civil servant] Sue Gray has to say, and then what the verdict of the British people in the local government elections are before making any decisive judgements.
“But at the moment my judgement would be it is certainly not in the country's interests to think about replacing the prime minister.”
Image taken from Wikimedia Commons
