“End this farce”: Starmer urges Tory backbenchers to remove PM from office

Keir Starmer has called on Conservative MPs to “spare the country from a Prime Minister totally unworthy of his responsibilities” following Sue Gray’s update on her investigation into allegations of lockdown parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

Gray published today an update on her inquiry into the gatherings, more than one of which involve the Prime Minister. It was limited as she had been asked by the Metropolitan Police Service to make only “minimal reference” to incidents they are looking into.

Responding to a statement from Boris Johnson to MPs on the report this afternoon, the Labour leader accused the Prime Minister of “hiding behind a criminal investigation into his flat and his home”. Starmer urged Tory MPs to “end this farce”.

Johnson said: “I want to say sorry, and I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way this matter has been handled. It’s no use saying this or that was within the rules, it’s no use saying people were working hard.”

He said he accepted the findings of the report published today, telling parliament that “this is a moment when we must look at ourselves in the mirror and we must learn”. He said changes are being made now to the way Downing Street runs.

Starmer said: “The Prime Minister repeatedly assured the House that the guidance was followed and the rules were followed, but we now know that 12 cases have reached the threshold for criminal investigation, which I remind the House means there is evidence of serious and flagrant breaches of lockdown.”

The Labour leader highlighted that a party on May 20th 2020, at the height of the first lockdown, that Johnson admitted attending is being investigated by the police, as is a gathering allegedly held in Johnson’s Downing Street residence on November 13th 2020.

He urged the Prime Minister to “keep his promise” to publish the Sue Gray report in full, but added that it is “already clear that the report discloses the most damning conclusion possible”. This afternoon’s publication was described only as an “update” throughout the 12-page document.

“Over the past two years the British public have been asked to make the most heart-wrenching sacrifices. A collective trauma, endured by all, enjoyed by none. Funerals have been missed. Dying relatives unvisited. Every family has been marked by what we’ve been through,” he said.

“Revelations about his behaviour have forced us all to rethink and relive those darkest moments. Many have been overcome by rage, by grief and even guilt – guilt that because they stuck to the law, they did not see their parent one last time.”

He added: “But people shouldn’t feel guilty, they should feel pride in themselves and their country because by abiding by those lives they have saved the lives of people they will probably never meet.”

Gray’s report said its scope extended to five social gatherings held in breach of Covid rules, and that 12 others are currently being investigated by the police as they were deemed to have “reached the threshold for criminal investigation”.

Of the three events the police are investigating, three include the Prime Minister and one his Downing Street flat. The police are investigating allegations surrounding his birthday party in June 2020 and a ‘BYOB’ garden party in May.

Asked by Labour MP Jess Phillips whether he attended a party in his own Downing Street residence on November 13th 2020, Johnson only replied that parliament would have to wait for the Metropolitan Police inquiry to conclude.

Starmer accused Johnson of “hiding behind” the criminal investigation, saying that the Prime Minister “gleefully treats what should be a mark of shame as a welcome shield”. He said Johnson would not resign because he is “a man without shame” and appealed to Conservative MPs to remove the Prime Minister from office.

“Cherishing and nurturing British democracy is what it means to be patriotic. There are members opposite who know that, and they know the Prime Minister is incapable of it. The question they must now ask themselves is what are they going to do about it,” he told Conservative MPs.

“They know better than anyone how unsuitable he his for high office. Many of them knew in their hearts that we would inevitably come to this one day. And they know that, as night follows day, continuing his leadership will mean further misconduct, cover up and deceit. It is only they that can end this farce.”

Johnson also faced criticism from Tories. Theresa May said the public “had the right to expect their Prime Minister” would “set an example” in following the rules. “What the Gray report does show is that 10 Downing Street was not observing the regulations they had imposed on members of the public,” she added.

“So either [Johnson] had not read the rules, or didn’t understand what they meant or others around, or they didn’t think the rules applied to them. Which was it?”

Tory MP Andrew Mitchell declared that Johnson “no longer enjoys my support” and said he was “deeply concerned” by what he had heard from the Prime Minister. Johnson said he understood the concerns raised by MPs but repeatedly urged them to wait for the police investigation.