UK Parliament opens investigation into whether Johnson lied over Partygate

• United Kingdom Boris Johnson acknowledges "the damage and anger" caused by Partygate and asks for forgiveness in the British Parliament

The British Parliament has decided to open a new investigation into "Partygate", this time to determine if

lied in his appearances before the House of Commons during the Downing Street Covid party scandal.

By majority agreement, the deputies of all the parties (including the Conservative) approved a motion presented by the Labor leader Keir Starmer and backed en bloc by the opposition.

The debate took place with the conspicuous absence of the "premier", on an official trip to India, where the news of what will be the third investigation related to "Partygate" took place, after the police investigation currently underway and the internal report of the high official Sue Gray.

To questions about whether he has even

due to the scandal, after having received and paid a first fine of 60 euros, Boris Johnson reiterated: "

."

The conservative leader went even further and anticipated that he plans to fight in the next elections: "Of course I do!"

Hours before, and while traveling by plane to meet Narendra Modi, Johnson himself starred in one of his dizzying 180-degree turns.

He first asked his deputies to force a delay in the opening of the parliamentary investigation and finally relented to avoid a new and counterproductive division of the Conservative Party.

Later he justified his change of opinion as follows: "People were saying that I was trying to stop things, and that is not what I want. What I also do not want is for this to go on and on without an apparent end. But frankly, I have nothing, absolutely nothing to hide."

Resignation petitions among the 'tories'

During the debate, calls for resignation were heard again within the "tories", with former Brexit secretary Steve Baker opening fire: "

a long time ago."

William Wragg, also a conservative, spoke thus for his co-religionists: "We have been working in a toxic atmosphere and I know that many of us are struggling right now. It is depressing that we are asked to defend the indefensible."

The leading voice was led by Labor Keir Starmer, who initially achieved the block support of the six opposition parties and ended up convincing the "Tories" not to block the parliamentary investigation.

"Today's vote (for yesterday) will restore decency, honesty and integrity to our politics," Starmer said.

"That's why I'm urging conservatives to do what they have to do and respect the sacrifice of their voters during the pandemic."

According to Starmer,

since "Partygate" began.

The first of these, on December 1, 2021, when the Labor leader himself asked: "While millions of Britons were confined, was a Christmas party held in Downing Street in which dozens of people participated on December 18, 2020? ?".

To which Johnson replied: "What I can say is that all the rules were completely fulfilled in number 10."

"The Prime Minister knew the truth and has deliberately misled us," said Scottish National Party (SNP) spokesman Ian Blackford.

"He himself was present at the parties that he denied had taken place. The truth is that simple: he lied so he wouldn't get caught, and once he got caught he lied again. There's no way to describe it."

Sue Gray's internal investigation found three months ago that there was "a failure of leadership and judgement" at Downing Street during the lockdowns and that "some of the events should not have been allowed to take place".

Scotland Yard's investigation has so far resulted in 50 fines for violation of Covid rules, including Johnson himself, his wife Carrie and Treasury Secretary Rishi Sunak, for the "premier's" 56th birthday party. in June 2020.

The police investigate a total of 12 celebrations and Boris Johnson was able to participate in at least half a dozen.

The "premier" could be fined again, which would mean not only a notable increase in the amount of the fines but also a

.

Scotland Yard has however announced that there will be no further fines until at least May 5, when local elections are held, for failing to interfere in the political process.

Johnson apologized to the British in Parliament on Tuesday and said he understood "their anger and frustration" over "Partygate", but promised to remain in his post and focus on the war in Ukraine, the energy crisis and "the issues that really they worry people."

However, his hopes to put the scandal behind him have been pulverized by the opening of a parliamentary investigation.

The investigation will be led by the House of Commons Special Committee on Rules and Privileges.

The committee is chaired by Labor Chris Bryant, who has however acknowledged his anti-Johnson "bias" and will likely hand over the helm of the investigation to the Conservative Bernard Jenkin.

The sessions will initially be behind closed doors and may take several months.

The "tories" add up to four of the seven members of the committee, which will predictably serve to mitigate the final impact.

Analysts warn that the underlying issue will be not so much whether Johnson "misled" Parliament during his Covid testimonies but whether he did so "deliberately", knowing that the rules had been broken at Downing Street.

If the committee considers that the "premier" lied "intentionally", it will propose a sanction that will be voted on in plenary and that will increase the pressure to force his resignation.

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