Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was forced to apologise in the Parliament after a report on parties at his official residence during Covid lockdown.
The probe by senior civil servant Sue Gray reportedly found "failure of leadership and judgement" and also criticised "excessive" drinking. Gray reportedly added that she was not able to include all details into the rule-breaking parties since the Metropolitan police had launched its own investigation.
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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 that this matter has been handled. And it's no use saying that this or that was within the rules. And there's no use saying that people were working hard."
"This pandemic was hard for everyone. We asked people across this country to make the most extraordinary sacrifices, not to meet loved ones, not to visit relatives before they died. And I understand the anger the people feel," he added.
Amid jeers from the Opposition benches, the PM said that his administration can still be trusted. "I want to say to the people of this country that I know what the issue is. Yes, Mr Speaker. It's whether this government can be trusted to deliver. And I say, Mr Speaker, yes, we can be trusted. Yes, we can be trusted to deliver," Johnson said.
The Opposition has been calling for Boris Johnson's ouster over the scandal that has been dubbed 'partygate'.
Johnson is also facing some censure from within his own party, but his colleagues are likely to wait for the police probe to end before deciding on whether to topple him.