Starmer accuses PM of breaking law over No 10 partieson January 16, 2022 at 11:18 am

Sir Keir Starmer has accused Boris Johnson of breaking Covid laws over parties held in Downing Street during lockdown.

The Labour leader said the prime minister had “lied” about “industrial scale partying” in No 10.

Six Tory MPs have called on the PM to resign over gatherings held during restrictions.

But Tory party chairman Oliver Dowden said the PM was committed to changing the culture in Downing Street.

Mr Dowden told the BBC Mr Johnson was committed to addressing “failings” over parties, adding: “These events should not have happened”.

He added it was right for the prime minister to wait for the findings of an official inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray, expected as soon as next week.

However, Sir Keir told the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme he did not need to wait for the report to conclude Mr Johnson broke the rules.

“The facts speak for themselves, and the country has made up its mind”, he said, adding it was “blindingly obvious what’s happened”.

“I think he broke the law, I think he’s as good as admitted that he broke the law,” he added.

Speaking on the same programme, Mr Dowden said he shared the public’s anger, but it was right to wait for Ms Gray to “establish the full facts”.

“The task for us now is how we address the underlying culture in Downing Street,” he said.

“We need to up our game, and that needs to be addressed, and I know the prime minister is committed to addressing that,” he added.

Pressure on Mr Johnson has been growing since he admitted he attended a “bring your own booze” gathering in the Downing Street garden on 20 May 2020, during the first Covid lockdown.

In a statement to MPs on Wednesday, he said he had “believed implicitly” it was a work event, but admitted: “with hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside”.

Downing Street then apologised to the Queen on Friday, after it emerged two staff parties were held at No 10 on the night before Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021.

Mr Johnson was not at either event in April but his spokesman said it was “deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning”.

The parties have been added to a growing list of events in government buildings currently being investigated by Ms Gray.

On Saturday, former minister Tim Loughton became the sixth Tory MP to call on Mr Johnson to resign, calling his position “untenable”.

In a Facebook post, he added the public deserved “clarity, honesty and contrition” instead of “obfuscation, prevarication and evasion”.