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Uk's Johnson Says He Accepts Fine For Lockdown Breach Opposition Calls For Resignation

INTERNATIONAL: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Tuesday (April 12) that he accepted a fine by police for breaking lockdown rules in 2020 and he understood public anger over the issue, adding that he “fell short” and "people had a right to expect better."

Speaking from the Chequers, the prime minister’s country estate, Johnson said he had not believed he was in breach of the law at the time.

"I have to say, in all frankness, at that time it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules. But of course the police have found otherwise and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation," Johnson told the BBC.

Earlier on Tuesday, Johnson's office said in a statement that the prime minister and his finance minister Rishi Sunak would be fined for breaking Britain's strict coronavirus lockdown rules, provoking anger and calls for them both to resign.

Police have been investigating 12 gatherings at Johnson's Downing Street office and the Cabinet Office after a damning internal inquiry found his staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties that were not permitted.

Johnson said he had attended some of the events, held when social mixing was all but banned by laws his government brought in to curb the spread of COVID-19, but he has always denied knowingly committing any wrongdoing.

The fine, one of more than 50 police said they would issue as part of their inquiries, related to a gathering to celebrate the prime minister's birthday in the Cabinet Room of Downing Street on June 19, 2020.

Johnson swept to power in 2019 on a promise to complete Britain's exit from the European Union, but his premiership has suffered a series of controversies and missteps in the last six months.

Revelations about boozy Downing Street parties provoked calls earlier this year from lawmakers in his own Conservative Party for his resignation, as public trust plummeted over the "partygate" affair.

”Today, I received a fixed penalty notice from the Metropolitan police relating to an event in Downing Street on the 19th of June 2020 and let me say immediately that I have paid the fine and I once again offer a full apology, and in a spirit of openness and humility, I want to be completely clear about what happened on that date. My day began shortly after 7am and I chaired 8 meetings in Number 10, including the cabinet committee deciding COVID strategy. I visited a school in Hemel Hempstead, which took me out of Downing Street for over 4 hours. And amongst all these engagements on a day that happens to be my birthday, there was a brief gathering in the cabinet room shortly after 2pm, lasting for less than 10 minutes, during which people I worked with kindly passed on their good wishes. And I have to say in all frankness that at that time, it did not occur to me that this might have been a breach of the rules. But of course, the police have found otherwise and I fully respect the outcome of their investigation."

”I understand the anger that many will feel that I myself fell short when it came to observing the very rules which the government I lead had introduced to protect the public, and I accept in all sincerity that people have the right to expect better, and now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people.” BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, BORIS JOHNSON, SAID:



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