He also pledged to get on with the job” despite widespread political and public anger and calls for him to quit or be forced out…reports Asian Lite News
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has apologised after his government was criticised for “failures of leadership and judgment” in allowing lockdown-breaching parties at his offices, media reported.
The prime minister told the House of Commons: “I’m sorry for the things that we simply didn’t get right and also sorry for the way this matter has been handled.”
He also pledged to get on with the job” despite widespread political and public anger and calls for him to quit or be forced out, it was reported.
“I get it and I will fix it,” Johnson added, promising sweeping changes to his Downing Street operation.
Boris Johnson on Monday refused calls to resign after an investigation into a string of parties held at his official residence in Downing
Street during the COVID-19 lockdown found there were serious “failures of leadership and judgment.” “I am going to get on with the job,” Johnson told Parliament following the release of the report on the inquiry conducted by senior civil servant Sue Gray.
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Report finds ‘failures of leadership and judgement’
The long-awaited report, which was published as an update because the London Metropolitan Police had asked the senior civil servant conducting the probe to make minimal reference to some of the gatherings to avoid prejudice to their own investigation, concluded that the parties held at Downing Street during the lockdown “should not have been allowed to take place.”
“Against the backdrop of the pandemic, when the government was asking citizens to accept far-reaching restrictions on their lives, some of the behaviour surrounding these gatherings is difficult to justify,” Gray said. Johnson has been grappling with calls to resign after a series of revelations showed that several social gatherings were held at his offices throughout 2020 and 2021, flouting COVID-19 social distancing rules.
Calls for him to step down from his role were renewed during the heated debate that took place in Parliament following the publication of the damning report but the prime minister said people must wait for the conclusions of the police inquiry.
The British government on Monday published a long-awaited report into parties held at Downing Street that allegedly breached the country’s COVID-19 rules, found serious “failures of leadership and judgment” by the UK government. “At times it seems there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country in considering the
appropriateness of some of these gatherings, the risks they presented to public health and how they might appear to the public. There were failures of leadership and judgment by different parts of No 10 and the Cabinet Office at different times. Some of the events should not have been allowed to take place. Other events should not have been allowed to develop as they did,” the findings of the report said. “A number of these gatherings should not have been allowed to take place or to develop in the way that they did. There is significant learning to be drawn from these events which must be addressed immediately across Government,” the text added.
Earlier UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office apologized to the royal family for holding staff parties in Downing Street on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral last year, when COVID-19 rules barred indoor socializing. “It is deeply regrettable that this took place at a time of national mourning and Number 10 has apologized to the Palace,”
Xinhua News Agency had reported quoting a spokesperson for British Prime Minister. The prime minister had conceded: “With hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside. I should have found some
other way to thank them.” Keir Starmer, leader of the opposition Labour Party, had raged against Johnson’s “ridiculous” apology, saying the prime minister’s excuse that he “did not realize he was at a party” was “offensive” to the British public. (ANI/Sputnik)
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