Sorry not sorry: UK PM apologizes but refuses to resign over partygate fine

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected calls for resignation after being fined by the London police for ‘Partygate’, a scandal that revealed that a birthday party was thrown for Johnson at his Downing Street offices on June 19, 2020, when the government had imposed several lockdown rules and restrictions to curb the spread of COVID-19. 

Refusing to resign, the prime minister said that he would accelerate his efforts to consolidate the economy and combat the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On Tuesday, police officials fined Johnson and several other people who attended the party in June 2020. The fine marks the first time a British prime minister has broken or disobeyed a law while in office. 

At the time, the British government had prohibited gatherings of more than two people in the United Kingdom to contain the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. 

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“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 had the right to expect better,” Johnson said on Tuesday. 

“And now I feel an even greater sense of obligation to deliver on the priorities of the British people,” he added. 

The penalty comes after a police investigation that consisted of questions about the parties that were held at government offices amid lockdown. However, Johnson had tried to decline the allegations by claiming that no parties were held and no rules were broken. 

Several opposition lawmakers called for Johnson to resign while arguing that the penalty that was given to him and Treasury chief Rishi Sunak was proof of  “criminality” instilled at the heart of government. The opposition added that Johnson and his allies are under the impression that rules do not apply to them.