Boris Johnson ‘partygate’ defence untenable; trust in Prime Minister is a priority as police intervene – The Yorkshire Post says

IT is unbecoming of Tory ministers and MPs to complain that the firestorm over Downing Street parties is at odds with Britain’s priorities as the Metropolitan Police probe allegations of lockdown rule-breaking by the Prime Minister and others.
This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.
This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.

This scandal would not have been escalated to the police if Sue Gray, the senior civil servant investigating this matter, was satisfied that Boris Johnson, and his key lieutenants, had not broken the law at any of the multiple gatherings in question, including the PM’s 56th birthday celebration in the Cabinet room.

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But few issues matter as much as the integrity of a government and trustworthiness of a premier whose lack of candour even extended to keeping his Cabinet in the dark about the intervention of Dame Cressida Dick, head of the Metropolitan Police, when she said her officers had acted “in concert” with the Gray inquiry.

This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.
This was Boris Johnson leaving 10 Downing Street after it emerged that the Metropolitan Police were now investigating Downing Street's gatherings during lockdown.

And to downplay this does a disservice to all those who expect their government to abide by the highest standards of probity at all times – and also to everyone concerned about the void and vacuum at the heart of power when the cost of living crisis is being intensified, still further, by the threat of war in Ukraine.

This was self-evident when Mr Johnson’s statement to Parliament about the looming Russian invasion of Ukraine, and his willingness to speak again to President Vlaidimir Putin if this is helpful to the West and Nato allies, had to be preceded by a perfunctory statement about the latest twist to so-called ‘partygate’.

Just how can Mr Johnson expect Britain to be taken seriously when the success of the Covid vaccine rollout has been overshadowed by his failure to recognise the anger, and breakdown of trust, caused by Downing Street’s contempt during lockdown? Regrettably, this newspaper remains even more convinced that a prompt change of prime minister is the only way out of a scandal like no other.

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