JAKARTA - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized on Wednesday for attending a meeting at his official residence during the country's first coronavirus lockdown, with the opposition demanding he resign.
For the first time PM Johnson admitted he attended a party at 10 Downing Street, the UK PM's official residence, on 20 May 2020, when COVID-19 rules kept social gatherings to a minimum, saying he understood the public outcry caused by the disclosure.
"I know the anger they feel against me, at the government I lead when they think that downing Street itself the rules are not being followed properly by the people who make the rules," PM Johnson told parliament, citing Reuters January 12.
He said he regretted his actions and thought the meeting was a work event, a statement that drew ridicule and laughter from opposition lawmakers.
"I went to the park just after six o'clock on May 20, 2020, to thank a group of staff, before returning to my office 25 minutes later to continue working," said PM Johnson.
"With hindsight, I should have sent everyone back inside," he continued.
This recognition invited the leaders of all major opposition parties to call for his resignation.
Labor leader Keir Starmer said the public, who gave Johnson a landslide victory in December 2019 after he pledged to secure Britain's exit from the European Union, thought he was a liar.
"The party's over, prime minister," Starmer said.
"After months of deception and deception, the sad spectacle of a man who has run out of trails. His defense of him not realizing he was at a party is utterly ridiculous, which actually offends the British public."
Anger has grown since ITV News reported that Johnson and partner Carrie mingled with about 40 staff at a Downing Street park after Chief Personal Secretary Martin Reynolds sent out invitations, asking attendees to "bring your own drinks". Johnson's press secretary said the prime minister had not seen the email.
Many people, including some lawmakers, have described how the law kept them out of the beds of loved ones who died last May, in contrast to the events on Downing Street.
A number of Conservative lawmakers, who back PM Johnson, said Wednesday's response to the growing furor would determine his future.
"He took a lot of water and started to sink but hasn't drowned yet," one of them told Reuters.
Another, Christopher Chope, said Johnson's statement was the "most despicable apology" he had ever heard from a government minister and people would accept it.
While other politicians are not convinced.
"I'm afraid it sounds like politically the prime minister is a walking dead," said Conservative MP Roger Gale, who has sent a letter calling for a leadership challenge. To trigger this, 54 of the 360 Conservative MPs in parliament had to write a letter of no confidence to the chairman of the party's "1922 Committee".
Two years ago, Boris Johnson secured the largest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, after pledging to get Brexit done. He had led the campaign to leave the European Union in the 2016 referendum.
But a series of missteps in everything from the heinous scandal and luxury renovation of his flat to his handling of the COVID-19 crisis and now the Downing Street party has drained his political capital.
Last month, David Frost, who negotiated PM Johnson's exit deal in the European Union, quit as Brexit minister, saying he was concerned about the government's direction.
Two short polls on Tuesday showed more than half of respondents thought PM Johnson should resign. Last month, the Conservatives lost the parliamentary seat they had held for nearly 200 years as the party's comfortable lead over Labor in opinion polls has evaporated.
Bets cut their chances of succeeding PM Johnson as prime minister this year, with local elections in May seen as another moment of danger.
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When details of the meeting first emerged, PM Johnson said he could not comment until a senior administration official, Sue Gray, concluded an investigation into other allegations, initially denied, that he and his officials were throwing parties that violated the rules.
In response to calls for his resignation, he again postpones Gray's investigation.
"I can't anticipate the conclusions of the investigation at this time, I have learned enough to know that there are things that we are not right. And I have to take responsibility," said PM Johnson.
While parliament resonated with demands for his resignation, Johnson biographer Andrew Gimson said PM Johnson was unlikely to step down unless forced by his parliamentary colleagues.
"He's going to find a way through this. He's not the type to quit," Gimson said.
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