Boris Johnson condemned over ‘failures of leadership’ in ‘Partygate’ report

The Johnson initially denied a party had taken place in Downing Street, but commissioned the report after a string of media stories revealed several gatherings had. A separate police investigation was launched last week, which prevented Gray from including details in her findings.Facing furious MPs on Monday after the stripped-down report was published, Johnson said: “I’m sorry for the things we simply didn’t get right.” He then attempted to draw a line under the scandal, saying he is “getting on with the job.”But in a bruising appearance in the House of Commons that lasted almost two hours he was skewered by lawmakers from all sides. Labour leader Keir Starmer called Johnson “a man without shame,” urged him to resign, and told MPs: “There can be no doubt that the Prime Minister himself is now subject to criminal investigation.”In a dramatic intervention, Johnson’s predecessor as Prime Minister and fellow Conservative Theresa May addressed him and said: “Either (he) had not read the rules, or didn’t understand what they meant, or they didn’t think the rules applied to Number 10. Which was it?” And the leader of the Scottish National Party was removed from Parliament for saying the Prime Minister had lied to the chamber.Johnson appeared defensive and off point; at one stage he attacked Starmer — a former chief prosecutor in England — for failing to prosecute a notorious pedophile, a critique that was dismissed She finished her report by writing that the police probe “unfortunately” meant she was “extremely limited in what I can say about those events.”In Parliament, Johnson repeatedly declined to say that the full Gray report would be published when the police investigation was complete, even when pressed by lawmakers from his own side. But Downing Street later backtracked and said Gray would be asked to provide an update to her report once the legal process is over. That update would be published, a spokesman said.Even following the shortened findings, Johnson struggled to bat back angry interventions in Parliament on Monday afternoon. He told lawmakers that “yes, we can be trusted,” and listed perceived achievements on Brexit and the vaccine rollout. He also said he was “making changes” to Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, creating an Office of the Prime Minister with a permanent secretary, a senior civil servant, to lead Number 10. But he failed to provide answers to dozens of questions about the string of parties he once declined to acknowledge ever happened.”Whatever your politics, whichever party you vote for, honesty and decency matter,” Starmer said. He added that many of Johnson’s colleagues “knew in their hearts that we would inevitably come to this one day. And they know that as night follows day, continuing his leadership will mean further misconduct, cover-up, and deceit.”Johnson is scheduled to visit Ukraine on Tuesday to respond to fears that Russia is mounting an invasion. But he will first scrap to maintain the support of his backbenchers, who now hold his fate in their hands.