Sir Keir Starmer appeared to return to his call for Boris Johnson to quit over the partygate scandal.
The Labour leader accused Johnson of misleading MPs and asked: “Why is he still here?”
Yesterday the Met Police announced that 20 fixed penalty notices were set to be issued for breaches of Covid rules in Downing Street and Whitehall.
At the height of the scandal, Starmer demanded the PM quit, but later put that on hold, saying it was time for politicians to unite over the war in Ukraine.
But during prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, Starmer said the police investigation showed there was “widespread criminality”. The debate sparked shouts of “resign” from opposition MPs sat in the chamber.
Referring to Johnson’s statement to MPs last December that no rules were broken, Starmer asked him: “He told the house no rules were broken in Downing Street during lockdown.
“The police have now concluded there was widespread criminality.
“The ministerial code says that ministers who knowingly misled the house should resign. Why is he still here?”
Johnson hit back: “He just changes position. We do at least expect some consistency from this human weathervane.
“It was only a week or so ago you were saying I shouldn’t resign. What is his position?”
Johnson said the Met must be allowed to continue their investigation and said he was focused on tackling the cost of living crisis.
Starmer hit back: “Look, there are only two possible explanations. Either he’s trashing the ministerial code, or he’s claiming he was repeatedly lied to by his own advisers but he didn’t know what was going on in his own house and his own office.
“Come off it. He really does think that it is one rule for him and another rule for everyone else, that he can pass off criminality in his office and ask others to follow the law.”
On December 8, 2021, Johnson told the Commons: “I have been repeatedly assured that the rules were not broken. I repeat that I have been repeatedly assured since these allegations emerged that there was no party and that no Covid rules were broken.”
Asked if the police fines meant Johnson had misled Parliament, the deputy prime minister Dominic Raab told Times Radio: “No, I don’t think there was an intention to mislead. The prime minister in good faith updated parliament on what he knows.”
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