HIGNFY: Ian Hislop says ‘entire Tory party’ should resign for supporting Boris Johnson amid partygate scandal
‘They supported him, why don’t they leave now? They’re the party of law and order,’ panellist asked
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Ian Hislop was met with cheers on Have I Got For You as he said that the “entire Tory party” should resign for defending Boris Johnson amid the partygate scandal.
This week, the prime minister and chancellor Rishi were given fines for breaking lockdown to attend illegal parties at Downing Street.
Johnson is the first sitting prime minister ever found to have broken the law. Johnson’s wife Carrie was also fined.
Appearing on HIGNFY on Friday (15 April), Hislop pointed out that voters had previously been told it was too soon to call for Johnson’s resignation before the Sue Gray report was released, and now were being told it was “too late”.
“He thinks everyone has forgotten about it and that they don’t care anymore,” Hislop said, curling his lip as he added: “Maybe by the time we go out, the party will have come to its senses and he will have resigned.”
“We’ve got another six parties to go. All the attention’s on this one and everyone’s going, ‘Oh god, woke BBC lefties, can’t you get over it?’
“And I’m thinking, ‘Yeah woke BBC lefty Lord Wolfson, the Tory justice minister who’s just resigned. I mean, there’s a snowflake. Tory QC, member of the House of Lords, pathetic.’”
Justice minister Lord Wolfson quit the government in protest at the prime minister’s failure to resign over breaking the law, saying the “repeated rule-breaking and breaches of the criminal law” in Downing Street could not be allowed to be treated with “constitutional impunity”.
Hislop continued: “He’s resigned. Why hasn’t Boris? Why hasn’t Rishi? Why hasn’t Carrie? Are you allowed to resign as his wife?
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
‘And why hasn’t the entire Tory party resigned, all of them? They supported him, why don’t they leave now? They’re the party of law and order.”
While Johnson and Sunak have apologised and paid their fixed penalty notices, it is yet to be seen if they will resign.
A number of celebrities have backed calls for the prime minister to step down, including Dan Stevens.
The Downton Abbey star elicited gasps from presenters on The One Show as he seemed to discuss his new show Gaslit, describing “a criminal for a leader who is wrapped in a messy war, embroiled in a stupid scandal and surrounded by ambitious idiots and really should resign”.
“No, I’m sorry that’s the intro to Boris Johnson,” he then added.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments