Boris Johnson must resign over fines issued for lockdown-breaching parties, says Angela Rayner

‘The buck stops with the prime minister’: Labour deputy leader says PM must take responsibility for events in No 10

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner has called for Boris Johnson to go after fines were issued by police over lockdown-breaching parties at Downing Street and Whitehall.

Ms Rayner has previously said that Mr Johnson should resign if he was personally fined for breaking laws imposed to prevent the spread of Covid-19, though party leader Keir Starmer earlier this month appeared to back away from this position in the name of “unity” during the Ukraine crisis.

But following today’s Metropolitan Police announcement that 20 fixed penalty notices are to be issued for breaches of the criminal law, the Labour deputy leader said that Mr Johnson should take responsibility for behaviour at 10 Downing Street under his watch.

"After over two months of police time, 12 parties investigated and over 100 people questioned under caution, Boris Johnson’s Downing Street has been found guilty of breaking the law,” said Ms Rayner.

"The culture is set from the very top. The buck stops with the prime minister, who spent months lying to the British public, which is why he’s got to go.

"It is disgraceful that while the rest of the country followed their rules, Boris Johnson’s government acted like they didn’t apply to them.

"This has been a slap in the face of the millions of people who made huge sacrifices.“

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also called for Johnson to go.

"If Boris Johnson thinks he can get away with Partygate by paying expensive lawyers and throwing junior staff to the wolves, he is wrong,” said Davey.

"We all know who is responsible. The prime minister must resign, or Conservative MPs must sack him."

The SNP’s deputy Westminster leader Kirsten Oswald MP said: “The confirmation by the Metropolitan Police that the law was broken and initial fines have been issued expose Boris Johnson’s remarks that no parties were held or that the rules were followed as being flatly untrue.

“This damning development once again highlights the scale of rule-breaking at the heart of Boris Johnson’s corrupt government.

“While the public were following the rules imposed upon us all and making difficult sacrifices to protect each other, Boris Johnson and his Tory colleagues were breaking them without a care.

“The public will rightly want answers and accountability, and it is vital that there is transparency in this ongoing investigation and that must involve full disclosure of precisely who, among ministers and senior civil servants, is being fined for breaking the law.

“Boris Johnson should have resigned a long time ago over the boozy rule-breaking parties, but his ego and lack of dignity led him to desperately cling on.

“The reality is that the longer he stays in office the more lasting the damage will be.”