Former Conservative MP for Bath says Prime Minister should resign over lockdown breaches
Boris Johnson is set to apologise to the House of Commons after being fined by police
Last updated 19th Apr 2022
A former Conservative MP for Bath has told us the Prime Minister (PM) should resign, as Boris Johnson prepares to apologise to the House of Commons for breaking lockdown rules.
The PM was handed a fixed penalty notice by the Metropolitan Police last week after they found he breached lockdown rules for attending a birthday gathering in Downing Street in June 2020.
But despite becoming the UK's first serving Prime Minister to be sanctioned for breaking the law, Mr Johnson has refused to step down, saying instead that he is focused on "delivering for the British people".
Speaking to us, Ben Howlett, who served as Conservative MP for Bath from 2015 to 2017, has said that needs to change.
"He's apologised many times already and if he receives more fines as a result of other more serious investigations that are going on by the Met Police, how many more apologies can the Prime Minister make?" he said.
Mr Johnson is due to give a statement to the House of Commons at 4:30pm this afternoon (19 April) in which he is expected to apologise again, while saying he did not knowingly break the rules.
Opposition MPs have accused him of lying to parliament after he previously insisted no rules were broken, while it's thought a parliamentary committee could be set up to investigate what happened.
Under the Ministerial Code, which applies to all ministers of government, a Member of Parliament is supposed to resign if found to have misled the House of Commons.
"Clearly this is the first wave of fines," Mr Howlett said.
"There is obviously more to come and obviously the Prime Minster has received one fine for the least of the worst allegations that the police are currently investigating.
"So Boris has got to walk a very tight tightrope today between saying a full apology, whilst also knowing there may be more fines to come."
Of the 12 events being investigated by the police, Mr Johnson is known to have attended at least two others.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak was also fined for attending the birthday gathering and has also not resigned, but Mr Howlett says he does not believe the pressure on both will disappear after today's statement.
He also told us if he were still an MP, he would have already written a letter of no confidence in the Prime Minister, which must be handed into a committee of backbench MPs known as the 1922 Committee.
"As soon as the first fine was given I would've written a letter to the 1922 Committee by that stage," he told us.
"I obviously had a mother who was very ill by that time with cancer and I wasn't able to see her.
"My other half lost his grandfather, couldn't see him in his final hours, so we've all had to make serious sacrifices and frankly an apology after an apology after an apology simply doesn't cut it."
Not all Conservative politicians share Mr Howlett's view however, and he himself describes the party as "split" on the issue.
Last week Mark Shelford, Avon and Somerset's Police and Crime Commissioner, told us he believed most members of the public are not bothered by the Prime Minister's rule breaking.
"I have been out meeting a lot of people over the last few weeks and last days and people are more concerned about the economy, about Covid recovery but also about the war in Ukraine and that's where the emphasis is," he said.
When pressed, Mr Shelford went on to call it a "London issue" and said he would not comment further.
North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees Mogg has also backed the Prime Minister, saying his first apology given to the BBC on 12 April "ought to close this matter".
"There is a war on and the Prime Minister, supported by the Chancellor, provides the leadership the nation needs," he tweeted.