A stubborn British Prime Minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson has refused to resign, even after facing renewed calls to do the 'decent thing' and quit over the scandal surrounding Downing Street parties that were organised during a nation-wide lockdown in the United Kingdom. Photo: The Quint

According to Reuters, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth M. Truss aka 'Liz' is tipped as a possible future prime minister if Boris Johnson is toppled. Photo: The Independent

The embattled Prime Minister on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, rejected opposition calls to resign but accepted that a rule that ministers should lose their jobs if they had knowingly misled parliament applied to him.

Johnson is braced for the publication of an official investigation into claims that there were multiple boozy Downing Street parties during lockdowns. He told parliament no rules were broken.

It is unclear when the results of that investigation by Cabinet Office official Sue Gray would be published, especially as police have opened their own investigation.

Misleading Parliament

Asked by the opposition Labour Party Keir R. Starmer leader if the ministerial code, which says that ministers who had knowingly misled parliament should offer to resign, applied to him Johnson said: “Of course.”

“If he’d misled parliament, he must resign,” Starmer told parliament. “Will you now resign?”

“No,” Johnson, who has faced allegations of corruption and deadly mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, replied.

He said he could not speak about investigations into the alleged parties. Johnson said his government was focused on driving economic growth and leading the Western response to the Ukraine crisis.

Changing tunes

Johnson has given a variety of explanations about the parties: first he said no rules had been broken but then he apologized to the British people for the apparent hypocrisy of such gatherings.

He has denied an allegation he was warned that a “bring your own booze” lockdown gathering on May 20, 2020, which he says he thought was a work event, was inappropriate.

ITV reported on Monday that Johnson and his now wife Carrie had attended a surprise party of up to 30 people for his birthday in the Cabinet Room at Downing Street in June 2020, when indoor gatherings were banned.

Party Culture

British police on Tuesday, January 25, 2022, said they had opened their own investigation into lockdown events at Downing Street, upping the pressure on Johnson.

Some of his lawmakers have already demanded he resign but to trigger a leadership challenge, 54 of the 359 Conservative MPs in parliament must write letters of no confidence to the chairman of the party’s 1922 Committee.

The number of letters submitted is kept secret until the threshold of 54 is reached.

According to Reuters, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth M. Truss aka 'Liz' is tipped as a possible future prime minister if Johnson is toppled.

The Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.