Johnson Faces Crucial PMQs As Pressure Mounts on Match No. 10 | boris jhonson

Boris Johnson faces a decisive Q&A from the prime minister on Wednesday, with irate Conservatives awaiting his explanation of the “bring your own drink” garden party in May 2020.

Labor Party Deputy Leader Angela Rayner said: “You now have a chance to open up to the British public, who are devastated by these accusations.

What is surprising is that the prime minister has had a couple of days where he could have simply answered yes or no to that question: were you there at this party? – and has refused to do that ”.

More than 10 Conservative MPs have publicly criticized the Downing Street meeting, the details of which emerged in a leaked email from Johnson’s top private secretary, Martin Reynolds.

Amber Valley MP Nigel Mills said Johnson’s position would be “untenable” if he attended the party. “If the prime minister knowingly attended a party, I don’t see how he can survive having accepted resignations for much less,” he told BBC News.

“He accepted the resignation of his spokesperson [Allegra Stratton] for not attending a party but joking about it at a time of much lighter restrictions. I just think that’s unsustainable. “

Many more Tory MPs are expressing their anger privately, though some are prepared to await the results of an investigation by official Sue Gray into a series of parties in Downing Street.

A former minister said conservatives would closely watch the prime minister’s questions. “From that, you will get a very clear idea from colleagues about whether they think it is a sustainable position.”

Multiple witnesses have said that Johnson and his wife, Carrie, attended the meeting. The Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called for his resignation.

“Millions of people obeyed the closure rules, often at enormous personal cost. They missed funerals, canceled weddings and said goodbye to dying loved ones in video calls, some on the same day that No 10 illegally threw a garden party, “he said.

“Boris Johnson has become a threat to the health of our nation, and for the good of the country that still suffers from this terrible pandemic, he must resign.”

Labor leader Keir Starmer will emerge from Covid self-isolation to pose questions to Johnson in the House of Commons, after receiving a second negative lateral flow test.

He is expected to accuse the prime minister of misleading parliament about his role in lockdown social events.

The May 20 party, as well as a May 15 reunion revealed by The Guardian, took place at a time when the public was allowed to meet outdoors with a single person outside their home.

The government did not present a minister to answer questions in interviews broadcast Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Junior Minister Michael Ellis was dispatched to answer MPs’ questions about the party, insisting that most of them should wait for Gray’s investigation.

Rayner said: “Of course Sue Gray has an important role in terms of the broader investigation, but we don’t need to expect that.” He added that the Metropolitan Police “could and should” investigate the incident. The Met has said it is in talks with the Cabinet Office about the claims.