- Boris Johnson has apologized for attending a lockdown-breaching party – but stressed he thought it was a work event.
- Sir Keir Starmer said his response was offensive and called for the prime minister to resign.
- Conservative MPs say Johnson is now in the end-game, with one telling Insider his 'half-arsed apology' might 'speed up' letters of no confidence.
Boris Johnson has apologized to the public and MPs, admitting for the first time he joined the lockdown-busting garden party in May 2020.
In a statement delivered just before the weekly PMQs session, the prime minister told a packed Commons chamber he "must take responsibility" for having attended the event, to which more than 100 staffers were invited and told to "bring your own booze".
But he claimed he "believed implicitly this was a work event", noting the Downing Street garden had been "in constant use" during the pandemic.
"I want to apologise," he told MPs. "I know millions of people across the country have made extraordinary sacrifices. I know the anguish they have been through, unable to mourn their loved ones… unable to do the things they love.
"I know the rage they feel with me, with the government I lead, when they think the rules are not being properly followed by the people who make the rules."
Johnson added: "When I went into the garden just after 6pm on May 20, 2020, to thank groups of staff just after going back into my office I believed implicitly this was a work event.
"With hindsight I should have sent everyone back inside, should have found some other way to thank them and should have recognised that even if it could be said to fall technically within the guidance, there would be millions of people who did not see it that."
But Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of main opposition party Labour, hit back, claiming his response was "so ridiculous as to be offensive to the British public", noting that "the British public think he is lying through his teeth".
"The party is over prime minister - the only question is will the British public kick him out, will his party kick him out or will he do the decent thing and resign?"
The Commons chamber was packed as MPs vied to see what the prime minister would say.
One Tory backbencher said he was attending "for the first time in a while" to hear from his leader, while another said simply: "I'm going — popcorn."
Conservative MPs have lined up to attack Johnson over the latest set of allegations, with several — including Scottish Tories leader Douglas Ross — going public with their criticism. Several suggested it was the end-game for the prime minister.
One told Insider: "It's very much when rather than if - and how long he can limp on for." Asked what he wanted to hear from the prime minister, the same MP replied: "Bye!"
A former minister said she would be "astonished" if his response didn't result in more letters of no confidence being sent to Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the influential 1922 committee of backbenchers.
Sir Graham keeps the tally under lock and key until the threshold is reached that would trigger a leadership contest. Under Johnson's current majority, a total of 54 letters would have to be sent in.
Another suggested the prime minister's "half-arsed apology" could "speed up" the process.
On Tuesday, a snap poll found that two-thirds of respondents said Johnson should resign in the wake of the scandal.
—Savanta ComRes (@SavantaComRes) January 11, 2022