Birmingham MPs react to partygate fines as pressure mounts on Boris Johnson

Birmingham’s Labour MPs have called on Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak to resign after they were handed fines for their roles in the Partygate scandal.

It was announced that Mr Johnson, alongside his wife Carrie and Mr Sunak, had been issued a fixed penalty notice after the Met Police investigated gatherings held in Downing Street and Whitehall while Covid lockdown rules were in place.

Mr Johnson has become the first Prime Minister to be penalised by police for breaking the law while in power.

The Met Police were known to be investigating 12 parties, with it being confirmed by Number 10 that the Prime Minister was fined for attending a gathering held on 19 June 2020 - a birthday party for Mr Johnson.

‘He must resign’

Some of the city’s Labour MPs have called on Johnson and Sunak to resign following the scandal.

Ladywood Labour MP Shabana Mahmood, told BirminghamWorld: “The Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have both broken the law and taken the British public for fools.

“They have lost all authority to ask others to obey the law. It cannot be one rule for them and another for everyone else.

“They must resign immediately.”

Hodge Hill Labour MP, Liam Byrne, added: “The Prime minister has lied and lied and lied again. After all the sacrifices made by Birmingham families, who followed the rules despite the extreme distress, we expect both the Prime minister and Chancellor to resign.

“They have broken the law, misled Parliament and managed to even short of their own woefully low standards.”

Taking to Twitter, Yardley Labour MP Jess Phillips ctitised Tory MPs for backing the Prime Minister.

She wrote: “Tory MPs not just backing the Prime Minister they seem to feel the day he has been found to be criminal to make out like he’s the greatest man on earth. It is tone deaf and Trumpian.”

She also tweeted: “Once again my inbox is filling up with emails from constituents telling me they have no confidence in our Prime Minister, so I suggest once again that people email their MPs because it works and we read them.”

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