Boris Johnson faces Prime Minister’s Questions today with a furious nation awaiting the answer to a simple question of whether he attended the notorious “bring your own booze” party in Downing Street’s garden in May 2020.
Labour’s Keir Starmer will face the Tory leader across the despatch box after finishing his seven days covid self-isolation.
He is expected to accuse the Prime Minister of misleading parliament about his role in lockdown social events.
Johnson faces anger from his own benches too with Conservative MPs, led by Scottish party leader Douglas Ross, calling on him to come clean over the issue and to resign if he misled the Commons with his previous denials.
The midday event will be the Prime Minister’s first public appearance since the leak on Monday of an email from his principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds, inviting Downing Street staff to the gathering in May 2020 to “make the most of the lovely weather”.
Several witnesses have said Johnson and his wife, Carrie, attended the gathering but Downing Street has refused to comment, hiding behind an investigation into social gatherings in the building by senior civil servant Sue Gray.
Labour’s deputy leader, Angela Rayner, said: “He has an opportunity now to come clean to the British public, who are devastated by these allegations.
“What’s astonishing is the prime minister has had a couple of days now where he could have quite simply answered that question yes or no – was you there at this party? – and he’s refused to do that.”
Ian Blackford, the SNP Westminster leader, said the public are demanding that Johnson go and that Tory MPs should topple him.
He said: “This is a man that cannot be left in office to behave as he is doing. We need to make sure that all of us bring this to an end, it can’t carry on. He has breached trust with the public and I think the public are demanding that he goes so politicians have to step up to the plate.”
With the public mood turning increasingly angry, two snap polls have found a majority now believe Johnson should stand down as Prime Minister.
A Savanta ComRes study found 66 per cent of British adults thought he should quit, with 24 per cent saying he should stay, while a YouGov survey for Sky News found 56 per cent believed he should go, with 27 per cent saying he should remain.
To sign up to the Daily Record Politics newsletter, click here.
