Boris Johnson's position is indefensible, Andy Burnham says

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has called for Boris Johnson to resign for attending an "indefensible" party during lockdown.

The Labour politician said he understood people's anger after they endured "nightmarish" restrictions at the time of the May 2020 drinks event.

He said "trust" and "integrity" in politics were at risk if the prime minister refused to stand down.

"There has to be action and politicians taking responsibility," he said.

On Wednesday, Mr Johnson apologised for the way he handled the event in the Downing Street garden and said he understood the public's "rage" over it.

But Mr Burnham said the prime minister's account, which included his insistence that he believed the party was a work event, "didn't stack up".

Speaking to BBC Radio Manchester, the former MP said: "I personally think he should resign because what we heard yesterday, I don't think it was defensible given what everyone was going through.

"It was a terrible time for everybody. People were sticking to the rules at great personal cost.

"People's lives were on hold. People's morale was at rock bottom. It was nightmarish."

Mr Burnham, who held various roles under Tony Blair's Labour government, insisted he was not being "party political" and said all leaders should be held to account.

But he said the current Conservative government was "cut off" from the rest of the country in a "bubble" of Westminster.

"There is behaviour that goes on in there that would shock people," he said.

"I don't believe we are going to restore a sense of trust and integrity into politics if things like this happen and there are no consequences.

"Somehow, some way, this country has got to get back to being an example of how things should be run. I think we've allowed things to slip far too far."

Mr Burnham's comments have been echoed by other politicians.

William Wragg, the Conservative MP for Hazel Grove and an influential backbencher, called the prime minister's position "untenable".

"I don't think it should be left to the findings of a civil servant to determine the future of the prime minister and indeed who governs this country," he told BBC Radio 4's PM programme.

And Labour's Warrington North MP Charlotte Nichols said Mr Johnson must resign "for his own respect and the good of the country".

"Boris Johnson's arrogance and incompetence make his leaving inevitable," she said.

"If you pass hugely restrictive laws, endlessly recite the restrictions, strictly enforce them so that some people are prosecuted and fined while others cannot see their loved ones die or their children be born, then you must at least follow them.

"Nothing positive can now be accomplished by a prime minister who is viewed by the public with not just anger but ridicule."

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