Downing Street party: Johnson apology 'too little, too late'

Prime Minister Boris Johnson's apology over a lockdown drinks party is "too little, too late", North Down MP Stephen Farry has said.

Mr Johnson admitted he attended a drinks party at No 10 during the first lockdown, saying he was there for 25 minutes.

Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions, he offered a "heartfelt apology" but said he believed it was a work event.

Mr Farry said the PM should do the "honourable thing" and resign.

"My constituents in North Down and people across the UK feel betrayed by the prime minister," the Alliance deputy leader said.

"We have seen standards in public life trashed.

"So for once, can the prime minister do the honourable thing and resign, for the sake of the public health message and for standards in our democracy?"

During the weekly questions session in the House of Commons, Mr Johnson asked those MPs who called on him to resign to await the results of an inquiry into the matter, carried out by senior civil servant Sue Gray.

Ms Gray is a former permanent secretary at Stormont's Department of Finance.

The prime minister had previously declined to say whether he attended, but witnesses had told the BBC both he and his wife Carrie were there.

Mr Johnson was also urged to resign by SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who said the prime minister's statement in the Commons was "pathetic".

He said: "His behaviour has demeaned his office and his arrogance has shredded his authority.

"Remaining in office is about his ego rather than doing what's right. If he won't leave then he needs to be forced out by his party."

The latest pressure on the prime minister over alleged parties at Downing Street began on Monday, when ITV published a leaked email from Mr Johnson's principal private secretary, Martin Reynolds.

In it, Mr Reynolds invited staff to "socially distanced drinks in the No 10 garden" on 20 May 2020 - when lockdown rules in England banned large outdoor gatherings.

The invitation encouraged people to "bring your own booze" and "make the most of the lovely weather".

The prime minister's handling of the criticism around the drinks party was defended by Northern Ireland Office Minister Conor Burns.

He said Mr Johnson had "done the right thing today" by apologising in the Commons.

"He accepts with the benefit of hindsight that the event shouldn't have happened," Mr Burns said.

"Crucially he has asked for space for Sue Gray to complete her report...it is better to wait for the totality of that investigation to be complete."

He added the prime minister could "rebuild trust" with the public.

Before Mr Johnson spoke in the Commons, DUP MP Sammy Wilson told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that if the prime minister did not answer questions over his attendance it would be "disastrous for himself and for public confidence".

"As one senior MP said to me yesterday, look the prime minister, as it's not the first allegations of parties, he must know the full extent of what happened in Downing Street over the lockdown period," he said.

"Rather than to allow this drip-feed of information to come out that something happened on the 20th May and another one happened some other time - he should come clean.

"People will then make a judgement on the basis of that situation and his honesty about this what his future should be."

On Tuesday, Mr Wilson's DUP colleague Jim Shannon broke down in tears in Parliament while questioning the government about fresh revelations that it broke lockdown rules.

Mr Shannon, MP for Strangford, cried as he said his mother-in-law had died alone with Covid during the pandemic.

The DUP MP said that the issue of alleged Downing Street parties was "distracting from all the good work the government is doing and are not getting credit for".

Mr Shannon's effort to struggle through tears to ask his question in the Commons was commended by many other politicians.

On Wednesday, Mr Shannon tweeted that he had "received so many good wishes and kind words for which I am deeply grateful, from so many and those who are among the thousands who have experienced loss both during this pandemic, as well as before and after".

"I extend my thanks and best wishes to you all," he added.

The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), Doug Beattie, has also called on Mr Johnson to resign.

"Whether the prime minister comes clean or doesn't, his credibility is destroyed," Doug Beattie told the BBC's Nolan Show on Wednesday.

"If it's proven that he attended in that investigation or he comes clean to say he did [attend] then there is no way out and he has to resign.

"There is no way back from this, he needs to step down and he has to do this quickly to keep continuity in government and start dealing with the issues we still face today."

In December, the prime minister asked for an independent inquiry to investigate a series of allegations about events taking place in government buildings in 2020 despite Covid-19 restrictions being in force.

Ms Gray's probe is investigating specific events including a leaving drinks for a No 10 aide on 27 November, a Department of Education gathering on 10 December and a Christmas quiz for No 10 staff on 15 December.

It is also examining the Downing Street Christmas party on 18 December, and on Tuesday, Ellis said drinks events held in the Downing Street garden on 20 and 15 May 2020 would also be added to the inquiry.