Boris Johnson issues apology after being fined over partygate - then immediately tries to back out of it
Johnson will face a House of Commons vote on Thursday over claims he misled MPs.
Boris Johnson has reiterated his apology for breaking Covid rules by attending a Downing Street party during the lockdown - but then attempted to back out of it.
The UK Prime Minister, who faced MPs for the first time on Tuesday since he was fined last week along with his wife, Carrie Johnson, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, told MPs that he paid the fine immediately and, "I offered the British people a full apology".
"I repeat the whole-hearted apology to the house," Johnson said on Tuesday before he again acknowledged "the hurt and anger" he had caused to people who had "a right to expect better of a Prime Minister".
Johnson then tried to justify what he had done, saying, "not by way of mitigation, or excuse, but purely to explain my previous words in this house" it did not occur to "me then, or subsequently" that his actions could amount to a breach of the rules.
Labour leader Keir Starmer slammed the "half-hearted apology" as a "joke" and again called on Johnson to resign.
"The prime minister knows what he is."
Sir Keir Starmer responds to Boris Johnson's apology to the House of Commons saying the PM "drags everyone down with him" and claims his actions make the 'public think all politicians are the same'.
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Johnson spoke after it was determined on Tuesday that he will face a Commons vote on whether claims he misled MPs over partygate should be investigated. Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle granted a request from opposition MPs for a vote which will be held on Thursday.
The Prime Minister was fined for attending a gathering to mark his birthday in June 2020, in breach of his own government's social distancing rules.
Johnson's fine was confirmed by no 10 officials last Tuesday after the Met Police earlier said it has issued issued 50 fines for breaches of lockdown regulations in Whitehall and Downing Street.
Police are investigating 12 gatherings held at Downing Street and the Cabinet Office after an internal inquiry found Johnson's staff had enjoyed alcohol-fuelled parties, with Johnson attending some of the events himself.
